I thought I had nattered on about this before: so I have some of Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's
Lone Wolf and Cub in Dark Horse's
little digests, and First's larger prestige format issues,
and the whole thing in digital from Humble Bundle! And yet I'll probably always grab one of these when they're in the cheap bins: from 1988,
Lone Wolf and Cub #10, cover by Frank Miller!
This chapter was "Lawless Samurai," and explains a little about the period: a financial crunch had reduced many to part-time status, which undermined the traditional master/samurai bonds of loyalty, and gave rise to
orisuke. Literally, it meant "part-time help" but was more accurately lawless thugs for hire. The Lone Wolf, Itto Ogami, murders the heads of three orisuke gangs, before we get to the why: he and his son Daigoro find two young children, about to kill themselves. Their father had been a loyal samurai, but lost face and then his life in a dispute with a gang. Even with Ogami there, the kids were still in a bind: traditionally, honor would demand they avenge their father's death themselves; they couldn't just have Ogami do it. (Although, at this point, he probably could!)
Ogami's answer is, lure him onto the river, spear him to death. He murders the lower-level bosses of the gang--no rule against him doing that!--to bring their target into position. The kids are free to spear-murder the big boss, while Ogami covers them from his men. Honor is satisfied, and so is the reader!
If I had one prediction for the next four years? I think revenge films are going to come back in a big way. Viewers are going to want the joy of seeing crappy people get what's coming to them. Just a guess.
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