by Joseph Carlson
Lone Wolf and Cub falls into a rhythm most times you read it. Ogami Itto takes on a client with an interesting story, that person ends up dead and you find out that not only is Lone Wolf a very good swordsman, but also very daring in his approach to killing.
Volume 5 takes many interesting risks. The fist being that you find out more about the Yagyu clan behind the plot to frame the main character, and we also find that more people in the Shogunate are becoming aware of the situation with The Lone Wolf and Cub.
This brings him up against famed swordsmen who are as talented with a blade as Ogami is. One being the man who lost the job of shogun's executioner to Ogami and now has a bone to pick with him.
Also, the man who tests the sharpness of blades on corpse and has also killed people for a living. He directly serves the Shogunate and through traveling like the wind to meet Ogami in battle literately gives a horse a heart attack. A twist of fate allows The Lone Wolf be victorious, which he ponders on as he leaves the battlefield.
It's interesting to note that there is also a chapter that shares the thoughts of Diagoro. Although, he's young we see that while he and his father are planting rice he is happy in the work and thinks that maybe his father has decided to stop the life of the assassin. That is until men come and force a confrontation with them. He then realizes that his fate is sealed, forever to walk the path of the hell with his father.
Good stuff here, and more to come. Like I said before it's interesting when the volumes fall into a rhythm that this one breaks from that and actually ups the stakes of the game for The Lone Wolf and Cub.
Lone Wolf and Cub is available from Amazon in print and digitally.
Let me know what you think about Lone Wolf and Cub in the comments below.