Japanese comics writer and novelist Kazuo Koike died from pneumonia on April 17, reports Anime News Network. He was 82 years old. Koike was best known for creating “Lone Wolf and Cub,” the epic story of a samurai and his infant son, with artist Goseki Kojima, as well as the historical revenge thriller “Lady Snowblood” with artist Kazuo Kamimura.
Koike was born on May 8, 1936, in the city of Daisen, in the Akita prefecture of northeast Japan. He studied under “Golgo 13” creator Takao Saito, working as a writer on the series (which began in 1968). Koike and Kojima began “Lone Wolf and Cub” in 1970, and quickly became known as the “Golden Duo” because of its success. Among the comic’s fans were budding artist/writer Frank Miller (who went on to provide cover artwork for the series when it was first published in English), and “Road to Perdition” writer Max Allan Collins, who described his Depression era comic as a homage to Koike and Kojima’s series.
Two years into “Lone Wolf and Cub”‘s run, Koike and Kojima launched another historical action series, “Samurai Executioner.” Both titles concluded in 1976, but the Golden Duo continued to collaborate on other series set in Feudal Japan like “Path of the Assassin,” “Oda Nobunaga,” and “Kawaite Sourou.” After Kojima died in 2000, Koike embarked on a follow-up series, “New Lone Wolf and Cub,” with artist Hideki Mori from 2003 to 2006.
Koike was also a screenwriter and playwright: he provided the screenplay for the 1972 Lone Wolf and Cub movie starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, which led to five sequels over the next two years (all but one of which were written by Koike). After “Lady Snowblood” ran from 1972 to 1973, the comic was adapted into two films by director Toshiya Fujita, which were widely cited as an influence by director Quentin Tarantino on Kill Bill. Another manga by Koike, the ’80s Chinese mafia series “Crying Freeman” (illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami), was adapted into a film by French director Christophe Gans in 1995.
He established his namesake Koike Gekiga Sonjuku training school for budding manga creators in 1977: graduates include Angoulême Grand Prix winner Rumiko Takahashi (“Urusei Yatsura“), Vampire Hunter D author Hideyuki Kikuchi, and “Fist of the North Star” artist Tetsuo Hara. He also worked as an instructor at Osaka University of Arts from 2000. In 2004, he and Kojima were inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame. Koike was active until last year, writing Miki Fujita’s Champion RED series “Koike Kazuo no Manga Juku,” when his health began to fail.
Koike spent his last year in hospital, but maintained a cheery presence on Twitter. He tweeted, “It’s not good for you, psychologically, to spend the whole day in your pyjamas. By changing into regular clothes, you get emotionally ready for work or play, so on days when I’m feeling energetic, I make sure to get out of bed and change my clothes.” He was diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s in January, but was still active this week, commenting on Monkey Punch’s passing, “40 years ago, in the first era of action manga, Monkey Punch was my rival, with ‘Lupin III’ and ‘Lone Wolf and Cub’ battling it out in a popularity war. At one point, we even teamed up to make the manga ‘Secretary Bird’ together. I’m really going to miss him.”
The tweet announcing Koike’s passing on his account read, “We would like to sincerely thank all those who showed him, and his works, love during his lifetime. In accordance with his last wishes, his funeral will be a private service for family members. Thank you for your support.”
