▪	RELEASED BY:		DARK HORSE
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		KAZUO KOIKE / GOSEKI KOJIMA
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / BW
		▪	PAGES:		302
		▪	RATING:		18+
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		12/26/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		04/01/2008
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

In this fictional telling of to-be shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu’s early life, Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima weave an intriguing, sexy, and charming story of young lives passing into very unusual adulthoods – if they can actually live that long that is!

In volume eight, Nobunaga orders Hideyoshi to build a fort on Sunomata as a foothold for the invasion of Mino. Hideyoshi, in turn, asks Ieyasu to loan him Iga suppa under Hanzo’s command. As payment, Hideyoshi will protect Ieyasu’s heir, Takechiyo. Ieyasu agrees, and so Hanzo heads out to Sunomata along with his men from Iga. An impenetrable castle must be defeated, the country's best samurai swayed, competing warlords politicked and tricked into line. All this sounds technical and textbook, so how does it turn out to be so sexy and dramatic and fun? Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima (Lone Wolf & Cub) are masters of samurai storytelling, and Path of the Assassin is no slouch when it comes to action, drama, tactics, sex, love, honor and a terrific, engaging story.

This manga is almost instantly involving – it just grabs a hold of your attention and keeps it throughout the entire read. The characters are so key here – the characters are so well written and well developed that it would be near impossible not to feel involved in the conflicts and plots they work themselves into and through. The art has a very classic, artful quality to it – you won’t likely see manga art like this anymore. It’s very interesting and enjoyable – it’s very mature in visual presentation and the people and settings look realistic to a point, rather than being stylized in a cutesy, big-eyed anime sort of way. The writing is just as fantastic, and very in depth and involved. The plots and the motivations of the vast amounts of characters and clans who make their marks in this series are very interesting to read about. There is always a lot going on – a lot of trickery and hidden dealings go on behind people’s back. It’s actually quite intriguing and intelligent. But the books are also fun and raw at times – the fights can be brutal, and there’s no lack of sex to go along with the violence. This is a mature series for the mature reader, but it still manages to keep the overall product quite intelligent and very worthwhile for a wide range of readers.

The author actually has quite an interesting history, and it’s worth knowing a bit about him if you want to know where Path of the Assassin came from and how it influences other works today. Though widely respected as a powerful writer of graphic fiction, Kazuo Koike has spent a lifetime reaching beyond the bounds of the comics medium. Aside from co-creating and writing such classic tales as Lone Wolf and Cub and Crying Freeman, Koike has hosted the popular Shibi Golf Weekly instructional television program; founded the Albatross View golf magazine; produced movies; written popular fiction, poetry, and screenplays; and mentored some of Japan’s best manga talent. Koike started the Gekiga Sonjuku, a college course aimed at helping talented writers and artists – such as Ranma ½ creator Rumiko Takahashi – break into the comics field. His methods and teachings continue to influence new generations of manga creators, not to mention artists and writers around the world. Examples of Koike’s influence range from the comics works of Frank Miller and Stan Sakai to the films of Quentin Tarantino.

IN SUMMARY:
Path of the Assassin is a story of lifelong friends with the same dreams, striving to grow into a rising river. It’s a total epic – a long, involving story that is easy to get caught up in.