子連れ狼 [Kozure Ōkami]

Kazuo Koike and Gōseki Kojima's legendary samurai epic, published by Futabasha from 1970 to 1976, follows a lone assassin and his young son as they walk a bloody path of vengeance across feudal Japan. Across 28 issues, this stark, emotionally brutal series redefined the ronin genre with its gritty realism and profound father-son bond, establishing Koike and Kojima as masters of the medium. Its influence extends far beyond comics, shaping film, television, and the very language of visual storytelling.