Samurai Executioner

From 2004 to 2006, Dark Horse released the ten-issue Samurai Executioner series, a companion to Lone Wolf and Cub set in feudal Japan. Written primarily by Kazuo Koike with translations by Dana Lewis and Marc Miyake, and illustrated by Gōseki Kojima, the story follows the stoic executioner Yamada Asaemon, a master swordsman whose duty is to deliver justice with a single, precise stroke. This mature, historically grounded series explores the philosophy of life and death through the eyes of a man who must sever the bonds of the living, offering a stark, meditative look at the samurai code.