Ogami and Son's Samurai Services
Lone Wolf & Cub 1 Third Printing

COMIC DETAILS

Comic Description: Lone Wolf & Cub #1 Signature
Grade: 9.8
Page Quality: WHITE
Certification #: 0226173001
Owner: Ogami

SET DETAILS

Winning Set: Ogami and Son's Samurai Services
Date Added: 2/25/2015
Research: See CGC's Census Report for this Comic

Owner's Description

The Set: You can't talk about Lone Wolf and Cub without talking about four distinct time periods and multiple publishers. <br /><br />Year One is the Japanese publication of the work, in 1970. I have a few copies of the Japanese works but am unfamiliar of the particulars other than a company name and very broad publication numbers.<br /><br />Year Two is First Publishing securing the rights to publish the work in English in 1987. All hail Rick Obadiah. Unfortunately, the run ends less than a third completed. The story of First Publishing will be told in detail in the companion journal, "Ogami and Sons' Samurai Services" in the journal section of the CGC chat boards.<br /><br />Year Three is a series of unfortunate events that ends well artistically, professionally, and personally for Koike Kazuo, Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics, and English speaking fans of Lone Wolf and Cub. All hail Mike Richardson. See the companion journal for the full story that begins with Mike attempting to publish Lone Wolf and Cub 2100 WITHOUT Koike's approval...<br /><br />Year Four begins with Mike Richardson and Koike Kazuo establishing a good working relationship and eventually a friendship while shepherding the first completed English translation of Lone Wolf and Cub, beginning in 2000. Please see the companion journal for the entire story. Did I mention, hail Mike Richardson?<br /><br />The Book: This is a third print of issue one, with the same exact cover, price, and contents. The indicia is the verifying data on the printing. <br /><br />The Cover: I am proud and pleased to have Mike Richardson's signature on Lone Wolf and Cub. Let me be clear as to the goal of this set of books. I understand that Richardson didn't work on the First Publishing issues. But without Mike Richardson, the English language set is a failure. For all of its fine qualities, the First Publishing run falls short. Far short. First, it only contains less than a third of the complete story. Second, it is heavily edited for content and some of the stories are rearranged- likely some of the stories would have been excluded from the eventual full run (I am confident that this is due to mature content issues).<br />It is Mike Richardson and Dark Horse's efforts that allow English speakers to enjoy Lone Wolf and Cub. My intention is to honor as many hands that have touched the translated work, regardless of whether they worked on the First editions, or the later Dark Horse ones.<br /><br />Mike signed this book for me (along with one other) on 1/25/14 at GemCity. This book was in the care of MSchmidt. Thanks, Schmiddty!<br /><br />The Second Slot: First Publishing's only Lone Wolf and Cub trade, I hope to one day turn this into a yellow labeled slab. Along with the ephemera that First produced, it's obvious to me they had real affection for LW&C and tried to make it a publishing success. This gorgeous slip cased edition, featuring pencils by Frank Miller with painted final cover by Bill Sienkiewicz, (the only piece of its kind?) and forward by Eric Van Lustbader, with original color interior plates by Kojima, Olivia, Alex Wald, and containing the first six stories, is a beautiful work.
 
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