Path of the Assassin by Kazuo Koike
Koike and Kojima present the saga of ninja Hanzo Hattori and his allegiance to Tokugawa Ieyasu. This unadulterated, classic-sized series is a prized gem in the samurai tales.
Here’s the lowdown. Path of the Assassin was a Japanese manga series written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Goseki Kojima. Now, these two, they’re the dynamic duo behind classics like Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner. But this time, they’re switching gears.
Path of the Assassin dives into 16th-century Japan, focusing on two historical figures. We’ve got Hattori Hanzō, the master ninja tasked with protecting Tokugawa Ieyasu, the man who’s gonna become shōgun and unite Japan.
Originally published in Kodansha’s Weekly Gendai magazine, this 20-volume series has been reprinted by Dark Horse Comics. They condensed it into 15 volumes, translated it into English, and kept that original right-to-left reading format.
