At long last, Sanpei Shirato's epic Legend of Kamui series is being collected in book form in English by Drawn & Quarterly. Originally serialized in the pages of Garo during the 1960s, and then published by Eclipse comics during the first wave of manga that hit the shores of North American in the late 1980s, Kamui straddles the border between the action adventure of Lone Wolf and Cub and the underground æsthetic that emerged around Garo.
It's a 6 1/2" x 9", 600 page softcover with obi band, and is the first of, we beleve, two volumes.
D & Q has provided a nice PDF preview, HERE. Anyone unfamiliar with the Legend of Kamui should take a moment to check it out. And, speaking of D & Q, here's what they have to say.:
The iconic series that launched the alt-manga bible GARO becomes available in English for the very first time.
At long last, manga titan Shirato Sanpei’s groundbreaking epic makes its way into English. Celebrated as a watershed of both the Japanese counterculture and dramatic, longform storytelling in manga, The Legend of Kamui serves up clashing swords and class struggle to create a timeless political allegory set in feudal Japan. This ten-volume series is a must-have for fans of samurai and ninja manga and anime, and of other giants of postwar manga like Tezuka Osamu, Mizuki Shigeru, Tsuge Yoshiharu, and Lone Wolf and Cub’s Kojima Goseki.
It’s the 17th century in Japan. Child outcast Kamui lives on the fringes of a miserably stratified society. Fueled by pure grit, rage, and a dash of cunning, his only way out is to take up the mantle of ninja. Follow scrappy peasants, cold-blooded ninja, and warriors both disgraced and exalted as they navigate the unforgiving hardships of a violent yet hopeful age. With its vivid and critical attention to social injustice and environmental issues against a backdrop of heart-pounding action and romance, this multilayered gekiga drama not only redefined ninja and samurai fantasy, it also offers astonishing parallels with the modern day.
Originally serialized between 1964 and 1971 in the legendary alt-manga magazine GARO, The Legend of Kamui is translated by social historian and decorated academic Richard Rubinger with Noriko Rubinger. Additional translation by Alexa Frank.
BACK IN STOCK
The second volume of D & Q's complete collection of Sanpei Shirato's epic, The Legend of Kamui, that ran in the pages of Garo from 1964 through 1971 is now on the Just In shelf here at Copacetic and ready for shipping! Here's another 600+ pages of non-stop action in this "epic feudal sword drama" set amidst a "sweeping seventeenth-century social tapestry" that has earned a special place in the history of manga.
Translated by Richard Rubinger with Noriko Rubinger.
For the uninitiated, HERE is a nice PDF preview, courtesy D&Q, and HERE is an engaging and highly informative overview written on the occasion of the first volume in the series by Joe McColloch on TCJ.
BACK IN STOCK
Here comes another 624 pages of Shirato Sanpei's Legend of Kamui!
D & Q has this to say:
Our hero Kamui is fresh off his training and begins to infiltrate the delicate hierarchy oppressing the countryside in order to begin tearing it down, piece by piece. Shosuke faces off with a new assassin because of what he may—or may not have—witnessed. Ryunoshin’s vendetta befuddles the chief headman as well as his lord. Meanwhile, Kamui’s fellow outcast Saesa takes on a more prominent role. Now available in full for the very first time, Shirato Sanpei’s landmark manga epic—the first of its kind. The Legend of Kamui was originally serialized between 1964 and 1971 in the legendary alt-manga magazine GARO. Its literary and historical merit was recognized long before a complete translation was even available. Now available in full for the very first time, Shirato Sanpei’s The Legend of Kamui is translated from the Japanese by Richard Rubinger with Noriko Rubinger.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Here is an ALMOST complete run of the 37-issue, 1987 Eclipse Comcs run of The Legend of Kamui. These stories have not (yet, at least) been collected in the new, Drawn & Quarterly series of omnibus volumes currently in production.
NOTE ON CONDITION: The first 29 issues of the run are all in Very Fine / Near Mint condition (close to new). Starting with #30, there is minor light moisture "waves" through the top of each issue. These waves are invisible and do not extend into the artwork area of the comics – EXCEPT for the very last issue, #37. This last issue has a water STAIN on the back cover that lightens gradually through the last half of the book. This stain barely extends into the top of artwork, and only in the last half. So, close to negligible effect on the reading experience, but big impact on the collector value of the issue.
ALSO: We checked on eBay, and issue #31 is common and widely available; many copies are listed for sale as we write, most under $5 (pretty much all under $10, with shipping). And, of course, you could get lucky and find it in a dollar box.
We have priced this set acordingly: DEAL!
