GREAT COMICS: I

LONE WOLF AND CUB.
BY KAZUO KOIKE AND GOSEKI KOJIMA

I remember the first time I came across it. I was in a large comic store off Tottenham Court Road in central London, browsing through the Manga section for interesting titles, when I saw Lone Wolf and Cub. Although I had noticed it before, I had not bothered to pick it up and flick through it. This time I did, and I soon realsied that this was no ordinary comic.

Published in the early seventies in a massive 24 volumes, Lone Wolf and Cub follows the story of Ogami Itto (the lone wolf) and his young son Daigoro (the cub), who he takes with him in a cart wherever he goes. Working as an assassin to survive, it is clear that the lone wolf is more than just a masterless ronin wandering in Japan. Soon in the first volume it is revealed that Ogami Itto was once the Kogi Kaishakunin, the Shogun's own executioner. However, owing to the machinations of the Yagyu, a warrior clan led by old man Retsudo who covets the post of Kogi Kaishakunin for his own clansmen, Ogami's wife was killed and himself framed for a crime he did not commit. Instead of submitting to the will of the authorities, Ogami instead chooses the path of Meifumado, of death and suffering, of Hell. Takig his son he begins the life of an assassin for hire, while preparing to avenge the clan Itto and bring retribution to the Yagyu.

Painstakingly researched, it gives the reader a real sense of life in Japan during the time of the Shogun, with feudal lords, peasants, samurai, prostitutes and yakuza each having their part to play. The story unfolds slowly, with Ogami Itto and Daigoro travelling the path of Meifumado. Although it is a highly gripping story of the highest quality, it is the artwork which makes the comic what it is. The rugged beauty and desolation of Japan is all here, with forests, mountains, towns and citadels. It is not difficult to picture yourself actualy watching a film unfolding. And no-one draws action like Goseki Kojima can. Swords fly, hooves thunder and blood splatters ina way it does not in any other comic. The artwork is of such quality that you find yourself taking time to fully absorb each frame in the comic. In today's world, comic art is easily passed over and forgotten. Not so here.

One of the most interesting things about Lone Wolf and Cub is the relationship between father and son. Far from protecting his son from the hell of Meifumado, he immerses him in it. he even relies on his son in certain situations to lure unsuspecting targets in ways that certainly put his son's life in danger. Yet it is not because he does not love his son. In one part he says

"A father knows his child's heart as only a child can know his father's. Father and child walk through life, hand in hand. This is Seikan, the bond of life. When father and son rely on their bond to do what they must to survive..."

Quite simply, this is one of the best comics ever, both in Japan and in the West. In a market saturated with poor-quality pap, this stands out.

STOP POWER-HUNGRY BLAIR

Blair's attempts to reform the House of Lords are running into trouble, with various senior politicians refusing to go along with his plans to abolish the right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords. On the surface, it certainly seems like a step in the right direction. The idea of hereditary peerage smacks of the old order, one of inherited privileges and class divisions. Yet I am glad that they are there. Blair is not so much motivated by ideals (that much is clear) as he is by a desre to increase his own power and remove opposition to any of his policy changes. The House of Lords has opposed Blair on many important issues, such as hardline measures on the management of asylum seekers and New Labour's attempts to restrict trial by jury.

The distribution of power to different institutions of sectors of society is important if any osrt of stability is desired. The consequences of the concentration of power in a single sector can be disastrous. The inhabitants of Third World countries know this all too well. How many national armies, supposedly acting for the benefit of their respetive countries, have assumed power?. For example, Sukarno was the democratically elected leader of Indonesia, yet this on its own was not enough to stop Soeharto's seizure of power and subsequent instigation of pogroms leading to the deaths of tens of thousands.

Blair himself is already too powerful. In spite of the majority of citizens in the UK in opposition, he led Britain to war on Iraq. Where is the power of the people? In a democratic system the people do nt rule directly. Rather, they choose someone to make decisions for them. It is all very well to say that leaders can be changed, yet in their elected term they can cause immense damage. One only has to take the example of the current American administration. If we are going to choose someone to make decisions on our behalf, then checks on their power should exist. By trying to reform the House of Lords, Blair is attempting to remove one of those checks. Despite its external appearance, the House of Lords helps to ensure the stability of British democracy.

Again, certainly the notion of individuals in the House of Lords inheriting liegislative powers purely because one of their predecessors was duly honoured does not seem fair. Yet we now have a very powerful Prime Minister who wishes to be rid of these individuals for his own ends. Now is not the time for others to call for such reforms to take place. What is to stop Blair putting his own sycophants in?