The Deathstroke Files Remembers Lupin III's Monkey Punch and Lone Wolf and Cub's Kazuo Koike

In April of 2019, the comic book industry lost two industry giants from Japan in Monkey Punch (aka Kazuhiko Katō), creator of Lupin III (read as "lū-pŏn thə Third"), and Kazuo Koike, creator of Lone Wolf and Cub. The two legendary manga creators not only enjoyed success in their native Japan but also internationally, including the United States. The Deathstroke Files would like to and pay tribute the works of Monkey Punch and Kazuo Koike and to examine the iconic characters created by both men as well as certain similarities they have to Deathstroke.

Kazuhiko Katō, aka Monkey
Punch
May 26, 1937 - April 11, 2019

Born on May 26, 1937, Kazuhiko Katō began drawing manga in junior high school. Showing a particular talent for it early on, his work found a home in the pages of his school newspaper. Not imagining manga to be his career, Katō entered technical school but continued to produce manga as a hobby. In time, he began working in an art group composed of other amateur mangaka (manga artists) where his hobby manga was noticed by Futabasha Publishers Ltd. Futabasha initially hired Katō to produce four-panel gag-strips, but he was eventually given the opportunity to work on the more traditional manga starting with 1965's Playboy School under the nom-de-plume, Eiji Gamuta.

In 1967, Katō's editor "suggested" that he change his pen name to "Money Punch," for his next project, (I have no idea why the editor chose that seemingly random name) which, feeling that he had no other choice, Katō did. Though Katō hated the Monkey Punch name, he didn't think that he would have to use it long because his next project was only scheduled to run for three months. Unfortunately for Katō (or fortunately depending on how one looks at it), his next project was Lupin III. Because Lupin III became such a huge hit with the fans and wildly successful for his publisher, Katō was forever tied to the Monkey Punch name.

Lupin III
Art by Monkey Punch

Monkey Punch's hit manga, Lupin III, follows the often-hilarious criminal exploits of master-thief, Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of the fictional Arsène Lupin, made famous in the works of the French novelist, Maurice Leblanc. Lupin, like his grandfather, was a "gentleman thief," meaning that he came from wealth and stole simply for the thrill of the score, though the term "phantom thief" is preferred in manga and anime media. Lupin is a criminal mastermind that devises intricate and often dangerous plans utilizing distraction and forms of trickery to evade the most sophisticated security systems, the most vigilant of hired guns, and the most determined of law enforcement officers. Even if Lupin happens to be captured, he has normally pre-arranged for evidence against him to disappear or for some manner of elaborate/fabricated alibi to "clear" his name.

Lupin himself is not one to engage in much fisticuffs or gunplay, but his partner-in-crime Daisuke Jigen provides the majority of those services as he is a crack shot with a gun and has hands of stone. Additional muscle for Lupin comes in the form of Goemon Ishikawa XIII (Goemon for short), a master swordsman who is a thirteenth-generation descendant of the "Robin Hood ronin," of the same name. Rounding out Lupin's crew is Lupin's love interest, the fabulous femme fatale, Fujiko Mine. Most of the time, Fujiko is dedicated to the success of Lupin and his crew but has been known from-time-to-time to grift Lupin himself if the score was tempting enough to warrant the risk. Lupin and his crew are pursued around the world by the impossibly implacable Interpol Inspector Zenigata, who is doggedly dedicated to Lupin's capture in spite of being perpetually played for a sucker in some way by Lupin.

Lupin's criminal escapades have proven immensely popular, so much so that in addition to the long-running manga (seven series and assorted spin-offs), Lupin III has starred in six anime series, seven anime feature films, six original video animations, twenty-seven television specials, two live-action films, and twenty-two video games. I personally recommend the Lupin III Part II (1977) television series and the feature film The Castle of Cagliostro (1979), which marked the directorial debut of anime legend, Hayao Miyazaki. Regardless of the medium, there is definitely a Lupin III adventure for everyone.

Like Deathstroke, Lupin III is a clever criminal protagonist who is the best in the world at what he does. Like Lupin III, Deathstroke always seems to be one step ahead of the law, even if he is captured. Using these characteristics, Monkey Punch helped to lay the groundwork for a character like Deathstroke the Terminator to be the success he is today by demonstrating to the public that the bad guys can be compelling and entertaining enough to carry a successful comic title for many years.

Kazuo Koike
May 8, 1936 -  April 17, 2019

Kazuo Koike also enjoyed international acclaim for his influential manga work. Born Seishu Tawaraya on May 8, 1936, Koike's first career choice was that of an attorney. He studied law at Tokyo's Chuo University but was unable to pass Japan's notoriously difficult bar exam. He next studied writing under novelist Kiichirō Yamate but it didn't lead to any steady work. After working a government job for a bit, Koike played lots of golf and even mahjong professionally.

But writing was not done with Koike as he caught on with the new manga studio opened by Takao Saito. Saito Production took the division of labor approach to creating manga utilizing some employees as dedicated writers to produce manga scripts only. Koike was hired to be one of the writing specialists despite his inexperience in professional writing. Koike served as the scriptwriter for Saito's magnum opus, Golgo 13, but it was his work on another Saito manga, Muyōnosuke, a period tale about a sword-wielding bounty hunter that foreshadowed Koike's most celebrated work.

Koike left Saito Production in 1970 to find success on his own terms. Recruiting veteran illustrator, Goseki Kojima, Koike created the classic manga, Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Ōkami). Lone Wolf and Cub follows the story of Ittō Ogami, the official executioner for a shogun, a high and prestigious position in Tokugawa Era Japan. As the shogun's executioner, Ittō's job is to carry out the will of the shogun. In the event that the shogun orders a noble to commit seppuku (ritual suicide in which one's eviscerates themselves), Ittō is to act as a Kogi Kaishakunin, charged with decapitating the noble to spare him the agony of gutting himself. Ittō, in his role as the shogun's executioner, is also allowed to wear the shogun's crest, ostensibly acting in the shogun's stead.

One day while Ittō was away on behalf of the shogun, Ittō's wife, Azami, as well as the entire household were savagely slaughtered. The only survivor of the massacre was Ittō's young son, Daigorō. Though initially blamed on members of a disgraced clan, whose master was executed by Ittō, in reality, the entire affair was orchestrated by Yagyū Retsudō, the leader of the Ura-Yagyū clan as part of a greater scheme to remove Ittō from his role as executioner so that Retsudō could take control of all three bases of power of the shogunate; the shogun's oniwaban (secret agents), his assassins, and his executioner. Prior to the official investigation into the murders at the Ogami house, Retsudō arranged for a funeral tablet bearing the shogun's crest to be found on the family shrine in Ittō's home, an act that symbolized Ittō's alleged desire to murder the shogun. The funeral tablet's "discovery" in Ittō's home was all the evidence that Retsudō needed to have Ittō stripped of his role as executioner, branded as a traitor to the shogun, and condemned to perform the seppuku ritual to himself and his young son.

Lone Wolf and Cub's Ittō Ogami and his
son, Daigorō
Art by Goseki Kojima

Realizing that all choices put before him would likely result in misery and death, Ittō presented two objects to young Daigorō from which he can choose; a ball and a sword. If Daigorō chose the ball, then Ittō would end his life mercifully so that he could be reunited with his mother in death and then would face his own grim fate. But if Daigorō chose the sword, Ittō would reject his sentence, escape, teach his son the ways of the sword, and then exact their revenge on Yagyū Retsudō and the entire Ura-Yagyū clan. Daigorō chose the sword, Ittō slaughtered their way to freedom, and the father-son pair embarked on their new lives as ronin assassins in preparation for their ultimate path to retribution.

Ittō has many similarities to Deathstroke. Both men began their paths of blood in the military. Both men became assassins after leaving military service. Both lost family members due to a betrayal, although Deathstroke was not aware of it until years later. Both lost their wives, granted in different ways, due to complications arising directly from their deadly professions. Both men brought children into their dangerous ways of life, though both fathers regret that they weren't able to keep their children safely away. In addition to these similarities, Ittō and Deathstroke are the focal points of adult-oriented, brutal action tales with the backdrop of intriguing allegiances and outright betrayals.

Monkey Punch and Kazuo Koike were titans of manga and their contributions to the comic book industry as a whole are unquestioned. Though they produced many other works in Japan, Monkey Punch and Kazuo Koike are revered legends in the West for creating Lupin III and Lone Wolf and Cub respectively. In their own ways, both men helped to pave the way for a character like Deathstroke to be successful. Monkey Punch and Kazuo Koike died just five days apart, but their highly-regarded works will live on for both current and future fans to enjoy for many years to come.