Dark Horse Comics Mourns the Loss of Friend and Writer, Kazuo Koike
04/19/2019 3:37pm
Kazuo Koike1936-2019
Dark Horse Comics is devastated by the news of Kazuo Koike's passing. Along with artist Goseki Kojima, Koike created one of the most prolific serialized series of the 20th century, Lone Wolf and Cub. The Dark Horse family is honored to have worked with Koike for decades. His groundbreaking writing and wonderful sense of humor are legendary across the company. Our condolences and thoughts go out to his family, friends, and all who loved and admired him.
"The sad news came last night that legendary manga creator Kazuo Koike has passed away. I knew Koike as friend, mentor, and business partner, but most importantly, as a fan of his work. It is impossible to overstate his influence, for he was a creator of international stature. Those of us who cherished him can take comfort in the knowledge that he will live on through his work, which will remain for the generations to come.”—Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics Founder and President
"Working with Koike-sensei allowed me so many unique opportunities, beginning with my first weeks at Dark Horse. I worked on renewals for Lone Wolf & Cub, and the contracts for Path of the Assassin, Color of Rage, Lady Snowblood and Crying Freeman. Outside of work, I was fortunate to introduce Koike-sensei to Yoshitaka Amano-sensei for the first time, play golf, and even interpret a lunch between Frank Miller and Koike-sensei. I always admired the way he embraced having fun in life, and his sense of humor — often at my expense!"—Michael Gombos, Senior Director of Licensed Publications
"Kazuo Koike helped shape manga as we have come to know it. In America in the 1980s, the idea of the "dark" hero energized comics. But this was no revelation for those who had read and been influenced by Koike. He understood that every human being already has within them the terrible, awe-inspiring strength of their own passions, next to which mere superpowers look secondhand. Koike realized the history books are filled as much with the good as with the cruel, the ruthless, the crazed—and they hurtled not towards some eventual and endless reboot, but, being real people, towards death. That is the privilege, the point—like Koike-sensei, they got to die only because they really were alive. Remember him through his work, and know that Kazuo Koike sought to strengthen and promote younger manga creators until the end."—Carl Horn, Editor
Kazuo Koike and Frank Miller meet
Dark Horse Comics is devastated by the news of Kazuo Koike's passing. Along with artist Goseki Kojima, Koike created one of the most prolific serialized series of the 20th century, Lone Wolf and Cub. The Dark Horse family is honored to have worked with Koike for decades. His groundbreaking writing and wonderful sense of humor are legendary across the company. Our condolences and thoughts go out to his family, friends, and all who loved and admired him.
"The sad news came last night that legendary manga creator Kazuo Koike has passed away. I knew Koike as friend, mentor, and business partner, but most importantly, as a fan of his work. It is impossible to overstate his influence, for he was a creator of international stature. Those of us who cherished him can take comfort in the knowledge that he will live on through his work, which will remain for the generations to come.”—Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics Founder and President
"Working with Koike-sensei allowed me so many unique opportunities, beginning with my first weeks at Dark Horse. I worked on renewals for Lone Wolf & Cub, and the contracts for Path of the Assassin, Color of Rage, Lady Snowblood and Crying Freeman. Outside of work, I was fortunate to introduce Koike-sensei to Yoshitaka Amano-sensei for the first time, play golf, and even interpret a lunch between Frank Miller and Koike-sensei. I always admired the way he embraced having fun in life, and his sense of humor — often at my expense!"—Michael Gombos, Senior Director of Licensed Publications
"Kazuo Koike helped shape manga as we have come to know it. In America in the 1980s, the idea of the "dark" hero energized comics. But this was no revelation for those who had read and been influenced by Koike. He understood that every human being already has within them the terrible, awe-inspiring strength of their own passions, next to which mere superpowers look secondhand. Koike realized the history books are filled as much with the good as with the cruel, the ruthless, the crazed—and they hurtled not towards some eventual and endless reboot, but, being real people, towards death. That is the privilege, the point—like Koike-sensei, they got to die only because they really were alive. Remember him through his work, and know that Kazuo Koike sought to strengthen and promote younger manga creators until the end."—Carl Horn, Editor
Kazuo Koike and Frank Miller meet
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