Though widely respected as a powerful writer of graphic fiction, Kazuo Koike has spent a lifetime reaching beyond the bounds of the comics medium. Aside from co-creating and writing the successful Lone Wolf and Cub and Crying Freeman manga, Koikehas hosted television programs; founded a golf magazine; produced movies; written popular fiction, poetry, and screenplays; and mentored some of Japan's best manga talent. Lone Wolf and Cub was first serialized in Japan in 1970 in Manga Action magazine and continued its hugely popular run for many years, being reprinted worldwide. Starting in 1972, Koike adapted the popular manga into a series of six films, the Baby Cart Assassin saga, garnering widespread commercial success and critical acclaim for his screenwriting. To give something back to the medium that gave him so much, Koike started the Gekiga Sonjuku, a college course aimed at helping talented writers and artists - such as Ranma 1/2 creator Rumiko Takahashi - break into the comics field. The driving focus of Koike's narrative is character development, and his commitment to character is clear- "Comics are carried by characters. If a character is well created, the comic becomes a hit." Kazuo Koike's continued success in comics and literature has proven this philosophy true. The author lives in Tokyo, Japan.