Golgo 13, Vol. 1
He'll take any job, if the price is right. He'll go anywhere, hunt anyone and take them down with a single shot—and he never misses. Golgo 13 is the James Bond of Japan, but without the wry sense of humor. Saito's indefatigable mercenary first appeared in 1968 and has been a staple of manga and anime ever since. Viz's new edition marks his second appearance in English. This volume contains two stories from his long run. The first, originally printed in 1997, features a plot by Saddam Hussein to build a supergun that could fire from its secret location in Iraq and hit a target in the United States, with no chance of any countermeasures stopping the blast. The story is mostly a convoluted plot featuring dozens of characters including a caricatured President Clinton and very little of Golgo himself. Reading the story now gives a creepy sense of déjà vu. The second story, a vintage tale from 1979, is more about Golgo 13's fearsome reputation than the man himself. Long unavailable in English, Golgo's muscular adventures should appeal to those looking for tough action tales, with Saito's old-school manga style crisply capturing details of violence and the men and weapons that make it.(Feb.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.