Samurai Executioner, Vol. 4: Portrait of Death
The four stories in the fourth book in Dark Horse's project to publish in English the 1990s Japanese series Samurai Executioner veer farther from the beaten paths of the crime story than anything in its predecessors. The usually solemn-to-grim-faced Asaemon even smiles, first in the long "An Offering of Cut Mochi," in which he dines with somekobushingumi(samurai without official appointments who receive small salaries) after watching them in an attack exercise, and again in the brief "The Season of New Straw," when he buys some of a pretty young street-vendor's wares (women entwine some new straw in their hair to promote good circulation). Both stories turn gory yet in conclusion illustrate the executioner's sympathy for even those he encounters professionally. Both also elucidate Edo-period historical details, as do the psychologically acute "Portrait of Death," about Asaemon's near marriage to an artist who, like him, is the child of an executioner and sword tester, and "The Set-up," about a prison riot. The late Kojima's art remains utterly breathtaking throughout.Ray OlsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved