Lone Wolf 2100

The Lone Wolf and Cub manga franchise returns with an all-new, self-contained title: a futuristic reimagining by American screenwriter and director Heisserer (Final Destination 5), artist Sepulveda (Stormwatch), and colorist Mena (Marvel Apes). In an apocalyptic world, where a virus has turned a majority of humankind into goblin-like monsters, everyone wants a piece of Daisy Ogami, a girl with immunity, from whom a cure can be created. Itto, her protector, goes through many explosive fight scenes and tragic backstories to keep her alive—protecting her not from goblins, but from the leaders of the world’s hobbled governments. Unfortunately, they’re are lost in the political implications of the cure rather than the humanitarian one, and Itto spends much of the book making arguments about this as he tries to get his charge from Chicago to the safe haven of Japan. The coloring is impressive but can’t fix the stilted art; the narrative delivers some important points but also feels like it’s just going through the motions. (Sept.)