Samurai or bushi were members of the warrior class in Japan. Originally provincial warriors who served the Kuge and imperial court in the late 12th century, they eventually came to play a major political role until their abolition in the late 1870s during the Meiji era.
Shogun, officially sei-i taishōgun, was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamakura period and Sengoku period when the shoguns themselves were figureheads, with real power in the hands of the shikken (執権) of the Hōjō clan and kanrei (管領) of the Hosokawa clan. In addition, Taira no Kiyomori and Toyotomi Hideyoshi were leaders of the warrior class who did not hold the position of shogun, the highest office of the warrior class, yet gained the positions of daijō-daijin and kampaku, the highest offices of the aristocratic class. As such, they ran their governments as its de facto rulers.
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers is an underground comic about a fictional trio of stoner characters, created by the American artist Gilbert Shelton. The Freak Brothers first appeared in The Rag, an underground newspaper published in Austin, Texas, beginning in May 1968, and were regularly reprinted in underground papers around the United States and in other parts of the world. Later their adventures were published in a series of comic books.
Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy comic book character created by Sergio Aragonés. His stories are written and drawn by Aragonés, dialogued and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai and colored by Tom Luth. Over the years, Groo has been published by Pacific Comics, Eclipse Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics.
Paul Douglas Cornell is a British writer. He is best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, being the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield.
Steve Englehart is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
Samurai Champloo is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete airing on Fuji Network System. It was licensed for North American broadcast on Adult Swim, and for commercial release first by Geneon Entertainment and later by Crunchyroll. It was also licensed for English releases in the United Kingdom by MVM Films, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. A manga adaptation was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Ace during 2004, later released in North America by Tokyopop the following year.
Jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
Big Hero 6 is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and created by Man of Action.
Ronin is an American comic book limited series published by DC Comics between 1983 and 1984. The series was written and drawn by Frank Miller with artwork painted by Lynn Varley. It takes place in a dystopic near-future New York City in which a ronin is reincarnated. The six-issue work shows some of the strongest influences of manga and bande dessinée on Miller's style, both in the artwork and narrative style.
Boris the Bear is a fictional comic book character featured in several comic book titles published between 1986 and 2008. The series began as a response to the popularity of the wave of anthropomorphic animal titles that began with the publishing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1984. That title, itself a parody of popular comic books at the time such as Daredevil, inspired numerous knock-offs and parodies like Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung-Fu Kangaroos, Mildy Microwaved Pre-Pubescent Kung Fu Gophers and Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils which led to what many refer to as the Black-and-White Boom of the mid-1980s. The Boris character started as bear who was tired of these comic books and decides to kill them in a hyper-violent style reminiscent of 1980s films such as Rambo. After the first issue, Boris the Bear continued to fight parodies of the Transformers, Marvel Comics, Swamp Thing, and Elfquest before moving on to more character-driven stories.
Yagyū Sekishūsai Taira-no-Munetoshi was a samurai in Japan's Sengoku period famous for mastering the Shinkage-ryū school of combat, and introducing it to the Tokugawa clan. He was also known as Shinsuke, or Shinzaemon.
The Japanese war fan, or tessen, is a Japanese hand fan used as a weapon or for signalling. Several types of war fans were used by the samurai class of feudal Japan and each had a different look and purpose.
Samurai Executioner, known in Japan as Kubikiri Asa (首斬り朝), is a 10-volume manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima, the same team that created the popular Lone Wolf and Cub series. The series was first serialized in Japan, from 1972–1976. Samurai Executioner is set earlier than Lone Wolf and Cub, with the main character of the former series appearing in a chapter of the latter.
Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld is a superhero published in American comic books created by DC Comics. Created by writers Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn and artist Ernie Colón, she debuted in The Legion of Superheroes #298 in April 1983.
Mark E. Rogers was an American author and illustrator.
Afro Samurai is a Japanese seinendōjinshi manga series written and illustrated by manga artist Takashi Okazaki. It was originally serialized irregularly in the avant-garde dōjinshi manga magazine Nou Nou Hau from November 1998 to September 2002. Inspired by Okazaki's love of soul and hip hop music and American media, it follows the life of Afro Samurai who witnessed his father, Rokutaro killed by a gunslinger man named Justice while he was a child. As an adult, Afro sets off to kill Justice and avenge his father.
The Sword of Skelos is a fantasy novel by American writer Andrew J. Offutt, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, the third and final volume in a trilogy beginning with Conan and the Sorcerer and continuing with Conan the Mercenary. It was first published in paperback in May 1979 by Bantam Books, and reprinted in August 1981. Later editions were issued by Ace Books and Tor Books. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in 1989.
5 Ronin is a five issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics starring superheroes Wolverine, Hulk, the Punisher, Psylocke, and Deadpool reimagined as rōnin, masterless samurai set in 17th-century Japan. The series is written by Peter Milligan and features a rotating cast of artists. The first issue was released on March 2, 2011.
Frank Cirocco is an American comics artist and video game designer best known as the co-creator of Alien Legion with Carl Potts and Alan Zelenetz.
