Samurai #22

Samurai #22 Aircel, 1987, b&w.

1 Samurai #22 cover Illustration: Blair, Yap
SYNOPSIS
Father Tucker holds Mary's dead body. He yells at Toshiro to get out of there. Roll call: Jonathan Biggs (macho and shirtless), Mitch Miller, Billy Ruby, Alana Dale, Toshiro. A clone gets a star in his head. An alarm is set off as Toshiro's group attack via tunnel 18. Marduk thinks he should move to the sewers of NY for some peace and quiet there (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST aside). On the back of his chair is written "Marduk Ruler of the Supreme Kind." Explosions rip into Alana and she has a grenade surprise for five clones. Before they leave her, Toshiro calls her "truly Samurai." The others run into a massive crowd of clones. Mitch is shot in the head and Billy shots them but is shot many times. Toshiro and John get on their stomachs and shoot. John remains behind to get rid of the rest of the clones while Toshiro goes up to get Marduk. Marduk watches Toshiro on his screens. Toshiro cuts off Marduk's head but Marduk shoots at Toshiro. John throws a bag of bombs seeing an octo creature blob eating skeletal remains. John shoots at a central power generator which overloads. John puts Toshiro down next to Marianne. Toshiro tells them to give his sword to his sister Gen..."tell her I finally put it down." Father Tucker (whom Toshiro always called Tuck against Marianne's wishes) tells Toshiro he is sorry. Toshiro asks the two, John and Tuck, to leave. Toshiro opens his hand which has a grenade in it and blows him and Marianne's body up. In the smoke filled night sky we see Toshiro and Marianne's faces as Tucker and John walk off. A saying, "Sparks leap to flames light the sky. Embers Fade. Who counts the cost of honour?

REVIEW
Toshiro leads his forces back into the sewers for a decisive showdown with Marduk. In brutal fighting most of them are killed. Toshiro finally confronts Marduk and slashes his head off with the sword, but not before Marduk pumps six bullets into his chest. Toshiro's last surviving partisan, big John Biggs, reaches Toshiro and carries him back out of the sewers to the Firehall where he is laid beside the defunct Marianne. Instead of expiring in the usual way Toshiro insists upon blowing himself up with a hand grenade. I have to wonder how much cheerier this book would have been if he had tossed that grenade at Marduk instead of charging a loaded pistol! Anyway, this is the real, final and official end of Toshiro--he doesn't come back from this one. Bummer.

The cover by Barry is stylish though disturbing as it shows Toshiro with five or six bullet holes in his body, including one right where a normal person's heart would be located. Interior artwork does not seem to have anything by Barry, but is a combination of Guang Yap, Roger Camm, and Mike Charbonneau. All quite good, though grim.

	Samurai #22	Aircel, 1987, b&w.
1		Illustration: Blair, Yap SYNOPSIS Father Tucker holds Mary's dead body. He yells at Toshiro to get out of there. Roll call: Jonathan Biggs (macho and shirtless), Mitch Miller, Billy Ruby, Alana Dale, Toshiro. A clone gets a star in his head. An alarm is set off as Toshiro's group attack via tunnel 18. Marduk thinks he should move to the sewers of NY for some peace and quiet there (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST aside). On the back of his chair is written "Marduk Ruler of the Supreme Kind." Explosions rip into Alana and she has a grenade surprise for five clones. Before they leave her, Toshiro calls her "truly Samurai." The others run into a massive crowd of clones. Mitch is shot in the head and Billy shots them but is shot many times. Toshiro and John get on their stomachs and shoot. John remains behind to get rid of the rest of the clones while Toshiro goes up to get Marduk. Marduk watches Toshiro on his screens. Toshiro cuts off Marduk's head but Marduk shoots at Toshiro. John throws a bag of bombs seeing an octo creature blob eating skeletal remains. John shoots at a central power generator which overloads. John puts Toshiro down next to Marianne. Toshiro tells them to give his sword to his sister Gen..."tell her I finally put it down." Father Tucker (whom Toshiro always called Tuck against Marianne's wishes) tells Toshiro he is sorry. Toshiro asks the two, John and Tuck, to leave. Toshiro opens his hand which has a grenade in it and blows him and Marianne's body up. In the smoke filled night sky we see Toshiro and Marianne's faces as Tucker and John walk off. A saying, "Sparks leap to flames light the sky. Embers Fade. Who counts the cost of honour?
		REVIEW Toshiro leads his forces back into the sewers for a decisive showdown with Marduk. In brutal fighting most of them are killed. Toshiro finally confronts Marduk and slashes his head off with the sword, but not before Marduk pumps six bullets into his chest. Toshiro's last surviving partisan, big John Biggs, reaches Toshiro and carries him back out of the sewers to the Firehall where he is laid beside the defunct Marianne. Instead of expiring in the usual way Toshiro insists upon blowing himself up with a hand grenade. I have to wonder how much cheerier this book would have been if he had tossed that grenade at Marduk instead of charging a loaded pistol! Anyway, this is the real, final and official end of Toshiro--he doesn't come back from this one. Bummer. The cover by Barry is stylish though disturbing as it shows Toshiro with five or six bullet holes in his body, including one right where a normal person's heart would be located. Interior artwork does not seem to have anything by Barry, but is a combination of Guang Yap, Roger Camm, and Mike Charbonneau. All quite good, though grim.