The 2026 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards (“Ringo Awards”) announced its winners at 26th annual Baltimore Comic-Con on September 26. The Deluxe Edition of Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima‘s Lone Wolf and Cub samurai manga won the “Best Presentation in Design” award from the jury and fans. May Hijikuro is credited as the designer.

The first volume of the Deluxe Edition of the manga shipped on December 9.

The original manga centers on Ogami Ittō, who is an executioner for the Shogun. After he is framed and his wife murdered, he and his infant son Daigorō wander the country as assassins for hire, while also working toward their own revenge.

Koike and Kojima original serialized the manga from 1970-1976. Kojima died in 2000 and Koike died in 2019.

First Comics premiered the manga in English in May 1987. The series was one of the first manga published in North America, and the first manga to be released in North America on a monthly schedule. Dark Horse Comics began releasing the series in 2000 as the first manga series to be published in North America straight to graphic novels that corresponded with the Japanese releases. In 2013, Dark Horse began releasing the series in omnibus format. In 2017, the company announced a Gallery Edition reprint that was released in a single volume in July 2018.

The manga inspired six feature movies starring Tomisaburō Wakayama, four stage plays, and a television series. As of October 2017, Paramount had the rights to a separate English-language live-action film adaptation of the manga.

Dark Horse Comics has also released the New Lone Wolf & Cub sequel manga and the Western comic series Lone Wolf 2100.

The manga recently inspired a kabuki stage play adaptation that ran at Kabukiza Theatre in Tokyo from June 3-25.

The Ringo Awards, named after the late comic artist Mike Wieringo, recognize achievements across the comic book industry, with categories ranging from Best Cartoonist and Best Series to Best Original Graphic Novel and Best Webcomic. Both fans and professionals choose the nominations, and final voting is limited to professionals working in the comics field. The the awards ceremony itself is open to both fans and industry members. 2026 marked the 10th annual awards.

Source: Email correspondence

The official X (formerly Twitter) account for writer Tsukasa Monma and the late artist Shikako‘s Manchuria Opium Squad manga announced on Monday that the manga will resume in this year’s 45th issue of Kodansha‘s Weekly Young Magazine, which will ship on October 5. The manga will continue serialization with Shikako‘s successor, manga artist Tsurushima, who was their senior colleague while working as assistant for Yasuhisa Hara‘s Kingdom manga.

Hara also shared the announcement on his X/Twitter account. Hara stated that Shikako expressed before they died the hope that an artist from the Kingdom man ga would take over the artwork for Manchuria Opium Squad. Hara commended Tsurushima for their resolve to succeed Shikako and continue drawing the manga’s art.  

Manchuria Opium Squad will resume on October 5 with two chapters. The 12-page chapter 216 was originally planned to be 16 pages long. Shikako was able to complete 11 pages before they died. Monma arranged the 12th page, which does not feature any characters, and the assistant(s) who had been supporting Shikako drew the background. From chapter 217, the manga will take a new step with art by Tsurushima.

Weekly Young Magazine‘s editorial department stated in the announcement that the manga’s resumption is made possible by the thoughts and dedicated efforts of many people including Shikako‘s family; Tsurushima, who respected a friend’s final wish and took over the manga’s art; writer Monma, who expressed their desire to continue the manga’s story up to its conclusion; the assistants who provided production support; and the readers who believed and waited for the manga’s return.

Monma and Shikako serialized the manga on Kodansha‘s Comic Days service from April 2020 to September 2021. The manga moved to Kodansha‘s Weekly Young Magazine in September 2021, with its 43rd issue of 2021. Kodansha shipped the 22nd compiled book volume in November 2025.

Kodansha publishes the series in English on the K MANGA app. 

Shikako died on November 8, 2025 due to choroidal melanoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in the eye. The artist wanted someone to complete the manga series in their place, and the Weekly Young Magazine staff stated then that they would respect Shikako‘s wishes. 

Writer Ryūki Ōnuma and Tsurushima launched the Shikyuuji: Kōkō Kyūji ni Asu wanai manga in Young Magazine in June 2023. The series then moved to Kodansha‘s YanMaga Web manga site in December 2023, where it ended in January 2024. Tsurushima most recently drew the Gokuaku Tensei (Extremely Evil Reincarnation) manga, which ended with its fourth volume that Kodansha shipped on July 17.

Sources: Manchuria Opium Squad manga’s X/Twitter account, Oricon News