By Wes Jones

Home is where the heart is… and the samurai swords. Mini-series Children of Saigo from publisher AAM-Markosia follows the remaining members of the Iwanaga clan, a family of modern samurai living in Chicago. Ben, Shiro, Zoe and Teron are the young adult children of police officer, Mike Iwanaga. The family are descendants of Koji Iwanaga, sole survivor of the Battle of Shiroyama. Koji was tasked by actual historical figure Saigō Takamori with the mission of retreating and ensuring the samurai way of life and Bushido code survive. The Iwanaga’s background comes at a price, however. Due to their unique pedigree, a yakuza boss’ daughter wants their heads as trophies. The cover and synopsis may lead you to believe this to be a testosterone-fueled, katana and handgun murder fest, and some of it is. It becomes clear in the first issue however, that family and tradition, not bloody revenge, are by far the most prevalent themes.