Lone Wolf 2100 Vol.1: Shadows on Saplings

Written by Mike Kennedy
Art by Francisco Ruiz Velasco

I've never read the original Lone Wolf and Cub, despite having looked longingly at the Frank Miller covers as a teenager, but thought I'd give this update from the early part of the last decade a try, basically because I liked Francisco Ruiz Velasco's work on Wildcats 3.0.

Basically, Kennedy took the original idea of a ronin wandering through the Japanese countryside protecting a small child, and set it in a post-Apocalyptic future.  The 'lone wolf' is an android (an EmCon, in the language of the story).  So basically, this is Grendel: War Child, except not as good.

This book got off to a slow start, although it did pick up towards the end, once everyone was introduced and there was a little more action.  I can see how there would have been potential for this series, had it gone a little wilder in terms of its plot elements, but I don't feel like there's enough here to bring me back for the next two volumes.