Koike was a prolific and highly influential writer of comics. His most famous co-creations were "Lone Wolf & Cub", "Lady Snowblood", and "Crying Freeman", all of which have been adapted into movie and TV. His work also influenced American comics creators like Frank Miller (who drew covers for reprints of Lone Wolf) or Stan Sakai, as well as filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino.
Koike also launched a college course in the 1980s to train young artists for comics, graduates include successful writers and artists like Rumiko Takahashi ("Ranma ½", "Inu Yasha"), Hideyuki Kikuchi ("Vampire Hunter D") or Tetsuo Hara ("Fist of the North Star").
Kazuo Koike passed away on April 17 of pneumonia. He was 82 years old.
