Golgo 13 Volume 9 - Headhunter

Golgo 13, Vol. 9: Headhunter by Takao Saito
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Golgo 13 volume 9 - Headhunter collects two Golgo 13 adventures.

Like a lot of guys my age, I first heard of Golgo 13 through the NES game shortly after electricity was invented. I also picked up one of the issues Lead Comics put out shortly after the video game. That's been the extent of my Golgo 13 experience until now.

Golgo 13, aka Duke Togo, is a world class hitman. In this volume, he takes out the leader of a secret organization in one story and the guy who gave him bogus ammunition, leading to a botched job, in the other.

Both stories are slow burns. Duke is barely in The Headhunter at all and Accidental sees him playing detective more than killing. The character design of Golgo 13 is striking. His narrow eyes and long face set him apart from the rest of the characters.

I liked the artwork better in Accidental. I expect Takao Saito had more of a hand in Accidental and maybe even drew it himself instead of farming it out to one of his guys. Headhunter is more recent and uses a lot more shading and gray tones.

That's really all there is to it. I wish these were in phonebook sized omnibuses rather than these slim volumes. I'd like to see Viz reprint them chronologically instead of grouping whichever stories they feel like.

Golgo 13 volume 9 - Headhunter has whetted my appetite for more Duke Togo! Four out of five stars.

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