Zeros 2 Heroes - The People's Publisher

Yojimbo is an aspiring writer who hails from Greensboro, North Carolina, home of Orson Scott Card and Edward R. Murrow. He wrote, edited, and pencilled his first 22-page comic book at the age of eight. With the help of a fellow third-grader who added inks and colors, they published the notebook-paper based Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle epic to the local school library, with a distribution range hitting almost double-digits.

Afterward, Yojimbo's pursuit of a comics writing career took a backseat to the pursuit of terrorists for several years. He spent much time in Iraq working with the Intelligence and Special Operations communities in capturing several prominent enemies of the United States. In his free time, he was still able to write, direct, produce, and star in the 37 funniest-ever minutes of military humor film made with a cheap video camera and windows movie maker. You can't keep a creative insomniac down.

Finally free to go back to old hobbies, Yojimbo is currently working on several projects intended for submission to the larger independent companies.

This is a 7-issue miniseries about guilt, redemption, and the brotherhood of warriors. Four men bound by honor to avenge their fallen master find that our biggest debts are to the living, and the ones we have the hardest time forgiving are ourselves.

The story revolves around the true historical events between 1701 and 1703 in Edo, Japan. Lord Asano Naganori attacked an official of the Shogun's court named Kira for attempting to extort money and favors from Asano. For the assault, Asano was sentenced to commit Seppuku. 47 of Asano's most faithful Samurai plotted to take revenge against Kira. Outnumbered, they stormed Kira's castle, killed him, and took his head back to Asano's grave. They were then themselves ordered to commit Seppuku.

Asano?s death causes forgotten tensions and dark secrets between his highest ranking warriors to resurface. The faithful Samurai must work together to succeed in their vendetta, but will old rivalries and reopened wounds cause them to destroy themselves and each other?

Oishi Kuranosuke was the leader of the group, who sacrificed his family and dignity to deceive the public from his true intentions and cause Kira to let his guard down. Fuwa Kazuemon, the greatest swordsman of the 47, had actually been made Ronin by Asano years prior to the Edo incident for committing an unspeakable crime, and yet he returned to help in the attack. Terasaka Kichiemon was in fact not a Samurai according to history, and was the only one of the 47 spared from the fate of Seppuku. Mysteriously, the other 46 denied his role in the attack, despite his signature being on their pact of vengeance. Yoshida Chuzaemon was Oishi's second-in-command and the knight to whom Terasaka was squire.

As the events of the main story revolve around overt tensions between the three men and how they will execute the plot, they also struggle with past sins. Kazuemon was Yoshida's pupil many years prior. Yoshida was a harsh teacher and overbearing lord. To show Yoshida his true capabilities, Kazuemon tested a sword on a dead body; a criminal offense. Before he was cast out, Kazuemon had initiated an affair with Yoshida's daughter, and she became pregnant. The girl died giving birth, having never told Kazuemon of the baby. Yoshida found his daughter and the truth too late. Thinking Kazuemon long gone, he claimed the child as a foundling. Oishi knew of the affair and Yoshida's mistreatment of Kazuemon all along. However, while he did nothing to stop Yoshida, it was Oishi that terrorized Yoshida's daughter into ceasing the affair, and Oishi that voted to have Kazuemon put to death instead of banishment. Oishi's motivation for all this had been to save the honor of both Yoshida and Asano, but now with Asano dead and his relations with Yoshida strained, Oishi feels that he has failed entirely. Meanwhile, Yoshida intends to keep Terasaka's true Samurai lineage a secret in a hope that if he lives as a lesser soldier, he will live a long life and not face the difficult encumbrances of a Samurai's responsibilities. This comes into direct conflict with Terasaka's own desire to somehow become a Samurai, Kazuemon's return, and forces of destiny. When Oishi begins plotting to avenge Asano, he feels compelled to invite Kazuemon to join the group. This begins a chain of events that will unravel secrets and desires all three men have regarding how they wish to deal with the past, and Terasaka's own future. All this plays against the antagonist and foil, Kira, whose selfish and calculating political machinations fly in the face of everything the Samurai stand for. As we see Oishi destroy himself to succeed in his mission, Kira will ultimately indulge himself into his own brutal end.

In the end, the men find that their plot to kill Kira is a superficial path to redemption and that no such act for a dead man can make them feel absolved of their past sins. Ultimately, there must be forgiveness given and received from the living. The only way these men can save their own souls is to turn to each other with genuine compassion. They find that their desire to keep Terasaka safe is only a cover to avoid facing their own failures. It is his purity that leads them to redemption.