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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:48:08 GMT -5
IntroductionUSAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 27: A TOWN CALLED HELLI can’t tell you how pleasantly surprised I was when Diana Schutz rang me up on my new IPhone 5 - Time Magazine’s gadget of the year by the way - and asked if I would be interested in writing an introduction to Stan’s latest collection. First off, I was saddened to hear that Stan had left Marvel - Disney must have found someone cheaper to put on his soapbox - but I was glad Mike Richardson had given him a chance to work at Dark Horse. Diana quickly pointed out that it was the other Stan - Stan Sakai - and would I still be interested in doing an introduction to his latest collection? I think my robust laugh let her know I knew who she was talking about, and again I expressed how saddened I was that Fantagraphics had let Stan go, but glad that Mike Richardson had given him a chance to work at Dark Horse. That being said, and given the long list of luminaries who have been put to task writing introductions for Stan’s Usagi Yojimbo volumes, I wondered why Diana would have thought of me. So I asked, and she said that she wanted a philosophic bent, but Jean-Paul Sarte, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche were not returning her calls, and I was fourth on the list. I was flattered, to say the least, for although I have never read any of those fellows’ comics, I know people who have, and I knew I was in good company. Diana said she would need five hundred words, give or take, and I was a bit reluctant at first, given the recent difficulty I had even coming up with a combination of eight letters, numbers, or symbols for my eBay account, but this was for Stan Sakai - and, besides, I am considered Iowa’s reigning poet lariat. So, for inspiration, I trotted over to my Jewel-Osco, where I do my best thinking (in your region, it might be a Winn-Dixie, Piggly Wiggley, Albertson’s…. well, I better stop there before you get the idea I am padding out my word count - I think you get the idea), and began looking for inspiration as well as the evening’s menu. There was so much to choose from, but so little with real taste or nutritional substance. Sure, Count Chocula is pretty cool and turns your milk into chocolate milk, but then so do Coco Puffs. Frosted Flakes are great, but Honey Nut Cheerios are, too, and they are supposed to help lower cholesterol. And then it hit me. Usagi Yojimbo is like the greatest breakfast cereal in the world!!!!!!!! And, unlike many of the other cereals you find in your comics store, or comics you find in your cereal store - er, comics store - Usagi Yojimbo is not only great, but it helps lower cholesterol… well, not cholesterol, but it does something for your heart, and for your mind, to boot. How often can you say that about a comic book - or anything, for that matter? It is a heart-friendly brain food that makes you feel good about yourself whenever you eat it. I mean, read it. And if you are reading this volume of Usagi yojimbo for the first time… brother or sister, are you lucky, because there are twenty-six volumes before this one, and by the time you finish reading this one, or all of them, you’ll feel good about yourself, about comics, and about the choices that led you to buy these awesome (I only used the word “awesome” because I wanted to include some vernacular kids could relate to) books to begin with, because it means you care about great art, great story, and great nutrition….. I hope that’s five hundred words, If it is, then that’s awesome! Geof Darrow (2013) P.S. I drew Zato-Ino the Blind Swordspig, because I love the character and his movie counterpart Zatoichi so much, and I love Stan so much, and I am very selfish and wanted to have one of my drawings in his awesome books. Sorry. Is that five hundred words?
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:46:27 GMT -5
The Sound of One Pen DrawingUSAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 26: TRAITORS OF THE EARTHStan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo has been my favorite comic book, like…. forever. It’s the one comic I have read regularly for years. But be warned. I haven’t memorized it; I would fail a Usagi Yojimbo trivial pursuit contest. I don’t have that much unused memory storage left anyways. But I have read this book, since the beginning, for all the right reasons. Regularly, like clockwork, it brings me the unalloyed joy of reading a well-told, well-drawn story, about characters I have come to care about. For me, that’s the highest praise I can give any comic book. In some ways, I am transported back to the comics of my youth when I read the adventures of Usagi. Stan eschews bombast, the use of elaborate panel layouts, black gutters, or artwork extended beyond the edge of the page and trimmed. Any given issue is liable to contain thought balloons and sound effects. He fashions his stories using all the classic tools that comic books have used for years. In other words, Stan fills his comic book, every month, with straightforward storytelling that is by turns lyrical, direct, subtle, engaging, funny, and occasionally tragic. Stan’s art, in every sense, is always at the service of his story. I keep a copy of a quotation taped on the bookshelf to my right in my studio. It is there to remind me, lest I forget, of the nature of the business in which I engage, both as an artist and as a storyteller. It is a quote from C.S. Lewis, from his book The Great Divorse: “Every poet and musician and artist, but for grace, is drawn away from love of the thing he tells, to love of the telling till, down in Deep Hell, they cannot be interested in God at all but only in what they say about Him,” I do not work thinking that the Eye of God is looking over my shoulder and prodding me to do His will, or anything else for that matter. I fervently hope He has more important things to worry about. Mostly, I try to keep in mind the old quotation, sometimes erroneously ascribed to the Bible, that “God helps those who help themselves.” For me, the meaning of Lewis’s quotation is that I do not want to be caught and seduced by the cleverness of my own storytelling. I want whatever words and pictures I put down on paper to be at the service of my story. I will do things sometimes that are less than straightforward, but always with the thought that I am trying to make my story better. Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo is the complete exemplar of that idea. Stan never wastes a panel; he never throws away a moment or a word balloon, and his stories are fashioned with craft, care, devotion, and a deep respect for history. With every issue, Stan creates a comic that is a story for an audience of every age, in the best sense of that expression. Perhaps that is why these books transport me back to the days of my youth. That was when I read the stories of another writer/artist about whose work I feel the same way: a Mr. Cal Barks, purveyor of duck stories for about a quarter-century. The biography of the masterless ronin, Usagi Yojimbo, continues. I invite the reader to join me, and accompany Usagi on his marvelous journey. Walter Simonson (January 2012)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:44:33 GMT -5
My Journey with Usagi Yojimbo USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 25: FOX HUNT
Several years ago (I honestly don’t remember how many years), I found myself on an exciting journey. An unexpected trek that provided adventure, danger, treachery, and even romance. Of course, it wasn’t my journey. I was only a tagalong trying hard to keep up. I’ll have to admit, the surroundings and countryside were not exactly familiar. Then again, this was not my homeland nor was it my time. In spite of this, I quickened my pace. It was too intriguing, and I knew there was a good deal I would learn along the way. After all, how often does one get to accompany a samurai warrior on his travels?
Naturally, I was delighted to share these remarkable adventures. And it was an opportunity afforded me by a gifted artist and storyteller named Stan Sakai. I’m guessing you’re already well aware of the samurai warrior, Usagi Yojimbo. However, if you’re not acquainted with this unique character, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Like the master storytellers of comic book art, Stan Sakai breathes life into his animal characters and they become much more. They’re not human, of course. They don’t need to be. Stan’s characters are real.
The integrity of Stan’s storytelling is matched only by his art. Respectful of his medium, Stan crafts it all by hand. In an age of computers and digital shortcuts, every image on the page is meticulously penciled, inked, and drawn by the artist. Even the lettering is rendered by hand. As one who has lettered comics in years past, I’m well aware of the discipline and skill required.
Another unexpected plus of Usagi Yojimbo is color - or, rather, the lack of it. While most comics stories rely on their graphics, Stan Sakai proves that a colorful story can be effectively told in black-and-white. Actually, once you’ve delved into a Usagi Yojimbo story, you’re hardly aware the story is being told without color. Like the masters of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Stan can be likened to cinematographers such as James Wong Howe or Gregg Toland for his mastery of the black-and-white medium. Finally, the stories have a visual richness. The Japanese patterns and textures that adorn the pages of Usagi are not purchased visual aids. Rather, they spring from the pencil, brush, and pen of a dedicated artist. Call it “old school,” if you will, but it represents the vision of an artist who will not compromise.
Finally, there is Stan Sakai the consummate storyteller, with remarkable ability to engage the reader. As we follow the samurai on his adventures, Stan breathes life into his cast of unique characters. Like all of us, his characters are not immune from human frailty. They can be arrogant, vindictive, and selfish. Yet, others demonstrate courage, sacrifice, and honor. Through it all, Usagi Yojimbo remains pretty much unchanged. Consistent with his samurai oath, he’s the one constant in the series.
Of course, it gets even better. Our little group of cartoonists and writers happens to be lucky enough to join Stan Sakai for lunch each Friday. How many readers have this kind of access to the author? Should I have a Usagi question for Stan, he’s usually sitting right next to me. How cool is that? Naturally, my questions are few. A consummate storyteller, Stan rarely is required to explain his stories.
All right, you’ve probably heard too much from me. It’s time to discover Usagi Yojimbo for yourself. If you’re a devoted reader of the series, you already know what I mean. If you’re new to Usagi, I envy you because your journey is about to begin.
Floyd Norman (2011)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:44:11 GMT -5
Introduction USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 24: RETURN OF THE BLACK SOUL
Twenty-six years ago, a rabbit in samurai costume entered a lonely hut seeking shelter from a blizzard, announced, “I am called Miyamoto Usagi” - and began one of the most remarkable sustained narratives in the history of the comics.
Although his name comes from the warrior-hero Miyamoto Musashi, Usagi is a fusion of Japanese and American elements, from Akira Kurosawa and George Stevens to Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Will Eisner. Stan Sakai took the title for his comic from Kurosawa’s classic Yojimbo. A ronin (masterless samurai), Usagi began as a bodyguard-for-hire, but he quickly turned into a wanderer, following the musha shugyo (warrior’s path) to perfect his spiritual and martial skills.
Usagi owes as much to Alan Ladd in Shane as he does to Toshio Mifune in Yojimbo or Sanjuro. He’s the stranger who wanderes into town, rights a wrong, tosses out a tin-horn bully, solves a mystery, and maybe breaks a heart. The townspeople, a feudal lord, or a beautiful girl ask Usagi to stay, but he moves on. He may long for a peaceful, settled life, but the backroads and byways are his only real home.
Stan set Usagi Yojimbo in a country that resembles Japan in the early seventeenth century, shortly after the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate ended an era of civil wars. His careful research helps to bring his imaginary world to life. The buildings, tools, weapons, and costumes evoke the early Edo era, giving Usagi a believable stage for his adventures.
Usagi has a more complex personality than the standard comic book hero. An honorable and highly disciplined practitioner of bushido, the warrior’s code, he despises bullies.He’ll help anyone in trouble, and his propensity for sticking his nose in other’s business often lands him in trouble. His mischievous sense of humor balances his volatile temper. Usagi prefers not to kill, but when he’s forced to unsheathe his weapon, his consummate swordsmanship (“swordsrabbitship”?) enables him to dispatch enemies swiftly and decisively, leaving one of Stan’s delightfully weird skulls floating over the victim’s body.
The adventures in this collection focus on Jei, the demon who believes he’s a divine emissary of justice. Usagi destroyed the previous form of this murderous foe with the Kusanagi, the sacred sword of the sun-goddess Amaterasu, in Book 12, Grasscutter. But Jei requires a lot of killing. Taking possession of one body after another, he spreads death and terror wherever he appears. Stan leavens these dark tales with impish humor. Jei’s name is a pun: when the standard Japanese honorific -san is appended, it becomes “Jei-san” or “Jason,” the villion from the Friday XIII horror movies. And like Jason, Jei will be back.
Demons often appear in Japanese folktales. So do tengu (forest goblins) and kappa (water demons), whom Usagi has also fought. The more the reader knows about these traditions, the more he can appreciate the richness of Stan’s narrative. The supernatural attack of the monstrous spider in “The Doors” (Book 22, Tomoe’s Story) is a great ghost story. But it’s also an evocation of Yoshitoshi’s faous print “Minamoto no Yorimitsu Striking at the Ground Spider” and of the kabuki plays that feature spider-monsters.
The “Doors” works as both a straightforward tale and a modern retelling of a classic fable highlights Stan’s greatest skills: he’s a storyteller par excellence and a master of the comic book form. The crisp, calligraphic drawings and immaculately lettered words in Usagi Yojimbo present those stories more powerfully than words or images could alone. I was introduced to Stan and his work several years ago by our mutual friend, comics packager Lee Nordling. I’ve been a fan ever since, and continue to admire the apparently effortless way Stan fuses words and pictures into a seamless, timeless tale. Happily, the story continues, taking Usagi and the reader to new adventures that lie beyond the next bend in the road.
During the past twenty-six years, Usagi has survived countless sword fights, pitched battles, attacks by Jei and other monsters - and the equally violent ups and downs of the American comic book industry. Yet readership for the series has never flagged. Gen-X fans who enjoyed Usagi Yojimbo as teenagers have begun passing old, dog-eared books on to their kids, creating a second generation of readers.
Not bad for a rabbit who came in from the cold.
Charles Solomon (2010)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:43:43 GMT -5
Introduction USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 23: BRIDGE OF TEARS
Stan Sakai is a ronin.
I’ve never met the man, and I know it’s a mistake to confuse artists and their work, but in the world of comics, a cartoonist who creates, owns, and controls his or her own characters is the closest thing we have to a masterless samurai.
(Which is not to diminish the steady hand of Dark Horse editor extraordinaire Diane Schutz, but I think she’d be the first to admit she’s anything but Stan’s “master.”)
Unlike those of us who’ve toiled away in the world of corporate-owned superheroes, Stan Sakai is beholden to no one except his own muse, freely roaming the creative landscape and taking his long-eared protagonist anywhere Stan’s imagination desires.
In reading some of the other introductions to past collections, I realize that just as Usagi Yojimbo has selflessly bettered the lives of countless characters over the years, so too has Stan enriched an untold number of writers, artists, filmmakers, and other devoted fans.
Stan shouldn’t be blamed for my own inferior work, but Usagi was profoundly influential on my writing, particularly with the Vertigo series I co-created with artist Pia Guarra, Y: The Last Man. I was impressed and inspired by Stan’s thorough and thoughtful research, the elegant way he introduced a massive supporting cast throughout a breathless cross-country journey, and the confidence with which he allowed his pictures to speak volumes, always saying so much with seemingly so little.
That said, I only wrote my humble little book for a mere sixty issues, a feat that nearly killed me. Stan has written and drawn and lettered (oh, the beauty of his calligraphy!) every single panel of his masterpiece for more than one hundred and sixty issues (with the hundredth Dark Horse installment included in this very collection).
Forget the oft-repeated and relatively meaningless fact that he’s somehow found the discipline to put out these issues on time every time - how about the fact that that the book has been consistently outstanding since its very first page? In an era when even the best television shows often become stale after just a few seasons, Stan has found a way to keep his serialized epic fresh for decades, always being brave enough to try new things while never being fickle enough to forget what made his story connect with so many readers across the world in the first place.
If you have never read Usagi Yojimbo before, any collection is a fine place to start (especially this one), thanks to Stan’s gift of writing instantly relatable characters into surprisingly accessible adventures. And just because Usagi features a talking bunny, don’t be fooled into thinking this is only a book for kids (although it’s one of the few comics out there that I’ll happily share with my young nephew). The stories are sophisticated, thrilling, hilarious, and heartbreaking, not in spite of the furry creatures, but because of them.
From Uncle Scrooge to Maus, comics have had a rich tradition of using anthropomorphic animals to escort us into unfamiliar worlds, and Usagi Yojimbo has taken this gaijin to places in feudal Japan that more traditional guides never could. Rabbits and bats and rhinos transcend race and creed and nationality, and allow us to experience stories, perhaps counterintuitively, on a purely human level.
Usagi Yojimbo is as sharp, skilled, and good-hearted as its hero, and as honorable as its creator.
May they never find masters.
Brian K. Vaughan (February 2009)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:43:12 GMT -5
Introduction USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 22: TOMOE'S STORY
The process by which reality becomes a legend is as shrouded in mystery as the origins of a legend itself. How does a war leader who shows some grit against the Romans become King Arthur in chain mail, sitting around a round table with a fairy-witch waiting for him in a lake? How does a boy from Tupelo, Mississippi named Elvis become a spiritual icon on a black velvet painting?
Stan Sakai’s work in Usagi Yojimbo is infused with legends. The past comes back to haunt the characters, both in corporeal and fantastic forms. Kitsune uses her past relationship with Usagi to annoy Tomoe and distract her from Kitsune’s thieving ways. The sinister painter Goyemon uses the legend of Minamoto No Yorimitsu to enact a plot against Lord Noriyuki. In “Fox Fire” another legendary figure comes to life to make things difficult for our heroes.
Stan’s reverence for research is somewhat legendary. While the stories he tells unfold with perfect clarity and even simplicity, an unseen wealth of background and historical knowledge gives every tale a solid grounding and structure that ties the overarching story together.
The lady samurai Tomoe, whose origin and character we learn in this volume, is an example of both legend and research. For a series that features anthropomorphic rabbits and foxes as main characters, there’s still a reality to Usagi that makes certain elements more “normal” than others. Giant snakes and demon foxes we can accept - but what about a female samurai who is a trusted adviser and bodyguard? Surely that is an invention - except that Stan’s noble feline warrior is based upon Tomoe Gozen, a female samurai of the twelfth century who fought in the Battle of Awazu and decapitated at least one foe.
Of the fate of the historical Tomoe Gozen, many tales are told. Some say she survived the battle, others that she became a nun, others that she was taken in marriage. As with most “real legends,” the outcome may depend on the storyteller’s view of what constitutes a happy ending.
The stories in this volume bring together history, adventure, mystery, and good old-fashioned derring-do. But there is a bit more, as well. “Chanoyu” - or “Tea Ceremony” - is not only a meticulous depiction of the complex ceremony, but wordlessly shows repressed emotions throughout the ritual, a testament to Stan’s cartooning skills. But the story would not be so moving if he hadn’t done such a marvelous job of laying the foundations of the characters over the years.
In the business of comics publishing circa 2007, the ongoing comic book series has become something of an awkward concession to a previous business model. To my mind, only a handful of ongoing comics live up to the potential of the serial form, and Usagi stands foremost among them. Without this ongoing serial format, Stan wouldn’t have had the time and momentum to create a great story like “Chanoyu.” With over twenty years of publishing and over twenty collections, there is much to savor in the recurring themes and variations, the pleasures of seeing old characters reunited, and the sorrow at seeing them part… for months or even years. Such a rich tapestry is only possible when executed with great storytelling and flawless cartooning skills. By now, Stan Sakai is becoming a bit of a legend himself.
Heidi MacDonald (March 2008)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:42:50 GMT -5
Introduction USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 21: THE MOTHER OF MOUNTAINS
I grew up in West Los Angeles, California. As a kid, I could take a bus all the way from Sepulveda down Wilshire Boulevard to La Brea Avenue, where for many years there was a movie theater called the Toho La Brea. The Toho La Brea screened only Japanese films in their original versions, with English subtitles. There were Japanese-owned nurseries all over West L.A. then, and many of my schoolmates were Japanese-American. And it was those kids who introduced me to the Toho La Brea Theater and the Samurai movie.
While most of the population of the United States was first introduced to Japanese cinema by the bastardized Godzilla, King of the Monsters, I had already seen the glories of Kurosawa and the magnificent Toshiro Mifune.
So, many years later, when I was with my (then little) son Max at the legendary Golden Apple comic-book store on Melrose, my eye was naturally drawn to the colorful cover of a comic featuring what appeared to be a samurai rabbit! After leafing through just a few pages, I was hooked. Yojimbo is now not just the title of one of my favorite movies, but Usagi Yojimbo has become the title of one of my favorite comics, too!
I hold Stan Sakai right up there with Winsor McCay, Chester Gould, Art Spiegelman, Robert Crumb, Jules Feiffer, Will Eisner, and all the others who can move me and tell such wonderful stories with just drawings on the page.
This collection of nine issues of Usagi Yojimbo in one volume tells the tale of two cousins and a lost mine. The evil Noriko can hold her place among the great villainesses - like Cruella De Vil, but with deadly martial skills! This whole saga reminds me again of how close the samurai stories are to our Westerns. If Italians can make Westerns in Spain, why can’t Stan make realistic samurai tales about a brave and accomplished and honorable rabbit? Stan Sakai can, and he does!
The similarities between comics and film are well known. Movie storyboards - illustrated shot lists - are just comics, after all. When a movie - or a play or book or graphic novel or painting - succeeds, it’s called “suspension of disbelief.” Simply, you believe it.
You’re there. Stan’s work does that. In some weird feudal Japan where these strange lizards run around and anthropomorphic warriors and peasants live, I lose myself entirely.
I love this stuff!
John Landis (March 2007)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:42:29 GMT -5
I Want to be Stan Sakai USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 20: GLIMPSES OF DEATH
I first got to know Stan in early 1998, when I helped organize a forum in Tokyo for North American and Japanese cartoonists and comic book artists. I acted mainly as a coordinator and interpreter for the forum organizer, Tezuka Productions, but I also got to help select some of the artists from the states. It was easy to propose Stan as a candidate, since I had long admired his work.
The manga industry has become gargantuan and global, so much so that some people in the business in Japan have begun to look down their noses at North American cartoons and comics, or to consider them limited to superhero fare. In selecting artists for the forum, one of our goals was therefore to introduce people to the wide variety of work being done in North America. In retrospect, to many of the forum’s Japanese participants, Stan must have seemed original to the point of being mind-boggling. Born in Japan of a Japanese-American father and a Japanese mother, but raised in Hawaii and culturally very much American, he draws American comics heavily influenced by Japanese samurai movies, set in feudal Japan, but populated with furry animals and occasional dinosaur characters. To merely call Stan’s Usagi Yojimbo “original” is a terrible understatement.
I was recently reflecting on what it is that I like so much about Usagi. I was watching Yoji Yamada’s 2005 film, The Hidden Blade, the follow-up to his immensely popular Twilight Samurai. It hearkens back to the golden era of samurai movies, á la director Akira Kurosawa and others, and was so good that it made me hunger for more. It also made me want to go back and read Usagi Yojimbo, too, for I realized that Usagi has the same wonderfully rich, detailed, immersive, and otherworldly quality that I love about early postwar samurai films. And of course Usagi’s also got another favorite of mine - furry animals! I know that Stan grew up watching samurai films in Hawaii, and also was probably glued to the box on Saturday morning watching the furry-animal TV cartoon masterpieces of his day. But until Stan came along, I doubt if anyone had ever thought of combining these two worlds, at least in such an entertaining, well-researched, tongue-in-cheek, and only slightly (but deliberately) historically inaccurate way. If all these adjectival phrases sound as though they shouldn’t co-exist, well, in Usagi they get along like dear old friends.
One would think that someone with as much talent as Stan might be a difficult person, occasionally given to smashing hotel rooms and checking into rehab, but he isn’t like that at all. I don’t know anyone so original, who seems to enjoy his work so much, and who is also so well-adjusted. And it shows in his work. To say that I admire Stan and his work is an understatement. I would love to be Stan Sakai.
Frederik L. Schodt (2006)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:42:05 GMT -5
Introduction USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 19: FATHERS AND SONS
Fathers and sons.
I have one and I am one.
Actually, that statement works no matter which side of the equation I place n=myself.
Like a lot of fourteen-year-old boys, my son shares the usual litany of common teenaged interests with many of his friends: hot new music, the ever-ubiquitous video games, any and all things Japanese, and - of course, thank god - comic books. Now, since my son is who he is and since his dad is who he is, Brennan and his pals have access to a veritable treasure trove of the latter on a regular and rotating basis. They tear through whatever I give them with a rabid hunger, consuming pages and pages of material that - when I was a kid - had to be unearthed with the most painstaking persistence and patience. Still, I’m overjoyed to be able to share my love of our unique medium with them, and I get a real kick out of seeing how their tastes develop and evolve.
And so it was that. about a year or so ago, they all discovered the rich and sprawling world of Usagi Yojimbo.
With a locust-like appetite, they consumed every available volume that I fed them - even digging up some, on their own, that I didn’t have. It was fun to see how deeply involved they became in this distinctive, epic tale that pairs the disarming style so commonly known as “funny animals” with a narrative depth that belies that description at almost every turn. I could often hear the boys discussing not only the individual character traits of Usagi’s wandering ronin and Jei’s soul-gathering demon, but also the artist’s clever use of symbolic word balloons, evocative dialogue, and smoothly paced action sequences.
One day, after I had finished work in my own home-studio, I came upstairs and heard the familiar chatter of Bren’s usual posse of pals all gathered in his bedroom. On my way to a much-needed shower, I stuck my head in the room and offered my usual hellos. This time, as I turned to go, one of my son’s oldest friends, Morgan, summoned me back. “Hey, Matt, wait, wait…”
I paused. “Yeah?”
“Um…” He seemed a bit embarrassed, as if he were about to ask an enormous favor of me.
“Do you…” (Here, his eyes went wide, actually twinkling with the most unfettered display of starstuck awe I think I’ve ever seen.) “Do you…. know Stan Sakai?”
I chuckled to myself. These guys had all been in and out of my studio for years. They’d seen me work on project after project that involved not only my own creations but also a wide variety of popular, established characters, and while surely impressed, they had never expressed this sort of enraptured delight.
“Yeah, sure,” I answered. “In fact, we had breakfast together just a few weeks ago at a convention in Seattle.”
To be so close, even by proxy, to his newfound hero struck my questioner silent. Nearby, his comrade Peter nodded knowingly and offered the only response imaginable. “That is so cool!”
What else could I possibly add to that?
Matt Wagner (2005)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:41:36 GMT -5
Introduction USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 18: TRAVELS WITH JOTARO
Back in November of 2003, Stan Sakai came to visit us here at Mirage Studios in Massachusettes, on his way to an appearance in Connecticut. Part of Stan’s reason to visit was to take part in some videotaped interview segments which would appear in the DVD release sometime next year of the episodes of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated TV series in which his characters Usagi Yojimbo and Gen appear, in a four-part story we are calling “The Big Brawl.”
During the part of the interview where both Stan and I were in front of the camaras, Stan mentioned in passing that both TMNT and Usagi were having their twentieth anniversary years in 2004. I hadn’t previously made that connection, and it got me thinking about those last twenty years, and specifically how Usagi had come into my life. I realized pretty quickly that while some things from the last twenty years are crystal clear, others are a little fuzzy.
One of those fuzzy things is where and when I first became aware of Usagi. I’m pretty sure it was in the pages of Steve Gallacci’s Albedo comic, which featured a variety of anthropomorphic characters, including a nicely drawn samurai rabbit named Usagi Yojimbo. After that, I started picking up the regular issues of Stan’s Usagi comic published by Fantagraphics, and I was hooked. Part of it was my interest in martial arts and Japanese culture, but I was also fascinated that this guy Sakai was able to create one of the most formidable fighting characters in comics history using a rabbit. I mean - a bunt! How much more cute and cuddly and soft and unthreatening a critter can you get? In less talented, more unimaginative hands, Usagi would have been eight feet tall, hugely and veinily muscled, with big gnashy teeth and glowering eyes. he’d probably wear armor and carry a gun of some kind, along with all kinds of hidden weapons. And he’d likely cross his arms and pose a lot.
But Stan’s Usagi is the antithesis of all that. Miyamoto Usagi is somewhat slightly build, not very tall, and usually carries only two weapons - the samurai’s two swords, the katana and the wakizashi. His demeanor is nearly always calm and centered, even in battle. In fact, in Stan’s Usagi comics, very often Usagi’s adversaries come to bad ends because they arrogantly misinterpret Usagi’s calm manner to mean he is weak or unwilling - or unable - to fight. hah! The fools…
I’m pretty sure the first time I ever met Stan was at the first San Diego Comic-Con that I attended, back in (if memory serves) 1985 or 1986. That was my first trip to California as well, and it was all pretty overwhelming. I wish I had a more clear memory of our first meeting, but in all honesty all I can remember is coming home with the impression that Stan seemed quite a lot like Jack Kirby had seemed, the first time I’d met him - an incredibly talented yet simultaneously really nice, humble guy. (The perfect combination of qualities, if you ask me.)
I know that a lot of people have already commented on just what a great guy Stan is, so I won’t go on too much about it. But it really is true. If you spend enough time in this industry, you come to realize that some of the smallest talents come with the biggest egos. It definitely makes you appreciate people like Stan.
Over the last twenty years, I’ve had the great pleasure of maintaining both a friendship and a good business relationship with Stan. I wish we could see each other more often, for the sake of the friendship … but unless Stan suddenly moves to the east coast or I start flying again, that’s not going to happen. I’ll just have to be satisfied with those times - like Stan’s visit to Northampton this past year - when our paths cross and it feels like almost no time has passed since we saw each other last.
Business-wise, I think that anyone would be hard-pressed to find a better person to work with. My dealings with Stan, mostly through my company Mirage Studios, have included publishing Usagi (and Stan’s spin-off Space Usagi) for a time, doing a few “crossover” comic book stories where Usagi meets one or more of the Turtles, co-developing a Space Usagi licensing proposal, getting an Usagi action figure into the original TMNT toy line as well as a couple of appearances of Usagi in the first TMNT animated series, and now incorporating Usagi into four episodes of the new animated series and into the new toy line as an action figure (which I must, happily, note will look much closer to the “real” Usagi of the comics than the old toy). And in all of that, Stan has shown what I think is perhaps the most valuable - but, sadly, least prevalent, in my opinion - trait in someone with whom one would want to do business: Stan is reasonable. He is no demanding prima donna, but he’s no pushover, either. And it’s refreshing to deal with someone like that.
Many people have noted the recent publication of the 300th and final issue of Dave Sim’s Cerebus comics as a significant event in the history of comics, and it certainly is - anyone who has ever tried to do one issue of a comic, let alone three hundred, can grasp at least a part of that significance. But I think it could be argued - even though, given the very different natures of the two comics, it is sort of like comparing apples to oranges - that Stan’s accomplishment with Usagi over the last twenty years and into the future is perhaps even more significant. And Stan has - except for the efforts of his cover colorists and publishers, which, while not inconsequential, are surely in the final analysis relatively small - done it all himself. He has - by himself, no background artist or co-writer, etc. - written, penciled, inked, and lettered all 130-plus issues of Usagi to date. That simply boggles my mind.
And even more mind-boggling is that through all of that time and all those issues, Stan has maintained the high level of quality both in art and writing. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say that Stan has maintained a steady increase in the level of quality in his Usagi comics as he becomes ever more adept and skilled, and his research into and knowledge of Japanese history and culture even more comprehensive. I have seen this in the last couple of years of reading Usagi, specifically in Stan’s inking: always solid and appropriate, Stan’s line work lately (at least to my eyes) has become deliciously lyrical, with wonderful gestures even in the simplest of lines.
I feel honored to have been asked to write the introduction to this Travels with Jotaro collection. I wonder if Stan thought of asking me to do it because when we saw each other last, I expressed to him my great delight with the fantastical elements of some key parts of this volume. As much as I like Stan’s work on Usagi in general, I really like it when he lets loose with some more fantastic concepts and characters, as he does it so well. I think the last three or four chapters of Travels with Jotaro are probably my favorite Usagi tales of all.
Usagi Yojimbo is a character who is always growing, changing, developing. As good as he is right now, he knows he can get better. he still makes mistakes (not many), and learns from them. This wandering samurai knows that there is a long road ahead of him, filled with new and old friends and foes, wonders, and adventures. His journey is far from over.
For the last twenty years, I’ve been fortunate to watch this journey of the rabbit ronin, shepherded by the capable hands of his creator, Stan Sakai. And I hope to be around to see the rest of it.
Peter Laird (March 19, 2004)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:41:05 GMT -5
IntroductionUSAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 16: THE SHROUDED MOONI was extremely surprised and pleased when Stan Sakai asked me to write the introduction to The Shrouded Moon, this latest collected volume of Usagi Yojimbo. Stan’s Federal Express pick-up-and-delivery person probably has more to do with the production of Usagi Yojimbo than I do, but his schedule was probably too busy for him to write an intro. However, it occurs to me that I’ve actually had a lot to do with Usagi Yojimbo over the years. In fact, I may be the single person most responsible for convincing Stan to pursue what would become a stellar career in comic books - at least, instead of him becoming yet another overlooked talent working on animated cartoons. I first met Stan in 1979, when he was one of an entourage of Hawaiian cartoonists visiting the San Diego Comic-Con (now known as Comic-Con International) led by Oahu’s much-loved cartoon sensei, Dave Thorne. The following year, Dave’s group (including young Stan) returned to the convention, as well as taking a side trip to Los Angelas. There, they dropped by Hanna-Barbera Productions, where I was working in the layout department on the new Flintstones TV cartoons. I was delighted to give my new friends an insider’s tour of the studio, where my co-workers greeted the newcomers with the same sort of poo-flinging (thankfully, not literally) that’s usually unleashed upon unsuspecting visitors to a zoo’s monkey house! Years later, Stan confided in me that the sight of dozens of animators laboring in identical cubicles is what convinced him that the one career he definitely didn’t want to pursue was making animated cartoons! And - other than co-creating a back-up story (“Digger Duckbill” in Fantagraphics’ Usagi Yojimbo #13, with Mark Evanier) back when Stan often spotlighted work by his cartoonist friends - I’m proud to claim I’ve had yet another effect on everyone’s favorite rabbit ronin. For decades, in addition to my own cartooning career in comic books, animation, and advertising, I’ve collected and studied what I refer to as “Oddball Comics.” These include mainstream comic books of all genres that, due to various nutty aspects, make one wonder how they ever got published in the first place! (If you’re curious about these, please visit my week-daily Internet column, “Oddball Comics,” featuring the world’s craziest comic books at www.comicbookresources/columns/oddball/.) One of the most popular - and certainly most ridiculous - catagories of Oddball Comics that I’ve identified are funnybooks bearing what I call “fish-in-the-face” covers. These four-color oddities feature cover scenes of people (usually bad guys) getting hit smack-dab in the face with a fish! Apparently, Stan’s a big fin, er, fan of these fish-in-the-face covers, too, as his cover of Usagi Yojimbo #49 - reprinted within this volume - attests. And if you think that’s a fluke (ow!), check out my guest appearance on pages 13 through 16 of “Three Seasons.” (Stan’s portrayed me as that thug with the crewcut and the aloha-print kimono!) Finally, here’s some observations about Stan himself. When I first met him, his work certainly showed great promise. But I can think of no one in comics who has worked harder than Stan to bring his level of writing, drawing, and sheer storytelling to the heights of excellence he delivers with each new issue of Usagi Yojimbo. I’m equally impressed with Stan’s ability to produce consistently outstanding work with the flawless self-discipline of a samurai. At our traditional Friday afternoon cartoonist lunches, many of our gang relate sob stories about creative blocks, clueless bosses, layoffs, or missed deadlines. Meanwhile, with a little smile on his face, Stan calmly hands out copies of the latest Usagi! Amazingly, Stan is also able to maintain a full life away from the drawing board as a wonderful husband and father. Everyone who knows Stan seems to respect and admire him; he’s certainly the most “balanced” person I’ve ever met. (As for his rotten side, well, you’ll just have to wait for the FedEx man’s introduction to the next Usagi Yojimbo collection to spill the beans about that!) We’re all lucky to have Stan’s Usagi Yojimbo to enjoy on a regular basis, but I’m especially lucky to have Stan as one of my best friends. And that is better than getting a fish-in-the-face any day! Scott Shaw! (September 27, 2002)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:40:36 GMT -5
Introduction USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 15: GRASSCUTTER II: JOURNEY TO ATSUTA SHRINE
There’s a Mark Twain line that I’m fond of paraphrasing, one of those well-burnished pearls o’ wisdom that I drop whenever someone comes to me and asks for advice in writing.
“I never use “policeman” for a dime when I can get “cop” for a nickel.”
When pressed, I explain that - at least to me - Twain’s talking about efficiency and economy, talking about the need of the artist to get out of the way of his or her work. He’s cautioning against self-indulgence, something that every artist in every medium must guard against. The worst thing a storyteller can do is believe that he is more important than the story being told.
But I’ve said it so often, it’s starting to sound a little hollow, even to me.
Then I pick up some of Stan Sakai’s work, I read a tale of Usagi and Gen, and the truth of it comes back - the essence of storytelling, and perhaps even the essence of capital-A Art, is honesty. The resonance of the image, the power of the story, the emotional connection the audience makes with the work, all of it lives or dies on the basis of its honesty. Set your story in the far-flung reaches of the universe with great quantum-drive battle cruisers, set it in a superheroic nihilistic future, hell, set it in feudal Japan with your cast portrayed as anthropomorphized rhinos and rabbits - it doesn’t matter as long as the story is fundamentally honest.
Because there are things we all share. We’ve all been cold, we’ve all been hungry. We’ve all been betrayed, if not all of us on a grand scale. We’ve all loved.
We’ve all lost.
The best storyteller can hold those truths in one hand, and conjure the tale in the other. The best storyteller can mesh them seamlessly, creating a connection with his audience that at once is both fantastical and absolutely real. In the ideal, a tale is told that resonates long after the last word is read, the last image viewed.
Stan Sakai … Stan Sakai not only does this, but he does it consistently, issue after issue, executing with elegance and economy the epic of Usagi Yojimbo. This collection is Sakai at his best - not a word out of place, not a brush stroke lain error.
Disguised as an adventure story of the most elementary kind - what can be more basic than a chase, after all? - Grasscutter II is so much more. From the foreshadowing prologue to the haunting first epilogue, Sakai teases out themes in words and image that first propel the narrative, then moves the heart. His language, both in text and image, is succinct, deft, and ever-precise.
Nothing in these pages is wasted.
In an age of self-indulgence, where more and more comics and their creators are enamored of flash and image, Stan Sakai never stands in the way of his own work. When we as a profession seem to be moving both forward and back all at the same time, that may be the highest praise anyone can offer.
Enjoy your journey to Atsuta.
Abayo!
Greg Rucka (December 2001)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:40:05 GMT -5
Behind the Rabbit’s Mask USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 14: DEMON MASK
From the ancient fables of Aesop to the contemporary cartoons of Bugs Bunny, the humble rabbit has long been a symbol of cleverness and survival. Even mythology’s master strategist, the fox, routinely comes off the loser when he tries to match wits with his fleet-footed adversary, as the African-American folktales of Br’er Rabbit readily attest. Whether he is called hare, cottontail, or jackrabbit, the little guy with the big ears and buck teeth is truly a timeless figure, and his legends have been told as long as there have been human beings around to tell them.
The storytelling tradition of ancient Japan holds friend rabbit in high esteem as well. As a child, one of my favorite bedtime stories was a rather ghoulish Japanese “fairy tale” telling of the murder of a farmer’s kindly wife by a wicked tanuki, or raccoon dog. It seems the good wife fed and sheltered the little demon, who later repaid the woman for her generosity by murdering her and serving up her stewed remains to the farmer. Pretty gruesome behavior for old tanuki, a comical creature usually depicted wearing an oversized straw hat and toting a sake bottle. Maybe he drank too much sake and became unhinged, or maybe he was simply one seriously sociopathic raccoon dog: the story was vague on that point. What is known is that the grief-stricken farmer was horrified at the crime, as was his good friend, a rabbit who lived in the nearby woods. Playing on the tanuki’s greed, the rabbit lured the evil creature away on a treasure hunt, then secretly set fire to the tanuki’s backpack. When the nasty varmint jumped into a river to douse the flames, the rabbit clubbed him with a paddle and that was the end of the tanuki. In this story, as in many others told throughout the world, we witness the triumph of a small and traditionally meek character who has called upon his brains and bravery to defeat a larger, more aggressive enemy. It is a classic theme and one which writer / artist Stan Sakai weaves masterfully through his endlessly imaginative ongoing series, Usagi Yojimbo.
Stan often pits Usagi, a rabbit ronin of seventeenth-century Japan, in combat against a host of humanoid wolves, cats, bears, and other less easily defined carnivores. Far more than a funny animal conceit, it always seemed to me that Stan was making a visual comment on the true natures of heroes and villains while perhaps referencing the great print maker Tsukikoa Yoshitoshi. In his depictions of Japanese legends, Yoshitoshi often revealed the hidden, many times horrifying animalistic nature of his human subjects. A woman’s shadow partially cast on a screen reveals the head of a fox. A samurai gazing into a dish of water sees not the pretty girl behind him but the reflection of her demonic inner being. In Yoshitoshi’s world, the face of serenity masks the darker parts of the human id. It’s only upon closer examination that we see the beast lurking within.
In the world of Usagi, the reverse is true. The animals’ faces are their masks while their humanity (or lack thereof) is revealed through their personalities, or to be more accurate, through Stan’s deft characterizations. Whether he is armed with swords or not, Usagi is often perceived by many to be a physically weaker character. Ignorant enemies overlook his speed and skill, to say nothing of his courageous heart, and that is their inevitable undoing. Usagi also possesses the samurai’s most valuable weapon, the wisdom of knowing when to fight and when to stand down. It’s a trait that some might mistakenly read a cowardice (as the boy Eizo does in the short story “A Life of Mush”), but it subtly recalls the moral put forth in director Akira Kurosawa’s samurai epic Sanjuro that the best swords are the ones that stay in their scabbards.
With the stories collected in this volume, Stan Sakai shows off every facet of Usagi’s engaging and complex personality. We see him as Usagi the warrior certainly, but in “The Inn on Moon Shadow Hill” we also meet Usagi the trickster. After discovering the truth about a colony of obakemono (goblins) infesting the woods near a lonely inn, Usagi adds his own fantastic spin on the tale, perceiving the legend of the creatures while slyly arranging a tidy profit for his efforts.
A much more serious encounter with demons is recounted in “Kumo,” Here Usagi joins forces with the mysterious demon-hunter Sasuke to destroy a terrifying spider-creature that has laid siege to a mountain village. The fox-like Sasuke is a terrific addition to Usagi’s extended cast of allies and enemies, and unlike the reluctant Usagi, I can’t wait for the mystic to make a return appearance.
The collection’s longest tale, “The Mystery of the Demon Mask,” places Usagi in a situation that calls on him to be as much detective as he is samurai. While searching for the masked fiend that has been killing masterless samurai, the rabbit ronin fights to stay alive in a tightening web of tragedy, betrayal, and madness. As with all good mysteries, the outcome is both surprising and satisfying, but Sakai goes a step farther to add a final bitter yet not inappropriate twist to the epic. It’s the sort of human touch that has placed Usagi Yojimbo far in front of every other “funny animal” book published since Carl Barks bid adieu to Duckburg thirty-five years ago.
It’s the mark of a great storyteller. It’s the stuff of legends.
Paul Dini (2001)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:39:40 GMT -5
The Case of Usagi Yojimbo USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 13: GREY SHADOWS
I am grateful to Stan Sakai for a number of reasons.
First, and foremost, he has created one of the best and longest-running independent comic-book series in the history of the medium.
Second, he has been nice enough to acknowledge me, in the story notes for “The Hairpin Murders,” as one of his two favorite mystery writers. (His other favorite is Ed McBain, whose 87th Precinct novels I have followed since I was about the age that my son Nathan discovered Usagi Yojimbo.)
And, finally, Stan Sakai did the impossible: he (however briefly) managed to make my teenage son impressed with his old man.
Stan Sakai is Nate’s favorite cartoonist, and Usagi Yojimbo is his favorite comic book. None of this is surprising, because Stan’s work is about as good as current comics get, and Nate was raised on a steady diet of Lone Wolf and Cub manga, John Woo movies, and Japanese video games.
For my entire life (short as it may be), I have been a great fan of comics. Living with a writer of comics made it inevitable: I grew up on everything from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Calvin and Hobbes. But at the tender age of eleven, I was subjected by my father to a different type of comic book - the manga. After I had read graphic novels like Barefoot Gen and the Lone Wolf and Cub series, my father steered me to Usagi Yojimbo.
These brief moments of respect I receive from Nate - however fleeting - have occurred at comics conventions when we have approached Stan, to get copies of Nate’s Usagi comics signed. And, invariably, inevitably, Stan lights up, seeing me, and informs Nate and me that he - the creator of Usagi Yojimbo! - has brought books of mine to have me sign.
This admiration, of course bewilders my son, but somewhere in the confusion is a stirring notion that his father may have some value… after all, Stan Sakai approves.
Which is fine with me, because I sure approve of Stan Sakai. Having worked, off and on, in this field since the late ‘70’s, I’ve become pretty jaded and little impresses me, particularly new stuff. But Stan Sakai is an exception: he stirs in me memories of the classic comic strips, where the likes of Dick Tracy and Little Orphan Annie and Wash Tubbs could - despite their cartoony depictions - enjoy thrilling adventures. His “funny animal” approach invokes the great Carl Barks guiding Uncle Scrooge through journeys of mystery and excitement, in exotic settings, thrilling tales that dared not to be terribly funny… just terrific. His boyish yet courageous Usagi summons the ghost of Herge’s Tintin, that kid reporter whose exploits managed to have a childlike innocence while being extremely adult.
I quickly became addicted to the cute rabbit and his adventures. I was drawn in by many aspects of the comic: the beautiful artwork, so detailed and simple at the same time; the Japanese culture and mythology, with demons, ninja, and sword fights; and the rich story lines that held it all together, the stories that brought alive Japanese folklore to an audience that would never have seen it otherwise… and fueled my interest in Japanese culture.
Stan Sakai has written and drawn a series that both Nate and I can read - and that Nate has been able to keep reading as he grows to adulthood.
In the stories in this book, Stan introduces one of his best characters - Inspector Ishida - who shares the same real-life role model as Charlie Chan: Honolulu detective Chang Apana. Ishida - who spouts wisdom in a vaguely Chan-like manner - is more like the hardboiled Apana than the mild-mannered Chan of Earl Derr Biggers’ novels (and the many films they spawned). Ishida is an action hero, and Usagi makes a great, sword-slinging Watson for him in mystery yarns that are involving, exciting, and deftly plotted.
Besides being an expert storyteller and artist, Stan Sakai is a genuinely kind man. He has always been very nice and personable to me and the rest of his fans I have met at various conventions. Stan Sakai deserves every bit of praise and respect that he has received, and I have no doubt that after reading this collection, you would agree with me.
Max Allen Collins (with Nathan Collins) (2000)
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Post by usagigoya on Mar 2, 2021 13:39:16 GMT -5
An American Kimikkusu USAGI YOJIMBO BOOK 12: GRASSCUTTER
While I have known about Stan Sakai’s work for some time, I came upon Usagi Yojimbo only recently. This is because my attention over the years has been centered on what I regarded as the expansion of the medium as literature, and I look for those works that seem to be “pushing the envelope.” From time to time I make a “discovery” such as Bone or encourage what I believe is a promising new self-published work. More often my attention is centered on trends, a focus that seemed so necessary during my years of teaching.
While I have always been a staunch apostle of the internationalization of our medium, I confess that I really assumed the form emanated from American comics. Oh, yes, as a student I studied early Japanese prints like the narrative work of Hiroshige, and I used a Japanese brush myself for a long time. I have admired modern Japanese graphic storytelling. But I believed it to be insular and even untranslatable. I never anticipated an integration such as that demonstrated by Usagi.
In the Autumn of 1994 I was shepherded through Japan by Fred Schodt, a leading American scholar and expert on Japanese comics, in the company of a group of American artists and writers. I was stunned by what I found. I saw a booming industry, an enormous readership, and a pervasive social presence of the medium beyond any of my fondest dreams, for the medium to which I’ve devoted my life. There are obvious cultural reasons for this but the fact remains that manga, or komikkusu as the Japanese also call it, is a very singular form of the art of sequentially arranged images and text to narrate a story or dramatize an idea. As in America, manga occupies a place somewhere between films, literature, and “fine” art. The range of an American comic’s subject matter, however, is limited mostly to the interest of young males. They are the best sellers, and the outer margins are left to the foraging of those who address children, women, and adults. In Japan, comic books occupy nearly the same public acceptance as novels and films. The medium has a legitimacy not yet attained anywhere else. But perhaps the most significant characteristic of manga is their range of readership and subject matter. There are komikkusu specifically addressed to expectant mothers, little children, pre-teens, boys, girls, adults, and senior male and female. Many are centered on sports and games.
However enviable is this lateral coverage, the fact remains that Japanese publishers make little effort to reach beyond what is “commercial.” The art is designed to shock, titillate, or emulate animation. Style and surface technique dominate art and content. Like the American superhero and horror comics, their plots are generally simple.
As far as I could see, the Japanese comics are reluctant to introduce stories or ideas of another culture. Save for a surface fascination with American names and certain Western physical characteristics, it is hard to find manga that undertake subjects with realistic problems of the human condition. Work by other nationals that introduce foreign cultures such as those that appear in European and American comic books is rarely seen.
Yet for all of that, the Japanese comics have an undeniable fascination and have succeeded in invading the American and European markets. There is little doubt that they deliver exciting graphics. The trouble is that they have provided us with very little insight into Japanese life, culture, or history such as in the works of Tezuka or the classic Gen.
So, it was with this prejudice that I began to read the Usagi Yojimbo books Stan Sakai sent me. My first reaction was dismissive. I shrugged at his use of anthropomorphic characters as a way of avoiding the demands of realistic art, which made Frank Miller’s Ronin so compelling. Gradually, however, as the story absorbed me I changed my opinion. I felt I was somehow reading a komikusu in Japanese! Stan’s animal-people faces allow the reader to imagine and insert “real” faces out of their own memory. After I finished several stories, the accomplishment was obvious. I was transported into the fascinating world of Japanese folklore.
This is an important event in the progress of this medium because Stan Sakai has successfully brought to American comics a collection of Japanese fables well told in the American style. He has a good control of sequential art, and his compositions have the ability to create powerful understatements.
Usagi Yojimbo is an enduring work. Bravo.
Will Eisner (1999)
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