I completely missed this! Maybe he has another project with Mike Richardson coming up, or maybe he and Julie are going to do a full-scale collaboration, the backup story in #160 being a warm-up.

My DREAM would be another SPACE USAGI series...

I'm sad to see Usagi on hold again, but I also respect that Stan has made Usagi his life for over thirty years now and deserves our understanding when he feels the need to change things up a bit. I wish him the best of luck and await this next project with tremendous anticipation.




I've been thinking this for years now. I don't imagine Stan could turn over even a portion of his universe to someone else at this point, but maybe, down the road, if he's ever thinking of retirement, he'll be willing to appoint a successor or two so that Usagi lives on and, maybe, has the opportunity to expand out. There's no doubt Stan's universe could support multiple titles starring Ishida, Sasuke, Gen, and maybe a title that alternates its scope. I guess the other matter would be whether sales would support it though.


Hopefully, we have a long long time before Stan starts thinking about passing the reigns to someone else, though

If we were to have someone else do some Usagi stories, I'd love to see something similar to the Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard books where it would be Stan drawing a couple pages in each issue of his characters getting together to tell stories, but the actual stories would be done by guest artists/writers of Stan's choosing. That way the stories can use the Usagi universe and characters, but aren't necessarily canon since they're just stories being told around a campfire (or over a cup of saké). I also wouldn't mind if these stories were longer than the 2-5 pages in Mouse Guard. Maybe only a story or two per issue/book?

People that I'd love to see do these Usagi Yojimbo: Tales - Julie Sakai (though she should just get her own Chibi Usagi series), Matt Kindt, Mike Mignola (and if he wants to write, but not draw, bring in Duncan Fegredo to illustrate), David Petersen, Jeremy Bastian, Jeff Smith, Travis Hanson, and Skottie Young.

I think Guy Davis would do a heck of a job too.

I don't think I'd want to see anyone else writing or drawing Usagi's adventures, but I'd be okay with a different creator or creative team handling a spinoff. A series of mysteries starring Ishida would be welcome, or an OGN with Kitsune masterminding an Ocean's Eleven type scam. But I prefer a Tomoe series. She has a value system that readers can connect with, she can swashbuckle, the intrigues of the Geishu court can provide plots and sub-plots, and Noriyuki and Motokazu are the start of a supporting cast. All that's left is to convince Kurt Busiek and Erica Henderson to take it on.

You're right that stories would mostly be limited to the Geishu province, but I don't think an upheaval is necessary. It would certainly make for a great backdrop that pops up in a story arc once in a while, but I picture a Tomoe series more like an inverse Usagi. Instead of the lead character wandering into problems, the problems come to her, like in "Mother of Mountains" or "Ghost in the Well."

A win-win for us, then! New Stan Sakai project and (semi) regular Usagi!!