Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo follows a traveling samurai who just happens to be a rabbit. But he’s no silly cartoon version; the comic—which includes panda bears as province lords and thieving foxes—doesn’t focus on its own cuteness. Instead, the collection captures Japanese legends infused with stories that don’t beat you over the head with their morality. You’re introduced to defined characters, both lovable and despicable, as Usagi meets them in this well-contained, black-and-white series. You’ll be surprised how much you might enjoy Usagi Yojimbo. For me, it’s always a nice break to clear my mind from the usual bombardment of over-hyped and wearily dramatic comics to hit the shelves. With the expanse of Japanese landscape and culture...
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Usagi Yojimbo has been a series that I have always wanted to read, but the fear of starting on a series that’s over a hundred issues really had me afraid to try it. So, with a little help I grabbed this issue to read and what I found was me looking in on the journey of a ronin that obviously had a beginning, but is moving forward and now is as good of a time to begin reading his adventures as any. The story in this issue seems pretty straight forward. Usagi walks upon a massacre in the forest with only one survivor. Usagi attempts to help the survivor and get him medical attention. The injured warrior leads Usagi to a hut in the forest that he and his men had found while hunting a bandit and his men. The story seems fairly simple until...
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I obsessively read this comic over and over for about two days, and I have no idea why. A stand-alone issue of Stan Sakai's long-running series that doesn't even star the title character, Usagi Yojimbo #116 has the same, sturdy values that most of the cartoonist's work on the title has displayed. The plot is simple: two bounty hunters in search of a specific target split up to cover more ground, eventually reuniting. We follow the one with a more established place in the overall Usagi storyline, Gen, as he finds the target and then debates letting him go. The last few pages are multiple beats of consequences that arise from the decision the character makes. As always, the bulk of the comic book's appeal derives from Sakai's natural...
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One of the things I've always loved about Stan Sakai (and to be fair, there are many things to love) is that Sakai's always been able to squeeze any genre or story idea that he's wanted into its confines. Sure, it's a samurai warrior epic, but there's a remarkable amount of diversity here. We've had an undying evil warrior, mystical swords lost beneath the ocean, romance, political intrigue, assassins for hire, even a monster that looked an awful lot like Godzilla. And now? Usagi's discovering the joy of an army of zombies. What's great is that it never feels out of place the way that, say, zombies showing up in the second reel of The Seven Samurai would, perhaps because Sakai is always able to sell his ideas. So if the plot involves...
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For the first time ever, Akiko Ikeda’s marvelous fantasy tales about an adventurous cat named Dayan and his fellow woodland friends are now being released in English Hard Cover Book!The fantastical and fun adventures of feline Dayan and his other furry friends is brought to life with Akiko Ikeda’s enchanting story telling and charming art work. Akiko Ikeda is Japan’s very own Beatrix Potter, offering a lovely series of books about talking animals and their one-shot adventures to delight the young as well as the young at heart. Dayan has inspired theme parks and scads of merchandise overseas. At last these woodland tales of friendship and adventure are offered here in North AmericaThis very first tale sees Dayan discovering he doesn’t...
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How can you not like these little treasures? Packed with lush illustrations, the Dayan books relate the adventures of a charmingly cross-eyed cat. Dayan is a busy little guy, his social card packed with parties with his friends. While I’m trying not to be envious of a fictional kitty, it hardly seems fair that he gets to attend not one, but four parties, while I have to slave away with a calendar that is sadly devoid of birthday bashes and winter festivals.Not that it’s all fun and games for our celebratory feline. In Dayan’s Birthday, he learns a hard lesson about ingratitude when he forgets to invite the witches to his birthday party, a day that wouldn’t be possible without their helpful assistance. Dayan, it seems, was unsure of his...
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