Stan Sakai's rabbit samurai, Usagi Yojimbo, will appear in his second Dark Horse Comics miniseries, beginning in April 1996. The new miniseries, titled Usagi Yojimbo, returns to Sakai's familiar milieu of late 16th-century Japan, known to historians as the Age of Civil Wars, a period when the armored soldiers of feudal lords clashed over land and power. The wars ended only after one leader finally rose above the others to be proclaimed Shogun.

"A lot of samurai, including Usagi Yojimbo, found themselves out of work during this period," said Stan Sakai, creator/writer/artist of Usagi Yojimbo. "Many of these Ronin, or `masterless samurai,' made their livings as bandits. Others found work with minor lords."

A small minority of the Ronin undertook the grueling musha shugyo -- the warrior pilgrimage -- to hone their spiritual and martial skills. Usagi Yojimbo is one such samurai.

"During his travels, Usagi will form friendships and renew acquaintances with some unique people," said Sakai. "There's his old friend Kitsune, a female street performer who is skilled in the art of sleight of hand, and her companion, a gentle giant called Noodles. But Usagi will also learn that whether a Ronin's intentions are noble or evil, most of the people he encounters will be ready to assume the worst about him. Wandering Ronin are not the most socially acceptable people."

Usagi Yojimbo is a three-issue, monthly, black-and-white miniseries with painted color covers, and begins in April 1996.