Usagi Yojimbo: 40th Anniversary Reader

by Stan Sakai, Stan Sakai (Illustrator), Tom Luth (Contribution by), HiFi Colour Design (Contribution by)

Overview

A collection of fan-favorite short stories from the world of Usagi Yojimbo—a perfect introduction and celebration of the rabbit hero!

Celebrating Usagi Yojimbo’s 40th anniversary, this value-priced collection includes eight fan-favorite and Stan Sakai-picked short stories in color starring the beloved rabbit ronin! Perfect for longtime fans and newcomers to the series, the Usagi Yojimbo: 40th Anniversary Reader collection includes the popular short story “Chanoyu” in color for the first time!

Featuring Stan Sakai’s award-winning art and storytelling and expert hand lettering, with colors by Emi Fujii, Tom Luth, and Ronda Pattison.

Collects “A Mother’s Love,” “Blade of the Gods,” “The Way of the Samurai,” “Chanoyu,” “Cut the Plum,” “The Artist,” “Buntori,” and “Adachi”.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506745121
Publisher:	Dark Horse Comics
Publication date:	06/25/2024
Series:	Usagi Yojimbo Series
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Stan Sakai was born in Kyoto, Japan, grew up in Hawaii, and now lives in California with his children, Hannah and Matthew. He received a fine arts degree from the University of Hawaii and did further studies at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. His creation, Usagi Yojimbo, is the story of a samurai rabbit living in a feudal Japan populated by anthropomorphic animals. It first appeared in Albedo Comics in 1984. Since then, Usagi has appeared on television as a guest of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; and as toys, on clothing, in comic books, and in a series of trade paperback collections. In 1991, Stan created Space Usagi, the adventures of a descendant of the original Usagi, dealing with the samurai in a futuristic setting. Stan is also an award-winning letterer for his work on Sergio Aragonés's Groo: The Wanderer, the Spider-Man Sunday newspaper strips, as well as for Usagi Yojimbo. He is the recipient of a Parents' Choice Award, an Inkpot Award, multiple Eisner Awards, two Spanish Haxturs, an American Library Association Award, and a National Cartoonists' Society Division Award. Usagi Yojimbo Book 12: Grasscutter was used as a textbook in Japanese history classes at the University of Portland.

Editorial Reviews

Sixteenth-century Japan is never so entertaining as in Stan Sakai’s tales of Miyamoto Usagi.”—NPR’s Best Books of 2014

“Stan Sakai has successfully brought to American comics a collection of Japanese fables well told in the American style. Usagi Yojimbo is an enduring work. Bravo.”—Will Eisner

“I think Usagi Yojimbo is one of the most original, innovative, well-executed comic books anywhere to be found. Stan's style of artwork, his crisp incisive writing, and his thoroughly professional pacing, all done in a relaxed and absorbed manner, have provided comics with something so rarely seen in this field—a new literary and artistic approach to illustrated storytelling.”—Stan Lee

“Sakai is a total pro and a consummate craftsman.”—Rolling Stone

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2024

Dark Horse Books and creator Sakai celebrate four decades of Sakai's rabbit ronin character, Usagi Yojimbo, with a collection of the very best stories from across the history of the series. "A Mother's Love" finds an elderly woman beseeching Usagi's help in ridding her village of a gang led by her own son. In "The Artist," Usagi vows to defend a portrait artist marked for death by government officials who fear his approach to painting threatens to undermine centuries of Japanese artistic tradition. Old friends preparing to set out on disparate paths share a traditional tea ceremony in the genuinely heart wrenching "Chanoyu." The hero finds himself taking refuge from a storm alongside a warrior who believes he's been tasked by the Gods to eliminate evil in "Blade of the Gods." The plight of soldiers unable to move beyond past battles features in "The Way of the Samurai" and "Buntori," setting the stage for the tale of Usagi's return to the site of his greatest defeat in search of redemption in "Adachi." VERDICT An essential collection of intricately plotted, emotionally complex, wonderfully entertaining tales written and drawn by one of the greatest storytellers of our time.

Library Journal