Not much room to chat here. I just wanted to mention that the new signed and numbered Usagi Yojimbo Silkscreen Print (18" x 24", 11 colors, Usagi in full armor) is available from Fantagraphics (see address to the left) for $65.00 including postage and handling, and that the signed and numbered deluxe edition of Usagi Yojimbo Book Two (including the original draft pages of "Samurai ," never before printed) is available for $38.00 including postage and handling, and if you're a real Usagi fan and want to buy both you can get them for the special "Friends of Usagi" price $99.00 postpaid. By the way, check out the "Menagerie" ad at the back of the book: we recently did an inventory and some out-of-print issues have popped back into print. – ED.

Fan Art by Eddie Del Rio

Dear Stan & Kim,

You're great people! I can't tell you how much Usagi means to me. I was a heavy TMNT collector but the creators went way too far with licensing and it ruined the comic completely, but I'm sure you've heard that many times. I had seen Usagi before and decided to buy some issues, and I was amazed at the depth of the characters and of the historical accuracy. I honestly never knew that a comic could be so good! Feudal Japan is a favorite subject of mine and with a comic such as UY, I can really relate to it. I too am a great fan of Akira Kurosawa. Your stories are very much like his. I know you've seen many Kurosawa films but if you haven't seen my favorite, Ran, I strongly recommend it.

Enough of that. I must say that you've got quite a thing brewing now Stan. Issue #29 was very emotional (not as much as #8, though) and I'm sure that #30 will be even more. It's good that you brought back Jei because he's a character you can really work with. Hear me out, though: this Kenichi-Usagi rivalry thing has to end soon or at least cool off a bit. Mariko hasn't been happy for a long time and she needs some happiness. I must say that Kenichi has become more caring as a father and husband yet at the same time he keeps a coldness about him that really hurts Mariko. He is a tremendously important character who could really benefit from these childhood grudges ending.

What's going to happen next? If Usagi is really settling down for good then there are so many possibilities for the future and so many questions, please answer at least some of these thought-out questions whether you decide to print my letter or not:

1) Will we hear of Lord Hikiji and/or the Neko Ninja in the future? I have a feeling that we will because of the meeting between Lord Hebi and the Komori Ninja in issue #21 that was spied upon by a member of the Neko Ninja. Am I right?

2) Will Mariko ever have another child, and will we ever learn about her family or Kenichi's?

3) Will we see Yagi and Gorogoro again?

4) Will Tomoe and Lord Noriyuki stay as characters that we will see often?

5) Will Noriyuki ever marry?

6) In the letters section of issue #21 you answered questions about some of the names of characters that have appeared in your comic such as Katsuichi, Atsuko, and Okii Ashiyubi. My name means "Strength and Honor." What about Lord Noriyuki's name, and especially what is the meaning of the name of the late Lord Mifune's son, Tsuruichi?

7) In what prefecture might we find Usagi's village in? What about the Geishu provinces, where might they be? The only time that you've really mentioned prefectures was in #20 that happened in the Niigata prefectures which I know is a northern area on the Sea of Japan.

8) Have you considered doing a Nilson/Usagi crossover in Critters or something? Nilson is so cool and I love Hermy too, Stan.

9) Finally, will Sharon be baking another cake now that issue #30 is approaching? If so, please send me a piece.

Sorry for all the questions. I'm very much into you comic. UY means a lot to me. More than I can put into words. I can't wait for #30 so please surprise me.

Brian Carpenter
Seattle, WA

Greetings from across town, Brian. Hey, how are we going to surprise you, as you request, if we answer all your questions? The only ones I can answer at present is whether Lone Goat and Kid will be back (yes), whether there will be more stories with Tomoe Ame (yes, next Color Special, in fact), and the questions as to the names (both are actually standard Japanese names rather than Stan's usual nouns-used-as-names: "Noriyuki" means, more or less, "written good fortune," and Tsuruichi means "crane one" and is a common name given to a firstborn son. – ED.

Fan Art by Jimmy Bowell

Dear Mr. Sakai,

First of all I would like to apologize for calling Usagi "cute" when I met you at the Glendale Comic Con. I have to admit his cuteness was what led me to buy your comic in the first place. But I can understand how irritating it might be when someone sees Usagi as just a furry rabbit and not as an in-depth character. I am sorry if I offended you.

I have just two questions and they're really good ones. What are your resources, if any, that you use to accurately depict the Japanese culture in your comics? I mean, even though I'm constantly watching "chambara" movies and television series, I can't remember the roofs of the houses or the clothes of the people well enough to draw them. Please let me know how you do this. My second question is more personal: I hope you don't mind. What generation of Japanese-American are you?

Thanks you for reading my letter!

Naomi Sayano
Montebello, CA

P.S. I noticed the cover of the next issue has a top spinning on a sword. One of my own cartoon characters happens to be a top-spinner so I enclosed a copied drawing of him. I know it's not as great as yours but I thought you might like it!

Fan Art by Naomi Sayano

Movies and television are helpful (and artists around the world are finding the "Pause" button on their VCRs a godsend), but for real research, you local library is your best bet. Stan has a big collection of art and history books from which he can draw reference material at the drop of a hat. As for your other question, Stan considers himself a "sansei," or third-generation Japanese American. And thanks for the drawing. – ED.

Dear Stan,

Storywise, I thought the second Color Special was very well done…as usual giving us little hints here and there to know something is up. I loved page 2 and 3's layout: it set the whole mood for the story's plot. Also, something I love to see is the evil come out in the characters. The deviousness in Goyemon when Usagi arrives at his shop was almost real. I guess it was his eyes and the darkness surrounding them. The ghoulishness of the spider can only be compared to Sergio Aragonés. I also thought it was clever to move the shadow on the fortress to show different times of day.

Which brings me to color. Before I bought this issue I always thought you could get the same effect with black and white. But unlike the Marvel and DC zombies, you took color and used it skillfully to you advantage in the storywriting. The best use of the color in the issue to me was the candle's halo at Goyemon's shop (pg. 17) – and of course at the end, with the innocent child and the "nasty" paints, which could be used for good after all. Congratulations on a job well done, Tom Luth. You and Stan make quite a team to be reckoned with.

Now on to the Nilson story…It was good to see them fumbling around again, getting into trouble – ya know, the stuff that makes true adventurers. I'd really like to see more of this type of humor in Usagi. Great setup at the end.

Please take my comments into consideration…Thanks for everything!!!

Chuck Dillon
Philadelphia, PA

Fan Art (Nilson Groundthumper) by Chuck Dillon

Thanks for your comments, Chuck, and for the drawing too (which, by the way, readers, is of Nilson Groundthumper, not Usagi). We'll have another Color Special out this year, and we hope you enjoy it too. Actually, Sergio is a real nice guy – not ghoulish at all. – ED.

Dear Friends,

I have just finished four back issues of Usagi Yojimbo (#21 and #22 – "Ninja Bats"; #24 – "Lone Goat and Kid"; and #26 – "Duel"). I now know why these comic books have been so enjoyable for me: they are fantastic !

I started collecting with the second graphic novel. I figured why not start with the story of Usagi's origin and immediately was enthralled by the artwork and the stories. Above all, I enjoyed the Gennosuké character; the film Yojimbo had recently been shown of PBS and I noticed a strong resemblance between the main character (whose name escapes me) and Gennosuké. This was later confirmed by another letter I read in your letters section.

I have been almost obsessively collecting any back issues I can find. I even recently called to make sure my order had been received. (My undying gratitude goes out to Carys, the woman I spoke to on the phone. She explained the computer snafu as being the reason for the delay in shipping. Although patience is indeed a virtue, I have often been without it.)

But finally, some questions.

1) Is there a set time that issues come out between when the stores receive them and when subscribers do?

2) Will Lord Hebi (the snake) meet with some tragic demise, say a mongoose ?

3) How soon before we learn about Gennosuké's past, and how is his horn doing? (I figured if the Zato Ino character can have a "fully functional" wooden nose, why not an aesthetic wooden horn?) and

4) Since I didn't purchase the hardcover version of "The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy," will (or can) I ever find out how Usagi got his scar?

Also, I'm glad to hear that Usagi Yojimbo's popularity is increasing. I would hate to see such fine, and inexpensive, entertainment fall by the wayside.

John Jack
Lincoln, NE

(1) Not really, because there is a wide range of times at which stores receive the books, according to the vagaries of the distribution system.

(2) Ho ho.

(3) Next issue, and you're just too darn smart for your own good.

(4) Well, Stan plans someday to re-do the color story from the Usagi Book Four hardcover edition as a black-and-white line story, so at that point you'll be set.

As for your unnumbered questions, Toshiro Mifune's character in Yojimbo and Sanjuro never gives his real name: in each movie, when asked for his name, he simply picks one out of the blue. (In the second one, it's "Sanjuro," hence the title; we all know what "Yojimbo" means, right, kids?) And we all love Carys here as well!

– ED.

Dear Kim,

I have been a fan of Stan Sakai's pen for many years and have attempted to collect everything published with his work except for Groo (Groo is full of much anyway). An through the many years of letters written to the letters column, many are now repeating questions that have been answered in the columns of back issues except for one that has always held my interest. In issue #8, "A Mother's Love," (a classic and my favorite story), Tracy Horton of Valencia, CA asked about the origin of the scar above Usagi's eye. At the time, Stan himself answered, "There is a really unusual story connected with that mark and someday I'll actually think of it."

The latest Usagi's are bringing up the past so I thought I would do a little research and see if I can narrow down when Usagi meets Gennosuké in Critters #1, "Bounty Hunter," he has the scar. The same goes for the first meeting with Zato Ino in Critters #7, "Blind Sword-Pig." These are the earliest authentic stories that can be placed in any time line.

In the story, "My Lord's Daughter," Usagi does have the scar, but the story is fiction (as any Usagi fan would have realized from the first page when Mifune's daughter is described as an only child. Lord Mifune's son, Tsuruichi, was killed in 'Samurai! Part VII). Also, in the story in Critters #38, "The Tangled Skein," Usagi has the scar right after the battle at Adachigahara Plain, but is this another fiction for the benefit of Lord Noriyuki?

From the younger end of Usagi's life, we know that he does not have the scar from childhood to the day his lord lost his wife and son in "Samurai! Part VII." (Note: two exceptions, the cover of Usagi #2 has our hero at the tournament of swords sponsored by the Dogora School of Bujutsu with a scar, though it does not have the usual smooth curve and could have been filled in in error; and in Critters #11, "Homecoming Part II," Usagi has what looks very much like a scar in the flashback on page 10).

As for when he got the scar, I feel it is in the six months between the death of Lord Mifune's wife and son, and the final battle of the war which was fought on Adachigahara Plain, between "Samurai! Part VII" and "Samurai! Part VIII." Though Usagi wears a helmet throughout the battle, he took it off when he buried his lord's head and seems to have the scar. Stan, I am still waiting for your unusual story.

As for other matters, Katsuichi's first words to Usagi were more along the lines of "go home, grasshopper…and live happily." And I really like the way Stan interweaves the intrigue and characters of his stories (referring in part to the return of Jei from "Blade of the gods"). Also, though humans are very rare in Usagi's world, I am still awaiting the reappearance of the most notorious human, Lord Hikiji, last seen in Albedo #4, "Lone Rabbit and Child, Part II".

And one last puzzle that maybe shouldn't be answered, in the penultimate panel of "Samurai! Part I," who is Katsuichi calling a fool, Usagi or himself?

Paul Schaper
Seattle, WA

The Seattleites are out in force today! Everyone's having so much fun with the scar question that I'll just keep quiet on this one. – ED.

Dear Mr. Sakai,

I really enjoy your comic and have lots of fun drawing your characters. Would you please print my picture?

Paul Allen
Sacramento, CA

P.S. Usagi is really pumped because that's the way Samurai are (and it's the way I draw.)

Fan Art by Paul Allen

Sure! I should also mention that the drawing elsewhere on this page of Usagi near the waterfall is by a reader whose "Aged Usagi" art we printed once miscredited to "Jeremy," but whose name is actually Jimmy. I'd tell you his last name except Jimmy committed the cardinal sin of the letter-writer and didn't sign his full name to his letter or his art, and as a result he will be known here only as "Jimmy." Let this be a lesson to you all: PUT YOUR FULL NAME ON YOUR LETTERS AND YOUR ARTWORK! – ED.

Dear Stan,

I enjoyed the return of Katsuichi. When I first saw him back in Usagi #1 he was a grouch. Maybe you should have made him a crab instead of a lion! Okay, bad joke. Well, anyway, when he returned in Usagi #28 his mood changed.

By the way, it's been a while since we've seen Gen. He is my favorite character besides Usagi and I can't wait to hear his origin story. I await the next exciting issue!

Paul Canniff
Minneapolis, MN

And what better note to end this on? See you in forty-five days or so (yes, after being delayed by our back-up problems, we're going to catch up our schedule a tad over the spring)! – ED.