LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

Dear Mr. Sakai,

Hello there! I've got a couple of things to say, so I may as well get started. If it's okay with you, I'm going to skip praising you this time, and I'm not going to tell you that I won't heap praise upon you because to do so would be more than redundant. (Wait a minute…in a way…I think I just did…)

Okay, in response to J.T. Myers' letter, let me say that Jei is also one of my favorite characters in the Usagi storyline as well. (Ever since Usagi Yojimbo #10!) However, while I don't totally disagree with J.T., I'm not sure that Jei would be able to carry his own title, at least not as long as Usagi has. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure why I feel this way. Perhaps I'm just a bit wary of the idea of Jei becoming one of those hero/villains that seem to sun a little too frequently through the pages of today's comic books. Personally, I just don't want to lose Usagi's greatest and most interesting foe like that. Perhaps a mini-series, or maybe a couple of back-ups would be okay.

I was happy to read that you plan to release the color series of Usagi in collected books after the black and white issue have all been collected. Will they be in color or in black and white? How many issue will be collected in each book? Also, will the publisher be Mirage or Fantagraphics? And finally will it be printed in the same 9"x6.5" size as volume one? (Geez…I sound like a cop interrogating a crime suspect! Sorry!)

In closing, let me tell you a little story. About a year ago, I moved to New York. Because of my somewhat pitiful financial state, I was forced to make cut-backs, and had to adapt to living without some of the simple things in my life that helped keep me happy. Sadly enough, Usagi Yojimbo was on that list. Although I missed it, I simply told myself, "Hey, it's only a comic book…no big deal, so get over it already!" I recently moved to Colorado, where my financial situation has improved greatly. Since I've been here, I've opened a subscription to Usagi at a local comic shop. I've also done some back-tracking and picked up those issues that passed me by. Now, at the risk of sounding completely corn-ball, I'm going to use a cliched saying to say what I'm thinking. It's good to be home again. I missed that little long-eared guy more than I realized.

Gordy Danzey
Boulder, CO

No detail on the collected color stories have been set yet. However, Usagi Book 7, the last of the black & white stories could be out sometime this year along with a new printing of Book 3.

Dear Mr. Sakai,

I was just leafing through my collection and I decided to compare Usagi Vol. One to Usagi Vol. Two. man! It's almost like they're two different comics. You have traded the power of detail for the power of color. This change was a daring one. I know how hard it is for drawings to communicate things without a lot of detail and I think that you have pulled it off nicely. I have also noticed that Usagi looks a lot less childish than he did in the earlier issues. This just goes to show how Usagi has grown as a rabbit & how you've grown as an artist.

I was thinking of some way you might be able to do a black and white Usagi without doing a black and white special and I came up with an idea. You could make all of the flashbacks in black and white. This would certainly be a treat for all the readers who miss the old Usagi.

One last thing – I think you should have stuck with the old logo rather than making it look all shiny and high-tech. Come to think of it, there is a lot of shiny stuff in Usagi these days. All I can say is that I don't approve. Well, no matter, it's still one of the best comics around. Keep on truckin'!

Eric Basinger
Albuquerque, NM

Usagi has matured, most of it unconsciously on my part. Over the years, his proportions have changed so he seems taller, he's developed a "bump" for a nose & he's not as pudgy. I attribute most of the changes to my maturation as a cartoonist. It happens to all artists who have worked with a character for a while. Look at Sergio Aragonés' Groo in the old Pacific Comics days and compare it to the current Image version, three publishers later – – – what a difference (the jokes, though, are still the same).

Dear Stan & Co,

I'm sort of a new Usagi Yojimbo fan and I have an idea I've been meaning to write you about. I started out reading UY by collecting the old black & white Fantagraphics issues. This is where I first saw Tomoeh. She's my favorite character (the fact that I love the little white bunny should already be under-stood). As a girl I seem to be drawn more towards the female characters. Chizu seems pretty cool, but I don't know much about her, and as for Mariko, let's just say I wouldn't want to be her. When I read the fan letters in UY #10, one person commented on Tomoeh's death in Space Usagi, so I ran out and got the issues and discovered, even though I couldn't believe it, Tomoeh was dead. I will admit that her death was handled really well, but I'd still rather her be alive. Now, I'm going to make a suggestion that some people might think is really immature (give me a break, I'm only 14) and say that maybe you could bring her back – not like Superman, that would be way too corny, but maybe as sort of a guardian spirit to Usagi… Well, I'll let you guys think about that one for a while, and I'd just like to say I think you're doing a great job.

Your Avid Fan,
Lee Duh
Ellicott City, MD

The future Tomoeh is dead but the original is still very much alive and will make a reappearance soon with a slightly modified hair style. Meanwhile, Usagi encounters another female samurai in issue 16 in a story entitled "A Meeting of Strangers".

Dear Stan & crew,

Many years ago, in a run down Pittsburgh comic shop, I stumbled across a strange looking book with a picture of a turtle attacking a rabbit. Both were waving swords and looking rather ferocious, so I picked it up and began my usual process of reading without buying that generally infuriates most comic book store owners. Strangely enough, as I flipped through the book, skimming the plot, I suddenly felt the urge to actually spend money on it. Upon a second perusal, I noticed the incredible detail contained within the black and white artwork, the rich portrayal of Japanese culture and the actual existence of a credible, gripping storyline. Not your average funny animal comic, I found Usagi Yojimbo definitely worth purchasing.

So began my long journey through feudal Japan at the side of Usagi Yojimbo, a journey I'll never regret. UY sticks out like a diamond ring does when placed alongside Home Shopping Network zircons. I have found it to be the only comic book that I can purchase and still respect myself for doing so the morning after. You have my sincerest thanks for creating this wonderful comic.

Now that I have hopefully convinced you of my adoration for this comic, I would like to perhaps put forth a few concerns I have with the current direction I see UY taking. Since the move to Mirage Studios, I have not seen a decline in quality (although I do prefer the black & white issues to color) but rather a slight decline in plot. I understand how difficult it must be to create the amazing stories I find in UY, but as of late, the storyline has struck me as being rather unoriginal as compared to earlier issues. I am unfortunately becoming rather tired of the Usagi-shows-up-in-small-village-and-kills-evil-bandits scenario. I feel that the comic could use a breath of fresh air. In the case of the current issues, I find General Fujii to be a terribly undeveloped character, simply an overly smart evil bandit rather than a worthy opponent or figure of any great depth. I honestly wonder what motivates him to be the way he is and how he became the leader of a rag-tag bandit gang when he is so obviously a man of some intelligence and culture. That aside, I still find the Usagi-saving-villagers story to be rather played out. I have always found issues like "Fire and Ice" to be more interesting, ones that show both sides of people, not simply as the good villager/bad bandit categories that seem so prevalent in the current issues. The last issue, #11, started out well with the description of sword making. The cultural aspect of UY has always been one of its best qualities. Still, after that, we find Usagi acting as a blood-thirsty hound in order to retrieve the swords that were made to be a noble, honorable soul. The plot seems to hurry along then, with Usagi taking two weeks rather than a "lifetime" to catch up with the General. Then, once more, we get the villagers-in-trouble scenario. Anyway, the current storyline strikes me as rather bland and I will be glad to see it end, especially with the prospect of the return of Jei, once of the greatest characters ever to grace the pages of UY.

After saying that, I have a few suggestions for a new path for UY. To start, I have always wanted to see Usagi visit a city like Kamakura, Kyoto or Osaka. It would be interesting to view a rabbit of his pure moral character in the decadence and intrigue of a feudal city. Another direction I would like to see explored is the image of the samurai as a poet, a cultured warrior, struggling with the militaristic blood-thirsty view that was slowly overtaking the samurai class. The conflict between being virtuous and noble whilst dedicating one's life to the act of war was always unique to the samurai and even as a ronin I think Usagi would be the better for coming to grips with it. I would also like to see more of the monks of Japan, whether they be Buddhist, Zen or Shinto, as I have never seen Usagi come in contact with them. besides the brief meeting with the flute player. Lastly, on a different note, is there ever any chance of Usagi meeting people of other nations? Contact with the ancient civilization of China, the barbaric horsemen of the desert steppes or even the foreign devils from far, far away would be something I would truly enjoy.

Usagi Yojimbo is by far my favorite comic and absolutely of the highest quality I have ever seen. As always, keep up the good work, and I hope someday to meet the people behind the rabbit.

Godfrey Firth
Boston, MA

You're right. The story of the hero coming upon a village in trouble has long been over-used. Clint Eastwood did it about a dozen times, Toshiro Mifune did it a lot more. But the best catalyst for stories involving a wanderer is the people he meets. Anyway, I'll try to keep the village-in-peril stories to a minimum.

Your interpretation of the General's personality is a bit different than mine. I picture him more as an intelligent brute rather than a man of culture. His insistence on being called "General" spoke about his vanity and Usagi not addressing him as such made him Fujii's hated foe. Stealing Usagi's swords was more a symbol of his victory over an indomitable spirit than as symbol of a noble soul.

Usagi has pretty much kept to the side roads and mountain paths which lead to the smaller towns. One of the things I have not addressed are the Shogunate roadblocks and check points that were common on the main roads of the major cities (perhaps an idea for a future story).

Contact with foreigners was very restricted at that time. However, thanks to some research sent to me by Paul Lau, Usagi will eventually meet up with Wong Fei Hung, a prominent figure in Chinese history.

I'm a featured guest at this year's San Diego Comic Con, July 27-30, which means, among other things, that I'll be doing at least one presentation which will answer everything you've ever wanted to know about Usagi Yojimbo, except if he has a tail or not.

If you've never been to a SD Con, it is the biggest of all U.S. comic conventions and has to be experienced to be believed. I've been attending for the past 16 years and at times I'm still overwhelmed.

This issue's recommendation is Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre, Casefiles Vol. 1, which collects the first four issues of Batton Lash's neat comic book series about two lawyers with a very unusual clientele. Ask for it at your favorite comics shop or send $10.95 ($8.95 + $2.00 p/h) to Exhibit A Press, 4657 Cajon Way, San Diego, CA, 92115.