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USAGI YOJIMBO LETTERS COLUMN
Send comments to: Usagi Yojimbo ~ Letters Column c/o Dark Horse Comics
10956 S.E. Main Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222
[e-mail] dhc@teleport.com
[WWW] http://www.dhorse.com
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STORY NOTES In the summer of 1153 the emperor had fallen ill and complained of noises from the palace roof. The captain of the guards, Minamoto no Yorimasa, and his retainer, Ii no Hayata, were sent to investigate and killed a nue – a creature with the head of a monkey, a badger's body, a tiger's legs, and a snake for a tail – which had descended as a black cloud onto the roof. The emperor soon recovered. Nue is also the name of a variety of blackbird that is active at night and is regarded as a sign of ill omen. The tanuki is a raccoon-like dog (canis viverrinus nyctereutes or procionides) often mistaken for a badger. It is a trickster in Japanese folktales, though it does have a very dark side, as in the story of "The Tanuki and the Rabbit," in which it tricks a man into eating his wife for supper (a friendly rabbit gets revenge for them). The tanuki is a shape-changer and especially delights in assuming the form of a Buddhist priest (bozu) to lead unsuspecting travelers to their deaths. Statues of tanuki are quite common. They are usually depicted standing, with a lotus leaf for a hat and holding a bill for saké (rice wine). The inspiration for the Tangled Skein came from a line in a Japanese documentary. There is a forest at the base of Mt. Fuji whose trails are so convoluted that it is difficult to find your way back out without help. It is a favorite location for suicides. Research for this story came from: Yoshitoshi's Thirty-Six Ghosts by John Stevenson; Japanese Mythology by Juliet Piggott; Japanese Ghosts and Demons edited by Stephen Addiss; Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan by Lafcadio Hearn; and a Japanese encyclopedia of Yokai (apparitions). |
Honorable Sakai-san :
Issue #2 [Space Usagi, 3rd mini-series] had a request for comments on Space Usagi, and here are mine. But first, I would like to state that I am a dedicated fan of all your work, but frankly, I have not been reading the Usagi Yojimbo character since the beginning. I came aboard curing the publication of your softcover editions of the collected stories of Usagi.
Space Usagi is a welcome extension of the character. Placing him in an environment other than medieval Japan proves Usagi's suppleness and that your story-writing abilities transcend typical boundaries placed by people of only limited imagination.
I believe that Usagi/Space Usagi's only true enemy is reader prejudice. I know because I had it. A person will see a black-and-white comic with "funny animals" and a #2.25 price tag and will shy away (unless Frank Miller was drawing it).
I have some suggestions. If you have already considered them, I hope that they then serve as confirmations. First, more accolades and/or covers from the fan favorites: Miller, Perez, Byrne, Lee, McFarlane, etc., couldn't hurt. It should serve as a wake-up call for people to diversify and not judge a book by its cover (Gee! Where have I heard that before?).
Second, have you tried animation? I don't mean a cameo on the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." I mean cinematic animation. Usagi is the character that can break the funny animal monopoly Disney has on movies. So many animation studios want a bona-fide hit that thumbs their noses at the animation giant. Usagi is the character.
Third, how about color? I know. It has been done at least once before, unless I'm mistaken? But I want Usagi to appeal to everybody. You can't hook a fish if you don't use the right bait. And although from a creator's point of view it could be construed as selling out, my personal opinion on that is, it is sometimes an excuse used to justify jealously for another person's fame and good fortune.
Regardless, Usagi is your child. Yours is the ultimate opinion that matters. I will support this comic with word of mouth and by buying it. I believe it is worth it.
Keep your katana sharp and your honor intact, always.
Ricky Cruz
Guaynabo, P.R.
Actually, Ricky, there have been a number of color stories. Among them were three Color Specials from Fantagraphics and sixteen issues and a Space Usagi miniseries from Mirage.
Dear Stan,
I thought I would write, as I'm one of those got-every-issue-of-Usagi types.
What can I say that hasn't already been said? Stan's art just keeps getting better all the time. I didn't like Space Usagi much when it was first done (with Mirage), but this current three-parter certainly impressed me. I will definitely keep buying it if it becomes a regular series. I prefer normal Usagi to be honest, so I can't wait to get stuck into the new, normal Usagi miniseries, which will hopefully become a regular series (hint, hint)! [Actually, we should take this time to announce that the Dark Horse Usagi Yojimbo (vol. III) has been extended. It will now run to at least issue five. – Jamie]
Oh, and please keep it black-and-white, too. (Yeah, okay, I'm one of the black-and-white brigade, too.)
One more thing, is it true that the (rumored) "Usagi" animated series will actually be "Space Usagi"? I guess you wouldn't be allowed to do a normal "Usagi" series because of all the swords, killing, and stuff. I just hope it doesn't come out looking like a "Bucky O'Hare" clone!
Bring back Katsuichi, Lord Noriyuki, Shingen's sister [Chizu], Tomoe, etc., in Usagi , please, Stan. Don't let some of your excellent, established characters slip away in favor of endless one-off stories. Give us a nice, multi-issue story like "Dragon Bellow" again…
Yanez Sambiglyon
cc13@dial.pipex.com
We did do a Space Usagi animation demo tape which I've shown at a few conventions, and it definitely does not look like "Bucky O'Hare."
All those characters you mentioned will return. Chizu, the head of the Neko Ninja clan, will be back in issue 4.
Dear Stan,
Well, you know, I was thinking of writing you folks a letter this time around. And when I reached the final pages of the latest issue, there is an invitation to do so. You just can't get more encouragement than that!
Let me say that Space Usagi is my favorite comic right up there with Groo the Wanderer! Is that a compliment? Er, well, yes, of course. But Groo is gone for now. I can't blame Aragonés for wanting a rest. But for heaven's sake, don't stop with Usagi. Space Usagi is a nice change of pace for Usagi, and I hope for you. (That is, if you need a change of pace. I dunno, I've been programming for years, and I hope to be doing it for many more.)
But we all know that Usagi Yojimbo and Space Usagi are great comics. That's not the reason I decided to write after all these years. I just had to say no one makes bugs as good as Stan, with perhaps the exception of Japanese artist Hayao Miyazaki. The creatures I've seen in Space Usagi are really good. I wonder if you studied the real thing before drawing the Space Usagi comic? By the way, did I notice a little Moebius influence there with Usagi's hat (page 17)? Anyway, I think Space Usagi really stands out on the shelves for that as well as all the usual reasons.
It seemed there were storm clouds on the horizon when you were making your move from Mirage to Dark Horse. I hope you have time for both story lines. Given the past high quality, I'll always shell out to add more to my collection. It's really great to pull out old issues and note the drawing improvement over the years. May you always find room for improvement. (Is that a curse? Nah.)
Kirk Goddard
annex@msn.com
P.S. I can't quite recall their names, but you might recall "Hermy and Nilson," the bumbling mole (?) and rabbit combo trailing a few Usagi Yojimbo stories? They would be interesting to see show up somewhere in Space Usagi's world. A lot like R2-D2 and C-3PO, those two.
Sergio and I had been talking about collaborating on a project, and now that Groo is on "hiatus," we've actually started working on it. While at the Motor City Con, we outlined a six-issue story featuring his character Catnippon (last seen in UY Vol. I, #11) and Usagi. There are still a few details to sort out so we won't project a publication date yet.
Moebius is a man I greatly admire and respect and am influenced by. The style of Space Usagi's hat, though, was designed more out of common sense than anything else. After all; what other type of headgear could have covered those long ears of his?
I would like to bring back the Nilson and Hermy stories, but, unfortunately, I have no room for them in the UY books at the present.
Dear Mr. Sakai and Dark Horse Publishers:
Someday I'd like to see Usagi run into some Australian funny animals, like some kangaroos or maybe even a wandering platypus sage!
Keith Sutton
ssutton@herbie.unl.edu
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Art by Stan Sakai |
[Late-Breaking News: Stan Sakai will be appearing at the Pacific Comic-Con in Vancouver, BC on July 23. That's just a short week away from this comic's ship date, but we hope you can make it.
Also, as mentioned above, be here in 30 days for Usagi Yojimbo #4, "Bats, The Cat, and The Rabbit"!]
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"Usagi Yojimbo", including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.