Dark Horse Comics Usagi Yojimbo #24            The Demon Flute  October 1998 (Click on the thumbnails to view full size cover art)

USAGI YOJIMBO LETTERS COLUMN
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Dear Mr. Stan Sakai,

I have been an admirer of both your artwork and storytelling in Usagi Yojimbo for many years now. I've been intrigued by the current "Grasscutter" story arc. It's prompted me to think about this character. Usagi is an essentially tragic figure, not because of what happens to him, but rather in the choices he makes in response to his life.

Consider: He chose a life of service, thereby losing Mariko to Kenichi. He was a loyal servant to Lord Mifune, but couldn't save him or his wife and child. His father was killed by Lord Hikiji as well, and he has yet to avenge himself on the evil daimyo. Doesn't filial devotion demand vengeance on Hikiji? Usagi has spent five years as a wandering ronin, choosing to cut any and all permanent ties to anyone. Fate seems to have place him purposely in a position to save Noriyuki time and again, but when the Lord of Geishu offered him a place as his retainer, he refused. Was it out of his belief that a samurai can only serve a single master in his life, or because he fears failure again? Is it a subconscious feeling of guilt/helplessness regarding Lord Mifune's death that keeps him on the move? Life as a "wave-man" is aimless, pointless in itself, a waste of his skills and noble character.

The death of his lord, a very real and important father-figure for Usagi, must have been a thoroughly shattering experience for him. Intriguing that he didn't commit seppuku, but instead resigned himself to a life of continual chaos. It's ironic because he still retains his samurai pride and quite a bit of naïve idealism, believing that people are and will be honorable at heart and in their actions, but still shocked when they aren't. The contrast with Gen's experience of the world as it is – i.e., an essentially unfair, brutal place where nothing lasts – is masterful and sad. Usagi still wants a cause to commit himself to, even as he continues his life as a ronin. A long heart-to-heart with Sanshobo might help Usagi, as they have so much in common.

Larry Hilf
Rochester, NY

Dear Stan,

You normally don't think of Preacher when you read Usagi Yojimbo, but the cover you and Tom Luth crafted for Usagi Yojimbo #22 made me think of a Glenn Fabry piece. There were flames. There was great evil. And there was great courage, too.

It was probably a coincidence, for priest Sanshobo isn't Jesse Custer: he's a sort of brother Cadfael, a man of the world turned man of the word, and if he doesn't fathom the way of the gods, he doesn't question them – or doubt their ultimate benevolence. Indeed, if you want to talk about lost meetings – Tomoe and Usagi not meeting in the course of an adventure has a history, so I regretted their separation here less than you, Stan – the one I hope to see in the future is between priest Sanshobo and "farmer" Ikeda. Both men are fathers, both are samurai who have chosen different paths, and both have keen intelligence. I think they'd hit it off well, and Motokazu would benefit from instruction from "uncle" Sanshobo.

There was little else to regret in the conclusion of "Grasscutter" (well, maybe the absence of those lovable woodcutters, but you used them well in another story involving a sword, so I won't complain). Jei's soul found a new home in Inazuma's form, and Gen will recover in time. The decision about the sword of the gods was just and apt, and it showed the wisdom of the head priest...as well as the fact that a religious man could appreciate a good irony. Therein may be the difference between Sanshobo and Ikeda.

And beyond that, we had:

1) The responses to the earthquake and the relocation of Jei's soul, which moved neatly between being a superb running gag and a chilling development;

2) The discreetly handled massacre at the monastery, which left the horror to the reader (and thereby made it all the more horrible – in comics, less really is more);

3) Lord Oku and the surviving conspirators' new plans, which a Neko ninja overheard (my guess is that this was Chizu; clan chief though she may be, she's still a woman who'd rather do her own work, much like her late brother Shingen);

4) Usagi's slow recovery;

5) The word about Gen (he'd better recover!); and

6) The innocence of Keiko, who worked much better as a companion/familiar rather than as the archfiend itself. You probably could pull off a "bad seed" conclusion deftly, but it wouldn't have haunted as hard as the promise of "auntie" Inazuma leading "to hell, my innocent, to hell."

What you created may not have been what you envisioned. Nonetheless, it was a true epic, and you should be very proud of it.

Charles J. Sperling
Flushing, NY

Dear Stan,

I am really enjoying the latest epic, and I think your decision to alternate one-shots and short story arcs with maxi-series-length epics is a good one. I was perusing the color specials from Fantagraphics Books, and I wondered if you and Dark Horse will be reprinting them in one of the upcoming collections. I am curious as to why the hardcovers often have stories in them that the paperback collections don't. Like many readers, I have a limited budget that often necessitates going for the paperback, and I find it annoying that this is done. It comes across as a gimmick to get a few more cents out of one's pocketbook. Perhaps you could reprint those stories with the specials and the shorts that appeared in the Radio Comix Art of Usagi issues.

I am curious about the assassin-painter hired to kill Lord Noriyuki and his possible connection to Jei. Goyemon was also demon-possessed, though instead of a blade to capture souls he used paint. The scene where all the souls are released as he dies is just like Jei's death scene. I also liked the disappearance of the images he created. Does this mean that paint set may migrate into the vicinity of Grasscutter and those involved in the story? It would be interesting to see what happened to the kid who ended up with it. It would make for a great aftermath tale, especially if Tomoe relates what happened to both Ikeda and Sanshobo.

Somehow, I don't think the demon in Goyemon was the same one in Jei, for both characters seemed to be operating during the same time period, though not in the same areas. Until the Noriyuki job, Goyemon appeared to be working on a quiet, discreet level for people who did not want to attract attention to themselves. He apparently left bodies of people who either died of "natural causes" or unfathomable ones. Jei was never a quiet or unmessy killer, nor someone you could easily ignore. I would love to know if the demons knew each other. It would be interesting if Sanshobo or Ikeda had heard of Goyemon. Considering the high positions they once held, they must have at one time had to examine deaths with baffling causes. I am curious about the scenes of Inazuma in [UY Vol. 3] issue #21. She is being taken over by the demon who had been in possession of Jei, isn't she? I hope it is not permanent and that not too many priests will die before the story's ending.

Nina Twersky
Lost Altos, CA

  Actually, only Books 4 and 7 hardcovers contained stories created specifically for those volumes. Book 4's "Return to Adachi Plain" was fully painted, but a black-and-white version appeared in DH UY #10, with guest inker Sergio Aragonés. It will also be reprinted in Book 11 (March '99 from Dark Horse). "Hebi," from Book 7, will also see print in Book 11, along with "Courage of the Plum" from Radio Comix' Art of Usagi #1.