How did you discover Usagi?

shaxper · Post by **shaxper** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:24 -0700

Please feel free to elaborate!

shaxper · Post by **shaxper** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:28 -0700

I was a fan of the original TMNT cartoon back in the day (I must have been nine at the time!). My friend and I had gone to a new comic book store to look for Batman or something and saw the newest issues of Usagi Yojimbo and Panda Khan being displayed. We only knew these characters as guests on TMNT and were amazed to discover they had their own comics. My friend bought Panda Khan and I bought Usagi #24 and #25 (Fantagraph).

I don't think I actually got around to reading them until two years ago! I had forgotten I owned them, decided to give them a read, and immediately fell in love. I've been an Usagi addict ever since.

chickrockguitar · Post by **chickrockguitar** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 6:34 -0700

I too, was a fan of the original TMNTs Cartoon. And first met Usagi there... I was only a kid at the time, perhaps 10-12 years ago? I didn't know Usagi was from Comics. But I did fall in love with our Samurai Bunny on the show, so much in fact that I remember saving up my pocket money to buy his figure, to add to my other TMNTs figures collection (I was a massive TMNTs fan back then).

A couple years later I found a couple of issues. Then I realised, lol. But after not being able to find any others, (didn't have the web back then) I assumed Usagi had stopped being published - How wrong I was.

About two years ago, our local Comic store opened and they had Usagi issues - I was astounded, and realised that Usagi was still going strong. I once again fell in love, and have never looked back. About a year ago I thought about looking for Usagi on the web (what took me so long I'll never know), I found the Dojo and joined the forum a few months later!

My only regret now, is that I didn't keep my Usagi Figure and the couple of issues I had from years back... However I did re-buy the 90's Usagi figure and he stands on my shelf now, with the new TMNTs figure and Gen

I'm also currently collecting all the TPBs to catch up on what I've missed.

Post by **Maka** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:34 -0700

Hello UY Fans,

I discovered UY in the public library in Hawaii in the mid 90's. I think UY was just finishing up it's run with Mirage, so I bough issues 14, 15, 16, and the first two issues of Dark Horse run. Then I stopped collecting comics. But I couldn't resist UY, so I purchased the trade paperbacks.

In 2005, I decided to try to collect the individual comics again. I've signed up at my local book store to pull UY each month (it's the only comic I buy), any related UY merchandise, and I've been searching eBay to fill in the collection on the cheap. I look forward each month to read what is happening on the live of my favorite yojimbo.

Peace,

maka

cynlee · Post by **cynlee** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 8:41 -0700

I went to the San Diego Comic Con in 1987 because Robert Asprin was going to be there. He cancelled due to his father being very ill, and I'd already paid for the convention, so I started coasting around, and by doing that, as well as going to the panels, I discovered-- and met-- Stan Sakai and Usagi Yojimbo. I also discovered and met may of the independent artists/writers of the day, including Joshua Quagmire ("Cutey Bunny") and Larry Marder ("Tales of the Beanworld").

Other comics-- "Neil the Horse", Donna Barr's "The Desert Peach" (Barb Raush, as we stood in line for the costume competition, was handing out peach-colored streamers and extolling us to wave them and say something like "yo-hooo" when the contestants for the Desert Peach came out), "Captain Jack", "Critters"-- man, I've forgotten the names of the people I met at that time, but I remember things they did... "Equis the Uncivilized", "Panda Khan"-- "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" naturally...

Sergio Aragones was the "big name" for me at the time, having grown up more or less with Mad Magazine, so those were my frist "Groo the Wanderer" comics-- I still have issue one of the Pacific run.

Sad in a way, and yet a testament to its staying power, that "Usagi Yojimbo" is the only one still around publishing on a regular basis.

estee · Post by **estee** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 8:58 -0700

I have no idea what posessed me to buy Usagi all those years ago. I was pretty much a X-men fiend way back when. But something about the book caught my eye. I was hooked from the beginning.

Post by **Steve Hubbell** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:56 -0700

I discoverd Usagi Yojimbo through, or because of, Stan Sakai's association and participation in the production of Sergio Aragones' Groo the Wanderer comic series.

Because of it being mentioned frequently in Groo, I started to notice it in the local comic shop, which lead to stopping to look at it. I eventually decided to buy a couple issues, as well as a few issues of Critters containing Usagi stories. Needless to say, I quickly became hooked....

Usagi Yojimbo eventually surpassed Groo as my favorite comic.

Abayo

Shishio · Post by **Shishio** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:01 -0700

I used to have an interest in drawing as a child, and had the habit of collecting comics that had artwork I felt I could sketch. Both fortunately and unfortunately, (Fortunately, because I could afford them, unfortunately, because Usagi is a great series, and its issues deserve to be sold for more than 87 cents a piece.) I found some of the Mirage issues in the 87 cent bin at my Local Comic Shop. After reading them, I immediately learned to enjoy Usagi very much.

ai no ahodori · Post by **ai no ahodori** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 16:12 -0700

Read an article in Judge Dredd Megazine (which I am still to get round to scanning or typing up for Steve

) and was fascinated by the idea of a rabbit samurai, ordered books one and two from Amazon and now am the proud owner of books one through nineteen and a large credit card bill...

vonkhan · Post by **vonkhan** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 23:17 -0700

Forbidden Planet bookstore in Union Square, NYC

Post by **Mayhem** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 4:49 -0700

The C64 computer game actually (yeah there HAD to be one here!).

I was already reading TMNT at the time (the shop near school was very good at getting it in) but due to my limited budget being a kid AND a computer game addict, I never got around to buying any issues of Usagi. I read the occasional one that mates got hold of.

Now cue a few years back... eBay was big, the internet allowed talk around the world easily and I was in a full time job. Then I discovered this place. And so began the quest to get all the issues of the comic that I had missed out on getting when I was younger. It took a while and some money, but I managed to do it

About the only thing left I would like to do is meet Sakai-san in person...

Colin Solan · Post by **Colin Solan** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 10:02 -0700

Like many others I was first exposed to Usagi through the original TMNT cartoon

shaxper · Post by **shaxper** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 22:23 -0700

Mayhem wrote:The C64 computer game actually (yeah there HAD to be one here!).

There was an Usagi Yojimbo C64 game???

Post by **Mayhem** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:59 -0700

Yep... and quite good it was as well...

http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=6558

JediFraz · Post by **JediFraz** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:12 -0700

I became introduced to Usagi when I started Doing Kendo back in 2000. My sensei caught me reading a comicbook before class and he suggested I read this book called Usagi Yojimbo.

I stopped by the only comicbook shop in Edinburgh and got a copy.
My sensei was pleased I liked it, at least until he found out I'd bought his copy.

Anyhoo, Ive not missed an issue since.

Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard