Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Hi All,

Sorry it's been a while. Things are going great for the UY world! I can't get into specifics but if the tentative projects are confirmed, it will be incredible for 2017. Also, the rumor about the TV crossover has been confirmed, but I think everyone already knew. So let's just say I'm not talking about that!

I also was wondering what you guys want for the UY world? Any ideas, products, features, or crossovers in mind?

- Daniel

Woohoo! Keeping my fingers crossed for these mystery projects!

As for what I'd love to see, my wishlist includes:

• a feature length movie (stop motion or CGI)
• a good video game (high quality VR world would be awesome, but just a regular video game is probably more realistic)
• a book collecting color reproductions of all the individual issue covers, though it might be cool to see the black and white on one page and then colorized on the facing page
• a Hellboy/Usagi comic crossover
• iron-on patches, such as the chop logo, Usagi's Mon, maybe a couple character patches
• vinyl stickers (similar designs to the patches ideas)

dhfujii wrote:I also was wondering what you guys want for the UY world? Any ideas, products, features, or crossovers in mind?

- Daniel

Stickers, laptop stickers, imessage stickers . . . did I mention stickers?

Crossovers:
-Iron Monkey - Wong Fei-hung and his father Wong Kei-ying. Make it happen, Daniel.
--Beast of Burden - they are magical and could maybe time travel
-Hellboy

Thanks for the Usagi Noggens hat. It's the best. And thanks for doing posters too. Very fun. I'm looking forward to seeing if and what the high end action figure looks like.

Peace, maka

Forgot to mention, Chibi Usagi needs a full length comic book. Maybe a 4-6 issue mini series. Something I can give to the very young family members, along the lines of Itty Bitty Hellboy. Of course, Julie would have to draw the series.

Wow, you're getting me excited.

2016 was great - thanks to everyone involved for the cap, posters, coloring book....

2017 sounds like it might be even better!

Top of my list, sort of a holy grail, would be to see a movie made - while watching Kubo on Bluray the other day, all I was thinking was how cool Usagi would be in this format.

Not a big fan of crossovers, but I think a Hellboy crossover would be cool if done right (keeping it supernatural). Because of the long relationship with Sergio Aragonés, Groo might be neat, but I'd really like to see a story with Cat Nippon! Otherwise I'd most like to see a Narrow Road crossover with Kitsu & Ibo (artist Mark Morse and writer Zack Davisson).

Further book collections..... cover art, sketchbook collection, etc...

Yeah stickers and patches!

Pins! More pins! Enamel or Cloisonné pins .... just head shots, or full characters; clan crests.

YES! Chibi comics! I'd like to see a Julie version for the youngest crowd and a Stan version for the young & young at heart!

Limited prints ... I think Kyle suggested something like this once. Like what Mike Mignola does. - offer them at conventions and online for a limited time; one at a time; good paper (washi)...

And anything else that you can market!

Beanies and other headwear...
Toys and plushes...
t-shirts...

...and..... and..... anything, as long as it is Usagi, you can keep the quality good, and not too much at once!

I'll concur for:
-movie
-video game
-book collection of covers.

Also, some Usagi Lego figures would be fun.

Wish list:
1. Usagi Yojimbo cover gallery art book.
2. Limited edition print each year featuring new art.
3. T shirt designs that doesn't have comic art. Something that sparks conversation. For example a Usagi mon or chop symbol on a shirt much like a shirt featuring the Batman or Superman symbol. Other popular pop culture shirt designs that could be used featuring an Usagi variation with that same design. Again, something already recognizable by the general public however it has an Usagi theme that sparks conversation or questions. Hope that makes sense.
4. Usagi hat with the same chop or mon design. Flex fit style. Black hat with red or white design lettering. Sinple, clean distinct design
5. Usagi key ring lanyard. Red black and white color scheme.
6. Blank Sketch cover edition of an Usagi comic
7. Art prints of the endpaper art work in each hardcover and/or tip in art.

Some repetition and variations on previously made suggestions.....

1. A "Cover Gallery" book featuring all the issue covers in b/w and color and all the painted covers

2. A sketch cover variant issue of Usagi

3. A print portfolio of the UY: Senso covers

4. A Usagi Yojimbo key ring (not lanyard) small one and a half inch round metal and resin key ring decoration featuring an image of Usagi on one side and the name Usagi Yojimbo on the other side.

5. A new calendar featuring an original twelve page story and cover with each month featuring another multi-paneled "page" of the story.

6. Chiba Usagi comics by Julie would be awesome.

7. Crossovers? How about a giant size special issue featuring short crossover stories with Sergio's Catnippon, Mark & Zack's Kitsu & Ibo, and Francisco Martínez' Oveja Samurai.

8. a deluxe Watercolor sketchbook

9. A non-fiction coffee table book collecting Stan's travel reports (both written and illustrated types) as well as the best of his travel photographs (basically a photo album with travel reports and reprints of his illustrated travel stories....)

maichan wrote:
Limited prints ... I think Kyle suggested something like this once. Like what Mike Mignola does. - offer them at conventions and online for a limited time; one at a time; good paper (washi)...

I hope I'm not posting any spoilers I'm not supposed to (I don't think this is anything too top secret...), but when I talked to Daniel a few weeks back at the craft show, he said that (Neil?) (Art?) Adams gave them a contact for prints with thicker/better paper than this last run. While I love the art on this last set of four Usagi prints, I will admit that the thin paper was a little disappointing. So I'm all for doing future print runs on heavier weight paper for a more premium feel. I know that most the artists I buy prints from in the $15-20 range have thicker paper, so I'd imagine we could get an upgrade in material while still maintaining (or only minimally increasing) the current pricing.

Trevis Woods wrote:Wish list:
3. T shirt designs that doesn't have comic art. Something that sparks conversation. For example a Usagi mon or chop symbol on a shirt much like a shirt featuring the Batman or Superman symbol. Other popular pop culture shirt designs that could be used featuring an Usagi variation with that same design. Again, something already recognizable by the general public however it has an Usagi theme that sparks conversation or questions. Hope that makes sense.

Agreed, as I feel like a t-shirt needs it's own design/art, as pulling art straight from comic pages doesn't work so well, as it's set up for a rectangular page and not an article of clothing.

Another thing I'd suggest for t-shirts is printing them on the Gildan Classic Heather (cotton/poly blend) or American Apparel (50/50 or tri-blend), as the cotton poly blends feel way softer and, in my experience, they also age much better, looking fresh long after the 100% cotton shirts start looking old.

With the latest Death Skull contests triggering a bit of fun in me, I vote for skull stickers. Martian skulls, Usagi, Gen, Tomoe, etc.

And while we are at it, Stan could have a blank stack of official Usagi Yojimbo Death Skull Stickers (too morbid?) at his signings. Charge $20 and get a skull sticker sketch of one of the following characters (Usagi, Gen, Tomoe, Kitsune, Stan, whatever characters Stan could whip out without much effort.) Pay $50 and get a death skull sticker of you! I would love (maybe that's the wrong word) to be made into a death skull sketch.

Could we crowd source funding to get a UYD group sketch of us fans' death skulls. I'd wear that t-shirt. Okay, maybe I'm going too far. Sorry.

Peace, maka

jabba359 wrote: Agreed, as I feel like a t-shirt needs it's own design/art, as pulling art straight from comic pages doesn't work so well, as it's set up for a rectangular page and not an article of clothing.

Another thing I'd suggest for t-shirts is printing them on the Gildan Classic Heather (cotton/poly blend) or American Apparel (50/50 or tri-blend), as the cotton poly blends feel way softer and, in my experience, they also age much better, looking fresh long after the 100% cotton shirts start looking old.

Totally agree with the suggestions made so far, for any t-shirts. As a matter of fact I have some t-shirts from Japan that I'll take pictures of to show what I like (rather than explain it)...

Maka wrote:With the latest Death Skull contests triggering a bit of fun in me, I vote for skull stickers. Martian skulls, Usagi, Gen, Tomoe, etc.

And while we are at it, Stan could have a blank stack of official Usagi Yojimbo Death Skull Stickers (too morbid?) at his signings. Charge $20 and get a skull sticker sketch of one of the following characters (Usagi, Gen, Tomoe, Kitsune, Stan, whatever characters Stan could whip out without much effort.) Pay $50 and get a death skull sticker of you! I would love (maybe that's the wrong word) to be made into a death skull sketch.

Could we crowd source funding to get a UYD group sketch of us fans' death skulls. I'd wear that t-shirt. Okay, maybe I'm going too far. Sorry.

Peace, maka

Those are fun ideas Maka! Going one step further, I've actually thought of asking Stan a few times to render me in a commission as a character... so a UYD group sketch (death skull or full character) would be cool! I'd definitely support that! Let's make it happen!

Maka wrote: Could we crowd source funding to get a UYD group sketch of us fans' death skulls. I'd wear that t-shirt. Okay, maybe I'm going too far. Sorry.

maichan wrote: Those are fun ideas Maka! Going one step further, I've actually thought of asking Stan a few times to render me in a commission as a character... so a UYD group sketch (death skull or full character) would be cool! I'd definitely support that! Let's make it happen!

A UYD group sketch would be really cool, death skulls or not. Count me in.

A UYD group sketch is actually something I proposed to Stan a great many years back, something I could collect at SDCC one year, but he didn't have the time for it sadly. Never thought about asking on it again. The personal at the Dojo has also changed a bit since that time! It would have been based on the promotional picture for The Seven Samurai, with Stan and six Dojo members replacing the eponymous heroes. Obviously Stan himself would have taken the place of Kambei. As for the others, well I rather pictured myself as Kikuchiyo heh.

Back to the previous topic, death skull stickers is an amusing suggestion, I like it.

An oldie but goodie by Tyler Champion.

Simply, just what Stan does best -- continue to create one of the best comics known today.