Riddle me this....

[steven hubbell]

I am a tale of tails, and I have a tale of my own.
I started short, colorless, and cold;
but was given length, spectrum, and quantity.
I was originally part of the first, but am now part of the other.
And while I am now colorless again, I am much much more than when I began.

Who was I when I started, and what happened to me?

First four people to PM me with the correct answer are eligable for a free Schwarzer Turm Usagi Yojimbo sticker...


(sorry, I am not very good at composing riddles )

[steven hubbell]

Steven,

The anwser I think is Usagi and here's what happened.

"I am a tale of tails, and I have a tale of my own"

Usagi appeared as one of the many anthropomorphic stories in Critters then got his own title at Fantagraphics.

"I started short, colorless and cold;"

Usagi first appeared black and white in Thoughts and Images' "Albedo" as a backup story.

"But was given length, spectrum and quantity."

Usagi moves to Mirage and goes to full color.

"I was originally part of the first, but am now a part of the other."

This line kind of stumps me. Perhaps it is a refrence to Usagi beginning at Dark Horse as a limited series then becomes a regular title?

"And while I am now colorless again, I am much much more than when I began."

Usagi moves to Dark Horse who print the story in black and white. Dark Horse has now published more issues than all previous publishers combined.


Thanks for the riddles,

Dranatha

Great logic, and the second person to guess Usagi as the answer. Unfortunately, it is wrong.

Usagi and most of the characters in the comic do not have tails

The first Usagi story in Albedo is pretty much anything but cold, considering copies of that issue sell for pretty decent amounts now.

"I was originally part of the first...." this line (and the whole riddle pretty much) is an exercise in anthropomorphism, referring to an inanimate object (a specific story) as a living thing.

One last clue....
Usagi Yojimbo in tpb can be split into two groups, Fantagraphics andthat other publisher, Dark Force or something like that.

Abayo.....

[Cosmo]

Usagi and most of the characters in the comic do not have tails

Hm, this seems debatable to me. When, in "Shades of Green" (book Eight), Michelangelo says :

"[...] There are so many questions ! Like... do you guys have tails ?",

Gen answers angrily :

"Hey, don't get personal ! At least, we wear clothes !"

This answer, in my opinion, suggests that most people in Usagi's world do have a tail, in the same way they wear clothes.

But it's not decent to show these tails or talk of them publicly. As well as some other parts of our anatomy, ain't it true ?

At least, the idea of people having a tail is not absurd enough to make Gen explicitly refute it, or laugh at it. But I can be mistaken, as I haven't read all the books yet.

[steven hubbell]

You do have a point, it is not confirmed either way whether or not the main characters in Usagi Yojimbo have tails. As recently as the introduction to "Sukanku" in the Usagi Yojimbo sketchbook #3, Stan admits to not knowing yet if the characters have tails. The reason why Stan has said this story cannot be considered part of the normal continuety of the series has to do with a tail.

In regards to your veiwpoint, I'll ammend the statement:

Usagi and most of the characters in the comic do not have tails

to:

"Usagi and most of the characters in the comic are not yet known to have tails" (which means the "tails" in the riddle refers to something which definitely has a tail!)

And it is not a horse

[Fanfan]

Steve,

how many of us have found the answer yet ?

I just come back from the European Commision about Patent (i had a contact with the wall street journal) in Bruxelles, unfortunately i didn't find Enigma edition... beer or chocolate would have been easier to find

As recently as the introduction to "Sukanku" in the Usagi Yojimbo sketchbook #3,

You already have this one !?!

[steven hubbell]

Hey Steve,

Is it Albedo Anthropomorphics?

It's a tale of anthropomorphic characters with tails, it was short and colorless, had a color special and a color volume, and is now back to black and white. It was part of the first wave of anthropomorphic comics and is now part of a resurgence.

Anyway, that's my best guess..

Another very ingenius and very interesting interpretation of the clues in the riddle, but also not correct.

"I was originally part of the first...." this line (and the whole riddle pretty much) is an exercise in anthropomorphism, referring to an inanimate object (a specific story) as a living thing.

One last clue....
Usagi Yojimbo in tpb can be split into two groups, Fantagraphics and that other publisher, Dark Force or something like that.

Abayo....

Steve,

how many of us have found the answer yet ?

You are the only one who has made any reference to the correct answer, so far....

As recently as the introduction to "Sukanku" in the Usagi Yojimbo sketchbook #3,

You already have this one !?!

[steven hubbell]

This will be like that kid's game "fire and Ice" where I tell you if your answers are getting warmer or colder..........

Hello Steve,

I am not very good at guessing games, so I didn't think about your riddle at first. But recovering from surgery gives me a lot of time on my hands.

I'm going to guess (Although I think I'm really reaching, I have no real clue) you are referring to the lizards (Tokage).

<i>I am a tale of tails, and I have a tale of my own.</i>

very very hot at this point.....

Tokages have tails. Spot has his own tail.

<i>I started short, colorless, and cold;</i>
In Critters #1 (page 2) a tokage comes runing out of the forest with no spots (but in albedo issue #4, there are some also coming into the fire)

warm here because you are looking in the right general area, then you went ice cold.....

<i>but was given length, spectrum, and quantity. </i>
different sizes and spots and a lot of them

<i>I was originally part of the first, but am now part of the other.</i>
part of all vol's of UY and publishers

pretty cold on both sets of clues here.....

<i>And while I am now colorless again, I am much much more than when I began.</i>
I don't know about this one. I haven't got a copy of the sketchbook #3 yet

Peace,

maka

The sketchbook #3 does not have anything to do with the riddle, it was just used as a reference in the brief discussion concerning the status of the main characters in Usagi Yojimbo having tails......

"I was originally part of the first...." this line (and the whole riddle pretty much) is an exercise in anthropomorphism, referring to an inanimate object (a specific story) as a living thing.

The answer is available on this page if you search for the right clues:
http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2206

[steven hubbell]

Hello Steve,

Here's the second guess:

Albedo #1 - pgs. 2-4 <b>The Battle of Adachigahara </b>
<i>I am a tale of tails, and I have a tale of my own.
I started short, colorless, and cold;</i>
"rain and blood had churned the battlefield into a sea of red mud . . ."

<i>but was given length, spectrum, and quantity. </i>
US Book Four Limited Edition: pg 181-188
Water Color treatment
Also reprinted in larger size in Art of Usagi Hard Cover

<i>I was originally part of the first, but am now part of the other.
And while I am now colorless again, I am much much more than when I began.</i>
Vol #, Issue 10, Return to Apachi Plain - Inked by Sergio Aragones.


<i>Who was I when I started, and what happened to me? </i>

You are the story of The Battle of Adachigahara. First told in Albedo #1. You were retold in water color in Limited Edition of Book 4. And you were retold again in UY Vol 3, issue ten with the first ever inker besides Mr. Sakai in a UY comic story.

At least, that is my guess.

Peace,

maka

You have the general idea of how the riddle is supposed to work, and you found an interesting interpretation of the clues. Your bit about Sergio actually really fits that part of the riddle quite nicely. But it is not the correct answer. Somewhere between your first answer and this answer, you lost you tails.

[Dranatha]

Steven,

I got my sticker in the mail today along with the Usagi Woodcutter statue from ebay. Wow! Two rare collectibles in one day, I'm in heaven. Thanks for hosting this contest.

Dranatha

[Usagi]

......this comfusses me a bundle.

[steven hubbell]

I am a tale of tails, and I have a tale of my own.
I started short, colorless, and cold;
but was given length, spectrum, and quantity.
I was originally part of the first, but am now part of the other.
And while I am now colorless again, I am much much more than when I began.

Who was I when I started, and what happened to me?



(sorry, I am not very good at composing riddles )

The story which the riddle was referring to was One Night in the Cold and The Lizard's Tale

I am a tale of tails, and I have a tale of my own.
[a story of lizards, with a history or evolution of the actual story]

I started short, colorless, and cold;
[originally published as the 2 page b/w "One Night in the Cold" in Critters issue #23, Apr/1988]

but was given length, spectrum, and quantity.
[expanded into the longer, more complex full-color story "The Lizard's Tale" in Usagi Yojimbo volume 2, issue # 6, Jan/1994]

I was originally part of the first, but am now part of the other.
[originally published in a Fantagraphics comic, but reprinted in a Dark Horse book]

And while I am now colorless again, I am much much more than when I began.
[reprinted in b/w in the tpb as the longer, more involved "Lizard's Tale" story]


Thanks to everyone who participated and sent me their interpretations and solutions to the riddle, especially Fanfan, Maka, and Dranatha.

Again, I apologize about my poor riddle composing skills.

[Stan Sakai]

It's so obvious once it's explained.

You came up with a great puzzle.

[Fanfan]

Thanks Steve ! we wait for next one now

[Cosmo]

Well, I see why I couldn't fully understand this riddle. I'm quite ignorant about all these publishing subtleties... I'm still a newbie here, am I not ?

[Todd Shogun]

Refering back to the discussion about Stan's characters and whether they have tails...at the Groo Panel last month, Stan and Sergio got into a little argument about it. I can't remember how the question came up, I think someone in the audience asked Stan during Q&A. Sergio said "of course they do, they're animals", but Stan was adamant they didn't. It was hilarious.