USAGI YOJIMBO Volume 1, Number 15

Dear Usagi and Stan,

I started collecting Usagi a while ago. I really enjoy it. My friend got me started collecting.

But now, on to bigger and better things, Usagi #13...this is one of the best Usagi books I have eve read. The cover design is excellent! I also liked the cover of the Usagi summer special.

I'm desperately waiting for the next issues to come out. I know the Dragon Bellow conspiracy will continue to be the best story out. I know the next issues will be as good or better than #13.

Duane C. Villa
Lakewood, NJ

[As you can see, your confidence in Stan's abilities has not been misplaced, Duane. - ED.]

Dear Kim and Stan,

Please allow me to present a conversation between T.B. (that's me) and a friend of mine named "Hermy." Thank you.

It was a nice Saturday afternoon after conquering my comic book shop when all of a sudden:

HERMY: H'lo, Todd, How's it hangin'?

T.B.: Oh, hi, Hermy.

HERMY: Whatcha' got in da' bag? Grubs?

T.B.: No, just some comic books.

HERMY: Let me see ?um! T.B.: Oh, all right. Just don't get ?em all dirty and bent.

HERMY: Hmmm...let's see now...X-Men, Batman, Love and Rockets, Cerebus, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Groo...WOOOW!!! Look at this!!! This is awesome! This is cool! This is as good as Nilson Groundthumper And That Other Guy! It's...Usagi Yojimbo!!! Gee, you sure have good taste.

T.B.: Thanks, Hermy! I'm glad to see that there's one thing not Groo about you. You read Usagi Yojimbo!

HERMY: I always read it!

T.B.: Usagi Yojimbo is my best anthropomorphic comic. Stan Sakai's drawing puts Picasso to shame! And it's edited by this really hip dude named Kim Thompson, alias -ED., Mr. Critters himself!

HERMY: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I already know all that. Stan Sakai is totally boss, dude!

T.B.: I'll say. This issue, #13, is dynamite!

HERMY: Really? Well...uh...I haven't read it yet, so...er...could you tell me a little ?bout it?

T.B.: Sure. I'm always willing to preach the gospel of the invincible Stan Sakai.

HERMY: Gee, thanks a lot, pal!

T.B.: No prob!...okay, here goes: Y'see, Stan has this really interesting story called "The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy," part 1. I don't want to spoil the whole surprise in this story, but it's mostly about Usagi's main chick, Tomoe Ame. You know who she is, right?

HERMY: Yeah, I know who she is. She's the one that looks like Erma Felna, but she wields a sword or two like Zell, Sworddancer.

T.B.: This issue, like all Usagi issues, was very neatly drawn, with a good, strong plot. I admire Stan's technique and I've adopted it for my own use. "Sakai-style" can be seen in all of my drawings. Anyway, this story also features Gennosuké, Blind-Ino, Spot, and Noriyuki and His Dog with the bell that goes wan! wan! This issue also contains a bitchin' back-up story by Scott Shaw! and Mark Evanier. It also is very neatly drawn and totally mirthful. It's called "Digger Duckbill" and I thought that it was a superb story, not to mention about a year late.

HERMY: Well, allllright!! It sounds like one hell of an issue. I better get to my comic shop and buy a few before they all run out!

T.B.: You better do it fast, Hermy. As I understand it, Usagi Yojimbo is one of the world's most popular comics, especially in Singapore! On the day that the latest issue comes out, hordes of fans swarm their comic stops demanding issues of Ronin Rabbits. Why, I was lucky I got this issue. I was kicked, stomped, trampled on, and tripped by a mob of fans just to get this comic, but it was well worth it, by cracky!

HERMY: Well, be seein' ya, dude!

T.B.: See ya later, mole...er...guinea pig!

Well, there you have it! Keep up the great work, guys.

P.S. - Will you ever publish a giant-size Usagi issue like you do with Critters every Christmas? If you do, I'll be waiting to pay $3.50 for it (do I hear $3.25?). It could contain a really long Usagi story or it could be a book like Cerebus Jam or Turtle Soup where different artists could draw Usagi. Think about it.

Todd Shogun
Cypress, CA

[Thanks for the high drama, Todd. There are no current plans for a big, big Usagi special, although we're working on an Usagi Special which would, in addition to reprinting the Usagi story from Doomsday Squad #3 that got mangled in the printing, present a new full-color Usagi story and a special back-up surprise. And I think we'd like to keep other artists' drawing of Usagi to a minimum, only for very special occasions. - ED.]

Dear Mr. Sakai,

I love your comic Usagi Yojimbo. Your comic is probably the most exciting comic I've ever read. I think you should come out with action figures and a TV show on Saturday. I have 11 of your 14 issues and every one of them is great! My favorite one is #5, when he helps the town people who make silk for a carnival and bandits come to destroy them and Usagi helps them defeat the bandits. I think you're the best writer and artist alive so keep up the work!

Mark Wolkenbrod
Minnesota

[Thanks, Mark! - ED]

Dear Stan,

I've got to tell you, out of the hundreds of titles I'm collecting, Usagi is one of my favorites. Your art is great compared to a lot of the comics I collect. In fact, sometimes after I'm done reading an issue of Usagi and I start reading another comic, I think to myself, why do I waste my money on this when I can get more Usagi stuff? Could you please answer that?

Dan Burke
Elm Grove, WI

[That's quite a puzzler, Dan. Maybe you just read the other stuff for contrast, so you can marvel anew at how uniquely magnificent Stan's work is. - ED.]

Dear Stan,

Are you going to make Usagi toys or a cartoon series? If you make another comic about Usagi, why don't you put in all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I really like Usagi. I've got #1, 4, 7, 10, and #13. I'm even a Ninja Turtle Force member too. I found out about Usagi when I watched Ninja Turtles on TV. So I asked my dad if we could go to Comic Castle. when we got there I got Turtle Soup. When I read the story "Turtle Soup and Rabbit Stew," I saw Usagi and my dad got me Usagi Yojimbo #1. And that's how I found out about Usagi.

Jeremy Lumbreras
San Diego, CA

[A long and circuitous route, Jeremy. but we're grateful to the Turtle boys, whose support of Usagi and willingness to share the spotlight with the bunny has introduced him to thousands of new readers. - ED.]

Dear Mr. Sakai

I have been a fan of Usagi Yojimbo for quite some time now, and I love your comic. I especially enjoy reading the parts with him as a child. I have some questions:

My mother was reading UY Book One and told me Okii Ashiyubi meant "Big Toe." Is this true? And is it true that Tomoe Ame is also a type of Japanese candy?

Masaki Miyagawa
Los Angeles, CA

[Even in this crazy world, you can always trust your mother, Masaki. When naming his characters, Stan like to use Japanese nouns (sometimes incongruous ones, as your mother noticed) - although this is a tradition that goes back at least as far as the classic samurai movies. - ED.]

Dear Stan,

I just read Usagi Yojimbo #13 and it is very exciting. that has got to be your best cover yet. I know you're one of the Groo Crew and that is also great. I was wondering what else have you done because I want to get them. I have the Critters Special with Nilson Groundthumper. It was great. Do you ever think you could put him in one of the Usagis? Well, that's all I have to say for now. Goodbye.

Brett Sillman
Oceanside, NY

[It would take some pretty hefty traveling on Nilson's part, since he's about a continent away from Usagi. Oh, you mean just run a Nilson story in Usagi? Could be...but the first open back-up slot is sometime in 1990 at this point, so get set for a longish wait. - ED.]

Dear Kim,

Just finished #13 and thought that I would drop you a line. I have really liked this book from the beginning. This issue, especially, was one of the nicest that I have seen. (That includes the Critters issues which I hurried out and bought after reading Usagi #1). I think what really attracts me to the stories is the scripting. They all have been very exciting and well-paced. Not once have I read one or two pages and thought "God! This is so boring." Being a martial arts student and teacher (tae-kwon-do), I have really enjoyed the sword and fight scenes in the book. (Bring back the Mole Ninja , by the way). I have a feeling that in the next few issues all of the main characters are going to have one heck of a party together. (The Blind Swords-Pig is my fave character, next to Usagi).

The art is what first attracted me to the book. As a student of ancient Japanese history and art, I find it a real pleasure to see how faithful Stan is to the styles of the architects. He doesn't make up his own oriental style of buildings. I really appreciate that. Every frame in every book is really well embellished. Everything from the right scenes (always very funny) to the rain gliding down Usagi's face (page 19, last panel) are beautifully done. I couldn't ask for more from a book.

Well, that is all for now. Thank you for listening and keep up the great work.

P.S.: The back-up "Digger Duckbill" was really quite good. I liked it a lot. (Glad to see that it finally made it to the pages of this book).

Galen Spenser West
Ridgecrest, CA

[Thanks, Galen. Your vote for bringing back the moles has been noted. - ED.]

Dear Stan,

I've just bought issue #13 of Usagi Yojimbo. I plan to get all the Usagi comics from the catalog in the comic. I like the cover. Nice touch with the dragon. I've been doing some drawings of Usagi and Tomoe Ame. I sent one of Tomoe with the letter. I hope you like it.

Jeff Trumbore
Pipersville, PA

[Stan is always delighted to see fans' interpretations of his characters. Thanks for the art, Jeff, and we hope we didn't break your piggybank! - ED.]

Last change: 19. May 2003

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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 authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.