USAGI YOJIMBO Volume 1, Number 17

Hawaii fans!  Sergio Aragonés and I will be doing a joint booksigning at Jelly's Comics & Books' Piikoi store on Saturday, July 15 and at their Pearl Kai Center store on July 16.

We'll also be at the San Diego Comic Con in August, so if you're there, stop by our tables and say Hello!

Dear Usagi,

What's up? I just read #14 and it's great. I think you and Tomoe Ame have something going (you better save her). The fight between you and Shingen was the best fight yet. You left me hanging at the end with the "to be continued." Now I can't wait for Usagi #15.

Goodbye for now.
Brett Sillman
Oceanside, NY

[Glad you asked what "up" is, Brett. "Up" is the opposite of "down." Ooh, ouch, I'd better let Stan answer a few letters after that one. - ED.]

Dear Mr. Sakai,

I am a relatively recent entrant into the saga of our favorite battling bunny but I am proud to say that I am now as big a fan as any of your title. My compliments on the "Dragon Bellow Conspiracy" story, which is progressing nicely indeed. Only you seem to be able to give me a sense of doom for a character (for the Blind Swords-pig, that is). I thank you also for giving us serious anthropomorphic stories which are carefully laced with the correct amount of humor and cuteness.

I have to ask you, when Japanese armor is worn, doesn't a samurai wear a face guard with steel hard enough to blunt a spear point? And why wasn't Usagi wearing a neck guard to prevent decapitation? Also, doesn't a samurai shout about his ancestors as he attacks to demoralize his enemies; if so, why doesn't Usagi do that? Finally, are you trying to put Western attitudes into Usagi's Japan so we readers will not be repelled by random violence done by Usagi? You see, I read some of Shogun and I noted the arrogance and horrible disregard for the sanctity of human life (namely killing a gardener for the simple error in flower arrangement, then dicing his body into pieces), yet Usagi has never done that.

Now, I have a request. Why don't you have sort of a romance between Usagi and Tomoe? I know that Usagi's life of a ronin is not very conducive to such a thing, not to mention that Tomoe is a cat and Usagi's a rabbit, but please think about it. After all, Tomoe is the closest thing to a girlfriend Usagi's got after Mariko married Kenichi and he needs someone to help deal with the emotional scars that he has gotten through his travels - not to mention, they make a great combat team! Also, I would like to see how Usagi would react to Western culture or perhaps to modern Japan in some way (in a dream or possibly time travel).

Finally, what do you mean about reducing the frequency of Usagi to bi-annually! I certainly hope you won't be doing it any time soon, if ever.

Kenneth Chisholm
Goderich, Ontario, Canada

[If Usagi were to wear a face-mask during battle, he would be just another anonymous samurai. I wanted to keep him easily recognizable, so I used my artistic license (which I do fairly often) and kept the area around his head uncluttered. That's also the reason I left off the neckguard and got rid of his helmet so soon after the battle. A warrior did, indeed, shout out his lineage during pre-battle challenges to intimidate the enemy forces and also in the hopes that a samurai with an equally prominent background would answer his challenge. However, Usagi doesn't proclaim his ancestry now that he's a ronin to avoid disgracing them with his masterless status.

[Will Adams, the inspiration for James Clavell's Blackthorne, was a fascinating historical figure. He commanded under Drake against the Spanish Armada, was the first Englishman to set foot on Japan, became a trusted advisor to the Shogun, and had memorials erected to him in Ito, Japan and Kent, England. Shogun, though a highly enjoyable book, is a very romanticized account of a portion of his life and a Westerner's interpretation of the Samurai class. There are a few other books based on Adams' life, such as The Needle Watcher by Richard Blaker and Richard Lund's Daishi-San.

[As for a Usagi/Tomoe romance, they now regard themselves as comrades, but who knows the future?

[You won't see Usagi in the modern world in this series, Kenneth, but wait for his appearances in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' TV show this fall when the samurai rabbit pops up in 20th century New York!

[What do you mean about Usagi being reduced to a bi-annual? Kim, is there something you didn't tell me?

[- STAN SAKAI]

Dear Stan and Kim,

Is Miyamoto Usagi getting taller? I understand that most funny-animal characters undergo apparent changes in design, but I've never really noticed a change in height in them. He's probably not getting any taller, but he looks it. I just hope that he doesn't change to the point that he doesn't look anything like the Usagi of yesterday (for an evident example, see Cerebus or TMNT). Keep him the way he looks now.

I am completely overwhelmed! Usagi #14 was great!!! I think I speak for all of my fellow Usagi fans when I say that it was better than one of the best (which is all of them). Each sequence was overpoweringly thrilling. Out of the two rights Usagi had with Shingen, #14's was far more exciting than #12's. Speaking of Shingen, page 19, panel 4 was a great shot of him. It really brought out his mood. I have a few suggestions on Shingen:

(1) Shingen's pretty good with a pair of kama, but let's see him use his sword.

(2) Shine a little light on Shingen's origin and how he became chief of his clan.

(3) Have Usagi and Shingen become "friends" for a while.

(4) Have Gennosuké and Shingen fight, but don't let Shingen kill Gen.

A Gen/Ino fight sounds really interesting, but please have one of them die or get severely injured. A move like this would make your comic more dramatic.

Anyway, I've been thinking about something, and I'm a bit confused. It concerns Usagi's ties with the Ninja Turtles, particularly their leader, Leonardo. They've met twice, and readers seem to like the pair as a team. In the lettercols, a few readers have asked for the "further adventures" mentioned by Usagi. I know that just about anything can happen in the comics, and you haven't disavowed the two's meeting, so that must mean that the meetings actually took place. This is what confuses me - they actually took place. I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to put this down in words, so bear with me, I hope this makes sense. In Turtle Soup, Leo and Usagi spoke different languages, but in "The Crossing" they speak the same language (Japanese, I guess). ???? There's more - now, we all know that your story took place before Peter's, right? Well, this is the main cause of my confusion. In Turtle Soup Usagi was a ronin , since he fought the Neko Ninja Clan. He first crossed paths with them when he was a ronin. But in Usagi #10, Usagi was "young" and had learned his "lesson" shortly after training with a master swordsman (Katsuichi, no doubt). So this meant that the bodyguard bunny wasn't a ronin in "The Crossing." But he was in Turtle Soup...wasn't he? I'm lost! HELLLPP!!

Speaking of crossovers, have Nilson and Hermy team up with Usagi. A wizard could warp them to Japan and give them the power of Japanese speech or something. It'd work. They all live in the same time zone, right?

By the way, your Fish Police story was great. Your art looks spiffy in color. Also, thanks a lot for the neat Usagi card. What does it say, anyway?

Todd Shogun
Cypress, CA

[Hello again, Todd. Boy, you must have the record for the most letters sent to Usagi.

[You're right in that Usagi does look different but he hasn't gotten taller. His proportions have changed. He started out being about five heads tall and now he's closer to six heads. The average man is about 7½ heads. It was a gradual evolution for Usagi and totally unconscious on my part.

[As you can see in this issue, I don't plan to use Shingen again, though he and Usagi did become "friends" for a while. But the Neko Ninja Clan is still around.

[Don't try to figure out how the Usagi/TMNT stories relate to Usagi's continuity. They were just fun projects that we all enjoyed doing. A third cross-over story appears in Mirage Studios' Shell Shock this summer.

[Nilson and Hermy will, one day, meet Usagi and the card (which was sent in December) says "Kurisumasu omedeto," or "Merry Christmas."

[- STAN SAKAI]

Dear Editor,

Mysteriouser and mysteriouser. That is what you can say about the current issue of Usagi Yojimbo #14. The characters are being drawn closer and closer every issue. I am really looking forward to the next issue to see what character is going to meet what character. Is issue, for example, I didn't even think that Usagi and Shingen were going to meet. What I am looking forward to, though, is the meeting between Zato-Ino and the bounty hunter rhino. I think that the whole story is going to come to a head after five issues, and that the sixth issue is going to be a "rebuilding" issue.

The artwork for this issue is some of the best artwork that I have seen. Every character, every background detail is done so well it just adds that much more to the story. Lord Hebi was really neat. I really liked the castle. Stan really has a way of greatly drawing Japanese architecture.

Well, that is all that I wanted to say. Keep up the great work. See you next issue.

Galen West
Ridgecrest, CA

[Thank you for your kind comments, Galen. I guess this issue has revealed to you just how accurate your predictions were as far as the story's structure went. - ED.]

Dear Usagi and Co.,

I've been a comic book collector for quite some time now and ever since about two years ago, the name "Usagi Yojimbo" has vaguely been given or referred to me as a fairly "hot" comic. I received the impression that it had something to do with a rabbit swordsman but that was really all I knew until IT happened.

I was at my usual "Comic Vendor" and it was one of those days that I had bought all my recent issues and there really wasn't any back issues that interested me (at the time). Out of my complete boredom, I remembered that pathetic name and my friend curtly telling me that the first part of it meant a bunny or rabbit. I looked around the shop and eventually stumbled across the infamous, and highly prized, Book One. I snatched it up and carelessly started flipping through some of the pages and at first, the art appeared a little too Walt Disneyish for my taste, but as I started reading the individual stories, the meticulous art and well-presented plots seemed to just get better and...the rest should sound fairly familiar.

I don't enjoy reading about how people got started in collecting Usagi - or any comic for that matter (hint, hint) - so I'll spare you the rest of my story. Incidentally, I was reading issue #14 the other night and as a whole, the comic was good but not drawn as "pristinely" as some of the others that I've seen. For instance, I noticed that in some panels, there wasn't the great detail that usually complements the story I've grown so used to. I remember reading somewhere that instead of us getting original art from good ol' Stan, that we'd get a certain amount of extra issues. I believe it was one more a year. Personally, I would prefer getting neither the extra issue nor some original art to sacrificing the quality of the comic. I've seen one too many potentially powerful comics go to waste like this.

I'm certainly not implying that you, Mr. Usagi, have gone bad. Quite the contrary, when the 15th issue came out, everything returned to that first-rate standard. It was just that one issue and hopefully will remain only that one.

I've also found another major discrepancy that happens too often. We, the readers, have been praising Mr. Sakai a great deal, which isn't bad at all, but we've also been neglecting someone else who, in some respects, is just as if not more important than the creator. Yes, I am indeed talking about Ms. Thompson, THE EDITOR. Face it folks, without her, there would be no letter column to begin with, or, at least, none of the witty replies we've been receiving. Who else would read all those letters and convey both criticism and praise to Mr. Sakai? I don't know about you, but not in a million years would anyone get me to do the job. So here it is, Ms. Thompson, your long overdue praise. Thank you for a difficult, often unrewarding job well done and may you continue editing knowing that somewhere out there, a lowly highschooler truly does care and your efforts do not go unappreciated.

Finally, to Mr. Usagi. I have by far the most questions for you, but I'll ask only one for now. You know when you fight one on one, you and an enemy usually stand a distance apart. Then, simultaneously, you race towards each other until you reach your opponent, clash in the air for a long moment, and then, more often than not, the opponent ends up dead. What is this "clashing" called - or does it have a name?

Thanks again, Usagi people, for everything, and keep up the exceptional work. Oh, and incidentally, I don't think your name is so "pathetic" any more.

Mike Ahn
Torrance, CA

[I don't know if there is a term for the "clash" but the actual act of cutting, I believe, is called "kiritsuki."

[I agree with you in that Kim deserves a lot more credit. If it weren't for Kim, there might not be a Usagi Yojimbo series at all. So thank you, Ms. Thompson.

[- STAN SAKAI]

[Ho ho ho, Stan. Speaking of pathetic names, I guess "Kim" falls into that category. You know, it was a perfectly acceptable male/female name until Kim Novak came along - and now with Kim Basinger, I think I'm doomed to an eternity of airline tickets and letters of comment addressed to "Ms. Kim Thompson."]

NEXT ISSUE: The aftermath of the "Dragon Bellow Saga" - but first, the Usagi Yojimbo Color Special , featuring an untold tale of Tomoe Ame, a classic Usagi tale re-colored just for this edition, a new Nilson Groundthumper story, a "Gnuff" story, and a Stan Sakai cover gallery - all in full, sparkling color, for a mere 95 cents extra.  See you then! - 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.