USAGI YOJIMBO Volume 1, Number 35

Konnichi wa, Mr. Sakai

Before I begin with the compliments, a small cavil: Usagi #30 ("Circles Part 3 - Shroud Over the Mountain"), page 13, third panel. Kenichi shooting an arrow. His thumb is held upright, with his forefinger and middle-finger clutching the bowstring. I'm reluctant to criticize someone who obviously does as much research as you do, Mr. Sakai, but, um, my understanding was that the forefinger/middle finger shooting grip was the Western style, and the thumb/forefinger grip was the Eastern style. I could be very wrong, of course, in which case I'm (potentially) flaunting my Very-Wrongness in front of millions of Usagi fans, but I'm not sure I am.

That said...A NEW ISSUE! A NEW ISSUE! Unfortunately, I began collecting Usagi just after "Circles" Part 2, and so have had to wait all this time to read Part 3. Why can't you (and the Hernandez Bros) go weekly?

Mr. Sakai, I'll admit that, as a collector of Lone Wolf since issue #1, I had some initial hesitation about buying Usagi. I don't know what my problem was. Obviously - and I'm sure you already know this - you have a damn fine product here. It's interesting to me the fashion that the comic has evolved from Usagi's first appearance. Not just visually, though that is a large ingredient of what I mean, but also in terms of finding your "voice." The first few appearances of Usagi seem to me to be in a gritty, Goseki Kojima-style - not in terms of your line-work specifically, but more in the combination of the shadowing, backgrounds, and the facial expressions. Those, plus the writing and plot-lines, are very grim while also being (to me) an unfortunate (in view of what you've done since) imitation of the tough-guy action/adventure genre - the usual exchange of tough-guy lines and bravado, the killings, etc.

I now look at issue #30. What a difference! Your drawing style has lost its "grit," and exchanged it for a slightly more "cartoony" feel, but that is not a flaw. Far from it, I think your evolved style fits your stories completely. Your figures look more "believable" - a foolish thing to say, I know, for a comic book - but the bodies are proportional, unlike, say, the big-head bodies of the initial stories. More importantly, your writing style has matured. The early issues are entertaining, yes, but your comedy issues have become much more amusing, even witty (c.f. Usagi's reaction to Katsuichi and Shunji in #28); your action issues are more compelling - oh, I know that Usagi will never die, because the series would end without him, but still, I think there's genuine drama in the "Circles" storyline (loved the last panel of #30); best of all, there's always at least the hint, and often more, of the sadness and poignancy that is implicit in so much of Japanese poetry and philosophy. The meetings between Mariko and Usagi are a perfect example of this. The "Homecomings" denouement was sad, sort of, but issue #29 was so much more artfully and skillfully written - it has the elements of a good tragedy, rather than just sadness. I don't think it's too much to say that you're a better writer now, and that your artistic style has adjusted properly.

What I'm trying to say is that I like your work. I've been an aficionado of medieval Japanese culture for some years now, and I enjoy your extrapolations. Your research is obviously pretty thorough, and your stories do a good job of describing Japanese culture and mores (as an example, in #29, when Usagi mentions his feelings for Mariko in an oblique manner, and both he and Mariko are looking away from each other - a typical face-saving maneuver that many of your American readers might not have recognized or understood).

Some questions:

1) When is Usagi going to receive a visit, however brief, from Master Li Kao (who has a slight flaw in his character) and Number Ten Ox (esteemed former client and current assistant)? Oh, I know they're Chinese, and Usagi is Japanese, but still, I think an appearance would be fun. Of course, if you don't know Barry Hughart's three books, rush right out and read them - well worth your time and money.

2) Could you give a brief list of your source materials? I write, and sometimes use medieval Japan as a setting for my stories, but I have had a hard time finding English-language books that accurately describe the culture (and particularly the kendo schools) of the time.

3) Um...I realize that this next is probably in high demand, but...could you give me Tomoe Ame's Phone number? Or, if not, tell her that her sword-stroke may be like the falling rain, but her face is like that of the sun after the rain.

4) You've quite properly refrained from setting Usagi's adventures in a time that has a direct analogue to Japanese history, but I wonder: Is the reason we haven't seen the wako or the yamabushi simply that Usagi hasn't gone to sea or been up near the mountain temples or that the Shogunate of Usagi's time, like Nobunaga and Tokugawa, has already wiped them out?

5) I realize that Tomoe Ame's father, as sensei of the Falling Rain school, was free to train whomever he chose, but wouldn't he also have trained Tomoe Ame in the use of the naginata? I seem to remember that this was the socially acceptable weapon for a woman to use.

6) You've often had characters remark on Usagi's "unusual" style, but we, the readers, never see exactly why this is - all we see are sword swings. Could you, perhaps, spare a panel or two to show us why Katsuichi's teachings are such a departure from the norm?

Finally, an offering to Usagi and Mariko: please accept this poor attempt at a haiku from an admiring barbarian.

Tears on a pale face
Honor parts star-crossed lovers
A broken rose-bud

Jess Nevins
Washington, DC

Dear Kim and Stan,

Have you noticed that, in a very short time, three major Thoughts & Images alumni - Erma Felna, the Desert Peach, and, in retrospect, Usagi Yojimbo - all became unplanned parents? (Hmmm. I wonder if Empress Alicia...?) Let that be a lesson, kids. Accidents cause people.

Just to make things crazier, again at about the same time, Steve Gallacci plotted a Peach story and Sergio Aragonés plotted an Usagi story.

Coincidence? And where were you on the day Kennedy was shot?

Seriously, though, I feel dumb for not noticing that Jotaro resembled the young Usagi. I hope that one day Kenichi and Mariko have a child, and the two embrace the chance their fathers cast aside: to be best friends.

I was of a divided heart about the outcome in "Circles." I would have hated to see Usagi Yojimbo, the comic, end. But I would have liked to see Miyamoto Usagi, the character, settle down with a happy ending. But if Usagi has a descendant bearing his family name (Terry Miyamoto), that means he'll marry someday, right? Who's the lucky girl? Would her initials be T.A.?

Speaking of which, sometimes it seems like half the letter-writers want to get Usagi and Tomoe in the sack together. And half of them probably want to watch. Come on, people! Although it is not unpleasant to imagine Tomoe in the altogether, we are still talking about Tomoe Ame, lady samurai - emphasis on "lady" - not Ohio Hei, cat-geisha.

While we're on the subject, a few years ago, Jessica Amanda Salmonson wrote a three-volume saga of Tomoe's namesake: Tomoe Gozen, The Golden Naginata, and Thousand-Shrine Warrior. They're out of print, so you'll have to scour the used book shops and flea markets, but they're worth it. They're full of magic and fantasy, and the sex (a little) and violence (lots!) is by no stretch graphic. But if you like happy endings, pass 'em up. Almost everyone who comes into contact with her ends up dead.

And I think that Ms. Salmonson is a fan of both Usagi Yojimbo and Erma Felna.

Question: who was that cute little number who kept popping up in the Nilson Groundthumper stories? You know, Hermy's friend. I'll bet she's got a story.

In the Kitsuné story, I keep wondering how our hero got his purse back. Sure, wandering is a lonely life, but Usagi's too much of a gentleman to cop a feel - isn't he?

Re: Groo, which seems to be a topic of conversation. Sergio's wanderer used to be one of my favorites. But the book isn't as good as it used to be. Or maybe the problem is that it'' not any better than it used to be. The mag has stagnated and become too "formula." (What am I saying? This is a Marvel comic we're talking about! Of course it's "formula"! Sergio, if you're listening, two suggestions: 1) Play Groo off some dead-on straight characters and situations, and 2) Do something epic (no pun intended), with gods and demons and BEMs and such.

Oh, and Sergio, regrets on the passing of Bill Gaines. He was a large presence in the industry. Come to think of it, he was a large presence in an elevator.

I was glad to see Panda Khan make another appearance in the back-up slot, although I was disappointed that it was just another, "Heroes fight each other due to misunderstanding" story. I enjoyed the first story, "Dragon's Hide," (or as the Ursii would say, "Dragons! Hide!") much more.

If Stinz doesn't object too strongly, ask Donna Barr for a return of The Ninja on Four Feet for a back up. Say, how about an artists' jam? I'll bet Stan could draw a great Stinz. I just hope Donna's Usagi wouldn't end up looking like Hader with swords.

In case you hadn't heard, Riley's gone pro over at Antarctic Press. (Missed yer chance, Kim.) Besides some Ninja High School stuff, he's got his own series in Furrlough. Check it out.

With all the fan art you get, have you thought of printing an artists' portfolio, a la Buckwheat & Co's Red Shetland? In my previous letter 'way back when, I may have come off as some all-fired expert on medieval Japan, but actually I've only read a few books on the subject. The trick, I admit, is just to show off what you do know. So if I get above myself and, say, suggest that Mr. Sakai do a cover in the style of Yoshitoshi or Kuniyoshi, he should feel free to tell me where to go.

And my experience with Japanese cinema consists of only two movies: Rashomon (Excellent. Better than the original stories, which is unusual for any movie) and Gammera the Invincible (about a mutant turtle. Who'd believe such stuff?). So I fear that many of the references are lost on me.

(Incidentally, I happened to see a Usagi episode of TMNT a while ago. The plot was a typical two-dimensional, Western view-of-the-East, "bound by honor" thing. And Usagi's Japanese accent was substantially less convincing than Peter Lorre's Mr. Moto. Ah, well. Gaijin.)

There is one certain bit of information that I've never come across in my reading. Maybe one of you gentlemen could help me. I know that great care was taken to display one's enemy's head just so for one's superior. But after the display ceremony, what was done with the head? Was it buried, burned, pickled, smoked, or thrown on the dung heap?

Finally, I believe I'll have the audacity to suggest a couple of plot devices for Usagi. First, it would be an interesting complication if, in a couple of years, Lord Noriyuki were to develop a crush on Tomoe Ame. Second, on a National Geographic TV special, I saw and was impressed by the eerie realism of Bunraku puppets. How about a story involving them, maybe even haunted puppets. Or, how about a many-times-lifesize puppet, controlled from the inside. Get the picture? The first ever giant Japanese robot!

What? Where? Sumi ma sen, Sakai-Sama.

John Henry Sain
Medford, OR

PS. I hope I got that Japanese phrase right. According to an old bloopers TV show, it's something that Japanese actors say when they flub a line, and means, "I'm sorry, I could kill myself." Was I at least close?

Dear Stan,

Having just read "Broken Ritual" (arrived late here), I'm moved to write to you. There's an elegance to your storytelling and drawing that is a sheer delight to me every time I see your art. There's a bold and stylish simplicity about the finish of your drawing, but it's underneath, in the composition, timing and selection of images that I see your enchanting intelligence most clearly. Thanks!

If you'll excuse me, I'll now go into breathless fan-of-the-tales-mode - will we ever see a Kenichi story when Usagi isn't there? He's a pretty heroic character, eaten by jealousy, yet not consumed by it, a much better man than he gives himself credit for. There's almost a way in which this samurai duty thing obscures his goodness from himself and others; even if he was joe blow he wouldn't stand by and let Usagi die if he could help it, but he explains it to himself in terms of his duty, so gives himself no credit.

Does Usagi have an internal energy practice? Has he ever met a full-blown energy waster? These two questions give away that I haven't read all the stories yet, future pleasures.

Finally, following Kim's magnificent effort with "Labbit Tlacks", I'd like to suggest we don't name the letters pages "Rabitting On."

Best wishes,
David Morris
Bristol, England

Dear Stan Sakai,

Fairly recently I have become very interested in the martial arts, particularly those of Japan. Therefore, when I saw a comic about a samurai rabbit I thought I would buy it for a laugh. It was issue #33. I was impressed! The storyline was well written; congratulations to you and Mr. Aragonés for the result. The art, though fairly simple, was great, and I like your style very much.

Thus, when I next journeyed into town I looked for back issues. I found #31, and I bought it. Wow! It was just as good - if not better! The combat sequence with the possessed spearman was excellent, and Chapter 4 was very touching - even though I didn't know who Mariko was!

A few points:

(i) I love your creation of the Tokagé, where did you get the idea for them from?

(ii) I love Usagi, where did you get the idea for him from?

(iii) I love your comic! Keep up the great work,

Philip Symes
Exter, Devon, England

Dear Kim,

That last letter in #34 was pretty embarrassing! I wrote that when I didn't know anything about the comic and I was pretty stupid. By the way, caffeine free Coke rots! It doesn't taste the same at all Anyway, when I was writing that I was on Jolt.

The past few issues have been good. #32: Kitsuné is pretty cool, we'll see her soon right? As for #33 that wasn't great, it was like no cool action. #34: I like seeing Gen back with his new horn. I sure like Riley's drawings. I hope he sends more in.

Matt Warren
Sherborn, MA

P.S. Here is a revised hero list:

1) Usagi

2) Stan

3) Kim

Friends,

Usagi Yojimbo #34 was as usual a delight to read. One of the charms of Usagi stories is that the characters are as interesting and varied as in any town or countryside or country, and that Usagi's world is populated by rich and poor, young and old, and women as well as men. This may sound obvious, but all too many comics are full of macho young men and not much else.

Gen makes a nice contrast to Usagi. You can't trust him, but you can't dislike him, either.

The surprise treat of the issue was to get a surprise bonus Panda Khan story. This little exercise in oni magic captured the spirit of Usagi and of Panda Khan with a simplicity of style and clarity of story that was remarkable for its length.

But then, the spirit of Panda Khan and the spirit of Usagi Yojimbo have never been that far apart. Silly rabbit, indeed.

Namaste,
Elizabeth Holden
Ontario, Canada

Yo Ronin!

Just love that bunny. I regret bitterly the time I shunned Usagi Yojimbo, thinking it another "funny animal" comic. Imagine my surprise. Anyway, I won't go in to lengthy detail about your comic. It's been said hundreds of times before.

I cherish the times I am wearing my bathrobe, it feels like a samurai kimono. (I was even tempted to take up karate just to wear the outfit.)

Issue #32 was superb. I love the way Kitsuné threw the top at that guy's head. Usagi Yojimbo is one of the two only comics I read (the other is Akira). The Color Special #2 was great. Usagi looks really good in blue.

Hey, now that Usagi can't go and settle down in his old village, why shouldn't he take up Noriyuki's offer and become a retainer? He'd probably be quite happy as one. After all, samurai means "one who serves," doesn't it?

I just can't wait for Space Usagi! It looks really good.

Always Usagi's greatest fan,
Oscar Archer
South Australia

P.S.: Please answer all my questions, please (And please tell us about Usagi's scar).

P.P.S.: Tomoe Ame is a cat, right?

Dear Stan,

Howdy! First off, let me apologize for mistakenly calling Sergio "ghoulish." I was referring to Sergio's art in Groo, one issue with Chakaal and a huge "ghoulish" red spider. Sorry 'bout the confusion...jeez.

Now to issue #33, I am completely in love with it. The art, and most of all, the story...it's hard to explain how or why I feel this way toward it - everything is perfect in it. It's so authentic - but in a strange eerie sort of way. One thing that really pulled my attention was the "flash-backs" - the linework was beautifully done.

Ya know - this may seem crazy, but this issue didn't scare the heck outta me like the others...maybe I'm all grown up now - whoa!! Imagine that: I'm a man! No fears!! Ha ha! Maybe it's time I watched Snow White - that witch scared me...

The cover to this issue was also beautiful. The "cool" colors set such a dramatic mood for the whole book. Also, the facial expressions on the skulls were a good humorous touch.

I'd better go - I've got six pages to ink and write for "Furrlough"...

Keep up the good work! And thanks a bunch for everything you've done - I'm extremely grateful!

Chuck Dillon
Philadelphia, PA

P.S. Just wanted to say I loved Mike Kazaleh's rabbit story - I laughed for a couple of hours - but then I had to eat so I stopped.

Hey,

I just thought I'd mail you a letter and tell you how much I enjoyed Usagi #32. Gaki! Ha!!!

This Hatsu guy is really an interesting character. Cunning, untrustworthy, isolated from society...the perfect comedian. I'm hoping you'll make him a regular in your series. But whatever happened to his pal Sumo-Bear?

The Kitsuné is another character I hope we'll see again in the future. And Usagi has caught her eye. Hm. At any rate, aren't the Kitsuné supposed to be sorcerer-types of some kind? you hinted at it with her tops, but I would like you to clarify this. Thank you.

I have to comment about the artwork in this particular issue. I notice that you're paying more attention to detail than I ever thought possible. This is pretty much the best I've seen so far. You're really kicking butt with this pen-and-ink stuff. I hope it continues.

Todd Shogun
Cypress, CA

Dear Stan,

I'm a reasonably new fan of Usagi, introduced to him by Becca Strong, a long time fan of this samurai rabbit. While I adore Usagi's adventures through his surreal feudal Japan, I revere the odd misadventures of the funny and likeable characters at the end of the comic, such as Plato Potts (my personal favorite, congrats to Doug Gray on an amazing job).

I was wondering if there were any plans for compiling all of these mini-comics and similar works, and if not, MAKE PLANS, DAMN IT! Sorry, I get carried away sometimes.

Anyway, I have two questions: one, is Plato Potts going to be making more appearances? And two, does Plato have a bottom lip (or bill in his case) or what?

Will Carlough
East Chatham, NY

Dear Stan,

First, let me say "Broken Ritual" is one of the most moving Usagi stories I've ever read. Sergio should think up stories for Usagi more often, even if they do require some reworking.

Now, on to the real reason for this letter. In TMNT #46 I read that (gulp) you're going to do a "Space Usagi" series for Mirage. Why?!? Wasn't that hideous action figure bad enough? The only ray of hope is that the sketches look nothing like the action figure; maybe "Space Usagi" won't be as bad as I fear. (I know by now I should trust you, but that action figure nearly made me cry. Guess I'll just have to wait and see and keep my fingers crossed!)

Sincerely,
Lynn Tucker
Las Vegas, NV

Howzit Stan,

I have an idea for you. In the future, maybe you could come to Molokai (approx. 26 miles east of Oahu).

Molokai would give you a chance to get away from the city. Our island only has a population of about 7,000 and is very far from a city. You could also sign books at Mitchell-Paole Center, located right here in Kaunakakai.

If you're looking for a vacation, come here. You'll have a lot of fans!

Your avid fan,
Keith Ozawa
Kikai, HI

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.