USAGI YOJIMBO Volume 3, Number 12

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[The story notes have been copied to the story - P. Dark]

Dear Sakai-sensei and Jamie-san,

I have been meaning to write again since Inazuma reappeared in UY 6. It was good to find out just what she is about, and her future appearances will be greatly anticipated. The sequences in [Vol. 3] #7 depicting the challenge of the established school and its subsequent dishonorable retaliation was good to read; I always enjoy references to Musashi's exploits. The instructor's obligation to commit seppuku was dramatic. Length, excellently depicted battles, and the ending left open to find a fateful conclusion in the future between Koji and Katsuichi. And one other thing - Usagi is not so invincible as he's seemed in recent issues...

[Vol. 3] #8 was lovely. A touching story of Usagi's indomitable humanity and dedication, something we notice is nearly always surprising to those he tries to help. I knew the child must be a ghost, though. I wonder, will she grow up to become a Yuki-Onna?

And our first glimpse of the tempest on the horizon: [Vol. 3] issue #9. Good to see the dominating Priest Sanshobo again - another powerful ally for our leporine hero, ne? "The Conspiracy of Eight" has left me hungry for my next comics pick-up. All I can feel confident about is that the dangerous document is in safe hands: Chizu's.

Please put my piece of art that I attached in the letters column - it took me so long to prepare. I hope you like it.

Keep well, everybody.
Oskar Archer
Mylor, South Australia

Fan Art by Oskar Archer

[I left one very subtle clue that Fumiye was a ghost. You might notice that Usagi and his burden left deep tracks in the snow, but she never left a footprint. I would like to think that Fumiye has found peace and never became Yuki-Onna (literally, "Snow Woman"). Yuki-Onna is a young, beautiful mountain spirit who appears during snowstorms and lulls men to sleep and death.

[As you saw in the last issue, neither the document nor Chizu's fate are in safe hands.

[We'll be on hiatus for a couple of months while I start on "Grasscutter," which begins with [Vol. 3] issue #13. In the meantime, though, be on the lookout for The Art of Usagi Yojimbo [#1] from Radio Comix shipping in April. I will be part of a month-long art exhibit and will give a presentation of my work at the Japanese-American Cultural Center on May 4 during L.A.'s Little Tokyo Children's Day Festivities. And, of course, I'll be at my usual spot at Comic-Con International: San Diego in July.]

[In July, look for an all-new one-shot, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: Green Persimmon, collecting the serial that has been running monthly in the Diamond Previews catalogue. It will be followed by [Vol. 3] #13 in August.

[Also, in this month's corrections department, I gave a wrong number for Video Action in #9. The correct number is (214) 687-8262. My apologies to all. Stan's just so good at what he does and so easy to work with, I keep falling asleep on the job. I've learned my lesson. I promise. - Jamie]

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.