USAGI YOJIMBO Volume 3, Number 5

Send comments to: Usagi Yojimbo ~ Letters Column c/o Dark Horse Comics
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Dear Stan,

Hey! I finally got around to writing! I've been reading Usagi for about four years now, and it has endured as my favorite comic. As a lover of all things Japanese and especially feudal Japan, I'm pleased that Usagi-san is here to keep me happy (...and to satisfy my craving for anthropomorphic comics characters!).

Congratulations on a successful "move." I'm sure that Usagi is on the up and up - the stories get better and better! From one artist to another, I must say that the cover art for Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 3, #s 1 and 2 is absolutely beautiful! If you don't mind my asking, what medium was used? It looks a little like opaque watercolor.

I enjoyed the "Noodles" story line - though the fate of our title character was sad. It just goes to show that things don't change, even after several centuries. That is one of many important lessons that are expressed in Usagi, and you are to be commended for having a hero that is modest, polite, and pure of heart. These qualities are very rare among today's prominent comic-book characters, as you know.

O.K. - question time! Pardon my curiosity, but I have a need to know!

1) How did Kitsuné come to exist as a "real" being in Usagi's world? I thought she was only a Japanese myth who didn't need to steal or find some other way to survive because she was immortal. This also goes for having to hide from people instead of, say, vanishing into thin air.

2) Will we be seeing Inukai again anytime soon? The Daisho story (back in Vol. 2, #s 11 and 12) had a pleasant surprise ending and it would be interesting to see him and Gen once again competing to get the same outlaw (for very different reasons, obviously!). Which brings us to...

3) ...Jei-san! (Insert screams of terror-stricken campers here.) He is my very, very, very favorite Usagi character (I admit it - I love the bad guys)! I last saw him in Black Soul and was wondering when the much-anticipated Grasscutter story line would begin. I assume this will have something to do with the sword of Susano-O-No-Mikoto, as alluded to in your notes. I was dying to know what's going on with Jei-san and Keiko-san, but I know I won't have to wait long, because of the little "guest appearance" they made in Usagi, Vol. 3, number 1...

4) And finally, what advice would you give to a young artist who is considering working on a comic book (or becoming an animator)? I have my own characters who I work with, and people have mentioned that my material would make a good comics series. I've thought it over, but I'm only 17, and I'm not sure what it would involve financially, etc....you know?

Well, that's about it! Thanks for your time, and keep up the outstanding work!

Deanna Curry
Horseheads, NY

[The covers were drawn with a 50/50 solution of india and sepia inks. "Artist Colors," which is a permanent, light-fast ink, was used for the colors. A light color wash was brushed onto the entire art area, then a sponge was used to soak up the excess wash and to pick out the areas that were to remain lighter. Layers of color were then built up using light to dark washes.

[1) The kitsuné, or fox, of folklore is a sometimes benevolent, often malevolent, magical animal with the ability to change its appearance, usually into a beautiful woman who may lead an unsuspecting male to his doom. Usagi's friend is named after this creature; however, he did meet a real kitsuné in the third Color Special way back in 1992.

[2-3) Stray Dog and Jei will most certainly return.

[4) Practice and practice some more. Draw from life rather than copying comic books. Learn the basic drawing techniques, such as perspective. And show your work to others - friends, teachers, other artists, editors, etc. - to get feedback on your weaknesses and strengths. Good Luck.]

Fan Art by Marisa Sanwo

Art by Marisa Sanwo, age 7. It was drawn
at Stan's signing at the Children's Day Festival,
in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, earlier this year.

Dear Stan and Dark Horse,

"Noodles" in Usagi Yojimbo [Vol. 3] #s 1 and 2 was very well done! However, it seemed to me that Kitsuné should have been a little more devastated when Noodles was killed. I sure was. Hmm, maybe in 17th-century Japan it was a lot easier for those who witnessed death almost daily to accept it. Whatever the case, I was glad Kitsuné ended up getting her revenge.

Just to let you know, I've been working on a Usagi Yojimbo website of my own, which I call "The Usagi Yojimbo Dojo."

It's located at http://heart.engr.csulb.edu/_tbustill/usagi.html, and I want everybody at Dark Horse to check it out and tell me what they think by writing to my guestbook log-in page. And, Stan, go to Mark Evanier's house and log in, too. Your presence is desperately needed!

Todd Shogun
Cypress, CA
tbustillengr.csulb.edu

Konnichiwa, Stan and Jamie

Well! The move to Dark Horse has brought about a change in Usagi Yojimbo, the series, in more ways than one. "Noodles" is the "grittiest" story Stan has written to date - bittersweet, tragic, compelling. I was genuinely moved to tears.

Whilst I recognize that the plot line called for the demise of Noodles (otherwise it lost all its inherent drama), the local bugyoo (magistrate) really did exceed his authority by pronouncing the death penalty. Volume II of Kuji-kata-o-sadame-gaki (Collection of Laws Concerning Policing and Judicature), an Edo-period collection of 103 criminal code articles, demands that death penalty for thieves only when the amount stolen exceeded 10 ryo (1 ryo = 278.4 Troy grains); otherwise, the thief was tattooed and then beaten.

And it's really great to see those little "death-heads" again after so long an absence.

I look forward to a long association between Stan and Dark Horse Comics.

Dorian Davis
tanujitakamori.southern.co.nz

[Next issue: In October, Usagi Yojimbo #6 will continue its new Dark Horse status as an ongoing series published nine times a year. Be here for the return of Inazuma, a mysterious figure from Usagi's past, in "Lightning Strikes Twice."]

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.