In this highly-anticipated and ground-breaking 3-issue mini-series (UY 117-119), Stan Sakai really pulls out all the stops in his Usagi Yojimbo series. Featuring the return of the high popular characters Sasuké the Demon Queller and Kitsune the Thief, the mini-series features a supernatural storyline that will surely dazzle Usagi fans. The covers for this series feature amazing artwork, especially the wraparound cover for Chapter 3 in UY 119, which features Usagi battling a horde of zombie samurai!

Usagi takes on the living dead!

November 23, 2008

Todd Shogun: Stan, what can you tell us about the exciting new series you are working on, "Traitors of the Earth"?

Stan Sakai: Basically, the entire storyline is: Three hundred years ago, there was a rebellion within the Otomo Clan with the final battle between Lord Miyake and the traitor Lord Hayashi. Miyake was the victor, and the dead traitors were left on the field, a warning to any other would-be rebels. Hayashi's head, however, was taken as a trophy. In the present, Kitsune does what she can to get by and picks the purse of a arrogant samurai, little knowing that he is the messenger bringing a certain item to a wizard. Highlights of the story involve a fight with ronin, a demon tree, stone lions/dogs [Komainu], flying across a river, and the climactic wizard's duel and zombie battle.

Todd Shogun: How far along are you on the new story arc?

Stan Sakai: I'm working on the third and final part of the Traitors of the Earth storyline, and I haven't had a more enjoyable time drawing an Usagi story in a long while. Don't get me wrong. I really like working on Usagi, but this one in particular. There is magic, zombies (shibito), and an insight into Sasuké that I never revealed before. I hope fans will like it.

Todd Shogun: What's up with the zombies? I don't think we've seen Usagi battle them before.

Stan Sakai: I'm not particularly into zombies as a genre, but came up with this idea and ran with it. The first part will be 25 pages, instead of 24. The third part will have a wrap-around cover.

According to Stan, the gargoyle-like beasts on the cover of UY 118 are "komainu"--stone dogs that guard a shinto temple. They (though not animated ones) played an important role in the story "Komainu" which guest starred Kitsune the Thief.

Usagi encounters Komainu -- gargoyle-like stone dogs

Sasuké, the demon queller, is an anthropomorphic fox in the comic book Usagi Yojimbo. A ronin, Sasuké is a skilled swordsman and archer, but he also practices maho (sorcery). He has devoted his life to hunting demons (hence the title of Demon Queller). Sasuké has no known friends; he makes allegiances whenever he must, but is quite willing to do things alone if necessary. He is overly professional, and many consider him cold and heartless as a result; Miyamoto Usagi prefers not to associate with him beyond the occasions when they happen to face a common enemy. Little else is known about Sasuké, including his life as a samurai or where he got his powers. Read more about Sasuké at the UY Wiki!

Sasuké returns to battle the supernatural