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Interview: Stan Sakai - part 1
by Richard Whittaker
http://www.hubfiction.com/2009/07/issue-93/
http://hubfiction.com/hub/Hub_93.pdf
HUB MAGAZINE, JULY 26, 2009
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HUB MAGAZINE, JULY 26, 2009
Last edited by Steve Hubbell on Wed Aug 05, 2009 1:21 -0700, edited 1 time in total.
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Steve Hubbell
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Re: Hub Magazine (no relation) Interview (part 1 & 2)
INTERVIEW: STAN SAKAI - PART 1
by ROGER WHITTAKER, (HUB MAGAZINE, JULY 26, 2009)
Stan Sakai’s world is a simple place with a simple order to life.
“Lizards are lizards, birds are birds, and rabbits are people,” he explained to a crowd gathered earlier this year at the STAPLE! Indie Media Expo in Austin, TX. Sakai’s world is the world of Usagi Yojimbo, the comicbook tale of a samurai rabbit on a warrior’s pilgrimage across a fantastical version of 17th century Japan. The latest volume, Bridge of Tears, has just been released through Dark Horse comics, and marks the 25 anniversary of one of the longest-running indie comics ever.
The roots of Usagi are as simple and clear as Sakai’s own art. Growing up in Hawaii, he watched imported Japanese Samurai movies in the local cinema. In 1982, he first drew a bunny with his ears drawn up in a topknot. He took the Yojimbo from Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 ronin classic of the name, added usagi (the Japanese word for rabbit) and voila.
But Sakai has never treated the story as a silly wabbit tale. His work, he explained, is built around one maxim: “Lack of research will kill a story, no matter how good it is.” Usagi is immersed in Japanese culture and myth. Just as the eponymous hero was inspired by the tale of Miyamoto Musashi, the 17th century kensei or sword-saint, the series’ heroine, Ame Tomoe,is a mixture of the 12th century warrior-nun Tomoe Gozen and a rice candy Sakai loved as a child, tomoe ame (“The kanji characters are different, to avoid lawsuits,” he added.) That’s why A Kite Story from #20 is one of his favorite stories: He got to research the culture and construction of the giant Odako kites. That’s why he took five years to research the myth-shrouded sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi: To make sure he gets everything accurate. “The research inspires me,” he said. It pays off: The resultant story, Grasscutter, earned him his 1996 Eisner for Best Serialized Story.
But it wasn’t Usagi that started his career. The rabbit was going to be a back-up character in his first major strip, The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, which ran back in 1983 in Albedo Anthropomorphics #1. The first Usagi story didn’t appear until the second issue, which Sakai admitted “they could barely give away.” There was no market for comics aimed at a mature reader that weren’t either stoner comedy or porn, and especially nothing in black-and-white. Then a little comic called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out and “the black-and-white boom was on,” he said.
One big plus? Suddenly Albedo #2 was going for $200.
As one of the big names of this new movement, he inevitably ran into TMNT creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. In fact, he sought them out, sending them a sketch of Usagi, and they reprinted it, “and that really upset me,” he joked. “If I had known they were going to do that, I would have done a much better job.” That lead to a professional and personal relationship has lasted to this day, with Usagi/TMNT crossovers that continue to this day.
But his strongest and longest working relationship remains with his oldest collaborator: Sergio Aragones, the creator of Groo the Wanderer. Lettering for the comic title was his first professional gig in comics, and he admits that their relationship has had a big impact on his work, “particularly my drawing ... through many years of constant mockery, I’ve learned to draw faster.” Aragones is, he said, “One of the ten most fascinating people I have ever met. It’s because of him that I’ve learned to work on the road.”
Even after 25 years at the summit of indie comics, with an Eisner actually signed by Will Eisner, Sakai is grateful for everyone that asks for his signature. One guest at the expo, with mild embarrassment in his voice, asked Sakai if he could sign some of his Usagi collections. Sakai told him, just leave them by the booth and he’ll get to them as he could. In fact, he drew a different sketch of a different character in every single volume, and thanked the collector for his loyal support.
In some ways, that’s some of the fanboy coming out in Sakai, since he remains astonished that he gets to meet the artists that have influenced him so much from all cultures. “Getting to travel is one of the neat blessings of what I do, and” he added, “not only do I get to travel, but people pay my way.”
Usagi has become an international sensation, with one odd exception. Although the tales of the sword-wielding bunny is available in 12 different languages, it has never been translated into Japanese. In part, Sakai said, that’s down to the format. Even though his stories combine two mainstays of manga (anthropomorphized animals and bushido culture), Sakai makes it clear that he’s a comic artist. The difference, he said, “is very hard to describe, but you know it when you see it.” His quick explanation? Manga takes 20 pages to show someone lifting a coffee cup, but in a western comic, that’s two panels. Panel one, cup up. Panel two, cup down.
Any disappointment about the lack of mainstream success in Japan is outweighed by one fan : Osamu Tezuka, “The God of Manga” and creator of Astro Boy and The Big X, who flew Sakai and his family out to Japan and was an impeccable host, “To this day, we have no idea why they invited us over,” he said humbly.
Tezuka isn’t the only industry giant to call him. As a child, Sakai bought Fantastic Four #2 (it was, he admitted, a matter of economics: DC had just put its prices up to 12 cents, but Marvel was still charging a dime a comic) and immediately became a fan of Stan Lee’s work. Decades later, Lee hired him as the letterer for his The Amazing Spiderman Sunday newspaper strip “He just called up out of the blue ... he’s just like he’s portrayed, that’s the way he is. He’s an outgoing, exuberant guy,” he said. When they finally met, Sakai had to admit that his son was also a huge fan (not because Lee helped invent modern comics, but because he was the voice-over guy for Iron Man, his favorite cartoon show). So Lee sent over a huge box of signed merchandise, including a back-pack that Sakai’s son wore every day for three years. “He’s 17, but it’s still hanging on his wall,” Sakai noted. Since then, Stan the Man has returned the favor: These days there’s a photo of Lee and Sakai’s daughter in Lee’s office, next to the photo of Lee and Ronald Reagan.
Even after 25 years, there’s still no end in sight either for Sakai or Usagi. He and Aragones have started working with artist Tom Yeates to bring together Dark Horse Comics’ biggest barbarian franchises in Groo Meets Conan (with Groo Meets Tarzan also in the stack). Before either sword-swinging crossover, there will be a 60-page water-color graphic novel entitled Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai (yokai being a Japanese spirit or demon), due for release in October. Like the origin of Usagi himself, it came from a simple sketch (“I just drew a couple of picture of zombies in samurai armor and I loved that,” he said.) Beyond that, he’ll be going back to his roots with new adventures for Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, but his ultimate ambition is to draw the final battle between Usagi and his arch-nemesis, Lord Hikaji. Only there’s a slight complication. He’s considering dropping a War of the Worlds prequel in the mix, with Martian scouts taking on ninjas, plus steam-powered gundams. And, of course, there is always space for more research and more historically-inspired characters. The next may be his biggest challenge: Wong Fei Hung, the 19th century Chinese doctor and revolutionary that inspired Jackie Chan’s character in the martial arts comedy Drunken Master. Yet again, the historic accuracy drives Sakai. “At that time, Japan was closed to foreigners, so I have to work out how to get him in.”
Next Issue: Stan Sakai sits down for a Q&A about how he met Sergio Aragones, the solitary nature of being a comic book artist, and the importance of keeping your intellectual property.
by ROGER WHITTAKER, (HUB MAGAZINE, JULY 26, 2009)
Stan Sakai’s world is a simple place with a simple order to life.
“Lizards are lizards, birds are birds, and rabbits are people,” he explained to a crowd gathered earlier this year at the STAPLE! Indie Media Expo in Austin, TX. Sakai’s world is the world of Usagi Yojimbo, the comicbook tale of a samurai rabbit on a warrior’s pilgrimage across a fantastical version of 17th century Japan. The latest volume, Bridge of Tears, has just been released through Dark Horse comics, and marks the 25 anniversary of one of the longest-running indie comics ever.
The roots of Usagi are as simple and clear as Sakai’s own art. Growing up in Hawaii, he watched imported Japanese Samurai movies in the local cinema. In 1982, he first drew a bunny with his ears drawn up in a topknot. He took the Yojimbo from Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 ronin classic of the name, added usagi (the Japanese word for rabbit) and voila.
But Sakai has never treated the story as a silly wabbit tale. His work, he explained, is built around one maxim: “Lack of research will kill a story, no matter how good it is.” Usagi is immersed in Japanese culture and myth. Just as the eponymous hero was inspired by the tale of Miyamoto Musashi, the 17th century kensei or sword-saint, the series’ heroine, Ame Tomoe,is a mixture of the 12th century warrior-nun Tomoe Gozen and a rice candy Sakai loved as a child, tomoe ame (“The kanji characters are different, to avoid lawsuits,” he added.) That’s why A Kite Story from #20 is one of his favorite stories: He got to research the culture and construction of the giant Odako kites. That’s why he took five years to research the myth-shrouded sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi: To make sure he gets everything accurate. “The research inspires me,” he said. It pays off: The resultant story, Grasscutter, earned him his 1996 Eisner for Best Serialized Story.
But it wasn’t Usagi that started his career. The rabbit was going to be a back-up character in his first major strip, The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, which ran back in 1983 in Albedo Anthropomorphics #1. The first Usagi story didn’t appear until the second issue, which Sakai admitted “they could barely give away.” There was no market for comics aimed at a mature reader that weren’t either stoner comedy or porn, and especially nothing in black-and-white. Then a little comic called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out and “the black-and-white boom was on,” he said.
One big plus? Suddenly Albedo #2 was going for $200.
As one of the big names of this new movement, he inevitably ran into TMNT creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. In fact, he sought them out, sending them a sketch of Usagi, and they reprinted it, “and that really upset me,” he joked. “If I had known they were going to do that, I would have done a much better job.” That lead to a professional and personal relationship has lasted to this day, with Usagi/TMNT crossovers that continue to this day.
But his strongest and longest working relationship remains with his oldest collaborator: Sergio Aragones, the creator of Groo the Wanderer. Lettering for the comic title was his first professional gig in comics, and he admits that their relationship has had a big impact on his work, “particularly my drawing ... through many years of constant mockery, I’ve learned to draw faster.” Aragones is, he said, “One of the ten most fascinating people I have ever met. It’s because of him that I’ve learned to work on the road.”
Even after 25 years at the summit of indie comics, with an Eisner actually signed by Will Eisner, Sakai is grateful for everyone that asks for his signature. One guest at the expo, with mild embarrassment in his voice, asked Sakai if he could sign some of his Usagi collections. Sakai told him, just leave them by the booth and he’ll get to them as he could. In fact, he drew a different sketch of a different character in every single volume, and thanked the collector for his loyal support.
In some ways, that’s some of the fanboy coming out in Sakai, since he remains astonished that he gets to meet the artists that have influenced him so much from all cultures. “Getting to travel is one of the neat blessings of what I do, and” he added, “not only do I get to travel, but people pay my way.”
Usagi has become an international sensation, with one odd exception. Although the tales of the sword-wielding bunny is available in 12 different languages, it has never been translated into Japanese. In part, Sakai said, that’s down to the format. Even though his stories combine two mainstays of manga (anthropomorphized animals and bushido culture), Sakai makes it clear that he’s a comic artist. The difference, he said, “is very hard to describe, but you know it when you see it.” His quick explanation? Manga takes 20 pages to show someone lifting a coffee cup, but in a western comic, that’s two panels. Panel one, cup up. Panel two, cup down.
Any disappointment about the lack of mainstream success in Japan is outweighed by one fan : Osamu Tezuka, “The God of Manga” and creator of Astro Boy and The Big X, who flew Sakai and his family out to Japan and was an impeccable host, “To this day, we have no idea why they invited us over,” he said humbly.
Tezuka isn’t the only industry giant to call him. As a child, Sakai bought Fantastic Four #2 (it was, he admitted, a matter of economics: DC had just put its prices up to 12 cents, but Marvel was still charging a dime a comic) and immediately became a fan of Stan Lee’s work. Decades later, Lee hired him as the letterer for his The Amazing Spiderman Sunday newspaper strip “He just called up out of the blue ... he’s just like he’s portrayed, that’s the way he is. He’s an outgoing, exuberant guy,” he said. When they finally met, Sakai had to admit that his son was also a huge fan (not because Lee helped invent modern comics, but because he was the voice-over guy for Iron Man, his favorite cartoon show). So Lee sent over a huge box of signed merchandise, including a back-pack that Sakai’s son wore every day for three years. “He’s 17, but it’s still hanging on his wall,” Sakai noted. Since then, Stan the Man has returned the favor: These days there’s a photo of Lee and Sakai’s daughter in Lee’s office, next to the photo of Lee and Ronald Reagan.
Even after 25 years, there’s still no end in sight either for Sakai or Usagi. He and Aragones have started working with artist Tom Yeates to bring together Dark Horse Comics’ biggest barbarian franchises in Groo Meets Conan (with Groo Meets Tarzan also in the stack). Before either sword-swinging crossover, there will be a 60-page water-color graphic novel entitled Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai (yokai being a Japanese spirit or demon), due for release in October. Like the origin of Usagi himself, it came from a simple sketch (“I just drew a couple of picture of zombies in samurai armor and I loved that,” he said.) Beyond that, he’ll be going back to his roots with new adventures for Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, but his ultimate ambition is to draw the final battle between Usagi and his arch-nemesis, Lord Hikaji. Only there’s a slight complication. He’s considering dropping a War of the Worlds prequel in the mix, with Martian scouts taking on ninjas, plus steam-powered gundams. And, of course, there is always space for more research and more historically-inspired characters. The next may be his biggest challenge: Wong Fei Hung, the 19th century Chinese doctor and revolutionary that inspired Jackie Chan’s character in the martial arts comedy Drunken Master. Yet again, the historic accuracy drives Sakai. “At that time, Japan was closed to foreigners, so I have to work out how to get him in.”
Next Issue: Stan Sakai sits down for a Q&A about how he met Sergio Aragones, the solitary nature of being a comic book artist, and the importance of keeping your intellectual property.