DARK HORSE COMICS, MARCH 26, 2008

[Steve Hubbell]

STAN SAKAI INTERVIEW
by AARON COLTER (DARK HORSE COMICS, MARCH 26, 2008)

DARK HORSE: You've attributed much of your interest in Japanese history from when you were growing up, watching old samurai movies down the street from your house in Hawaii. Do you have a favorite film?

STAN SAKAI: Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, starring Toshiro Mifune, is my all-time favorite. I also like the 1959 trilogy version of Satomi Hakken-den starring Kotaro Satomi. Satomi Hakken-den has been filmed about five or six times, including as an anime. The version I like, though, has never had a VHS or DVD release. I would see it every year when I made the rounds of the Japanese theaters in Honolulu. It had everything--samurai armies, magic, monsters, even a female impersonator. The effects were cheesy, especially by today's standards, but it was fun.

DARK HORSE: When creating a comic, what is more important for you--action and excitement or character development and plot?

STAN SAKAI: The story is most important for me. Characters and action come out of the story. Not all my stories have a lot of action. "Chanoyu" is one of my favorite stories, and it just shows Usagi and Tomoe going through the Japanese tea ceremony. That probably is more engrossing than most comic stories, with more character development and emotional content.

DARK HORSE: You've said many times that you're a cartoonist first and a writer second. What is your favorite thing to draw?

STAN SAKAI: I really enjoy drawing Usagi, but when I draw for pleasure it is usually on-site architecture. I wish I had more time to draw when I travel, because the buildings in Europe are fantastic.

DARK HORSE: You are, however, a great storyteller. Is there any story you've always wanted to tell, but haven't found time to work on?

STAN SAKAI: There are a lot of them, most revolving around Usagi, though. I have had a War of the Worlds concept in mind for years as a six-issue miniseries. What if the Martians had sent down a few scout tripods two centuries earlier that landed in Japan? It would make for some great visuals--samurai armies attacking the tripods, ninja infiltrators, just the image of a tripod against a Japanese castle is cool.

DARK HORSE: What are you most proud of, so far, in your impressive career?

STAN SAKAI: Career-wise, maybe that Usagi has received so much acclaim from outside the comic book industry. It is in many libraries, and even won an American Library Association Award. One of the books was even used as a textbook in college Japanese history classes.

DARK HORSE: In the new Usagi Yojimbo Book 22, you went back and reworked some of the art in issue #93. Why did you decide to do that, and what did you learn in the process?

STAN SAKAI: I remember sending Editor Diana Schutz the story, then calling to tell her I needed to make changes because I found a mistake after making further research. I do as much research as I can into the customs, history, and culture of Japan. I even have Story Notes at the back of the books to expand on some cultural aspects of the story. I also redrew an entire twenty-page story for Book 22. The original story was printed in a color special almost twenty years ago, and the original art had disappeared. Rather than de-coloring the story from the comic, we decided the art would look better if it was redrawn. I could see that characters had changed over the two decades, and even my storytelling had changed. It's interesting to compare the "new" story with the original.

DARK HORSE: It seems like Usagi Yojimbo has a lot coming up in the next year. Is there a specific storyline or event you're looking forward to releasing?

STAN SAKAI: 2009 will mark Usagi's 25th anniversary. There are a few story arcs I've had on the back burner for a while--Hideyoshi's Gold, Tengu Wars, Tomoe's Wedding--but I've been too busy to actually plan out the next year.

DARK HORSE: If you weren't making comics, what would you like your profession to be?

STAN SAKAI: I have no idea. Probably working in animation somewhere, and hating it. I really enjoy the freedom of working on my own.

DARK HORSE: If Usagi Yojimbo was brought to life, where would
you take him to dinner?

STAN SAKAI: I really enjoy sushi. There was a surprisingly good sushi restaurant just outside of Detroit that I dined at with members of the UY online fan club (www.usagiyojimbo.com). I would love to go back there sometime. That place even rivals the sushi I've had in Japan. But then, I like good foods of all kinds. I'm especially partial to good crème brulée.

DARK HORSE: If you were transformed into a comic book character, who would you want to tell your story and what would your skills be?

STAN SAKAI: Sergio Aragonés' Groo the Wanderer leads a pretty good life. He's not very complicated, and it takes very little to please him. I guess I'd like to be like him, though I would wear pants.