General discussion about Usagi Yojimbo, the comics, the stories, the characters, collectibles, TV appearances, Stan Sakai, Space Usagi, Nilson & Hermy, and all other related topics.
This one's probably quite a bit different than most of the untold tales of Albedo #2, because I've actually had my copy of it since around early 1986. I had just turned 6 years old, and my dad (Steve Adams) had been working on the pencils for another Thought & Images title, 'Zell Sworddancer'. He had to copy Steve Gallacci's art style for the comic, and so Gallacci sent him home with a bunch of Albedo comics, including—you guessed it—Albedo #2! And of course you can't keep a kid who's just learned to read away from comics with samurai bunnies in them! Those comics set off a lifelong obsession with Usagi Yojimbo which continues to this day. I'm a few collections behind at the moment, but at least once a year I like to just read through the 20 volumes I have. (21 if you include Space Usagi.) I'm also looking forward to 47 Ronin, which might end up being the first series I follow digitally.
The stack also included Albedo #0, which has a funny anthropomorphic Blade Runner parody in it called "Bad Rubber". There were also Albedo issues #3 and #4, although #3 is either at my dad's house or lost to the ages. The comics themselves are a little... well-loved, but I'd never sell them anyway so I'm okay with their condition.
When it was published, the back of Zell Sworddancer even had a full-page Usagi Yojimbo ad!
Funny enough, though, those Albedo comics actually weren't my first exposure to Stan Sakai's work (though I didn't know it at the time): the very first comic I ever read (which I still have) was Groo #5 from the Marvel/Epic run, lettered of course by Mr. Sakai himself! I got to briefly meet Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier at a Comicon here in Seattle when I was a kid—and got them to sign my copy of Groo #1 (Pacific), though now I wish they'd signed that Groo #5 instead—but have sadly never met Stan in all of the 26 years that I've been a fan of his. If I ever get the opportunity to, I would love to have him sign my copy of Albedo #2. Usagi has been a constant companion in my life pretty much since I learned to read back in the mid-80s, and it all started with that copy of Albedo #2.
Last edited by IanAdams on Tue Jan 01, 2013 16:52 -0700, edited 1 time in total.
welcome to the dojo!
wow, thank you for sharing your story with us..it feels so nice and warm hearing about your relation to usagi..I can imagine having groo and usagi a companion in your life since you learn how to decode these weird things called letters that make up all the words and sentences grown ups so easily understand must be pretty wonderful!also being there from the start of it all and see the story unfold over the course of time..
great story!(wow, the bad rubber story sounds like something I would need to experience without a doubt!!;)...and your fathers cover work looks beautiful if I may say so!!)
abayo!
marcel
