Happy New Year Dojo!

[Maka]

Dear UYDers,

35 years of Usagi! Wow! Incredible. There has never been a comic that has the same writer, artist, inker, letterer, and cover artist (minus that one issue in Fantagraphics run and the recent variants at DH and IDW) for that long on a series. Yes, there is Cerebus' and Savage Dragon's but Dave Sims had Gerhard and Eric Larsen had colorists. Stan Sakai did/does it all (I guess you can say that Sergio inked a story and Tom Luth colored the Mirage issues). Still, that's a world record in my book.

A lot of us have been on that ride for more than a decade, some for two decades, and some for the whole 35 years.

I think the reason this comic means so much to me is that I didn't see my Asian face very often in media. And when an Asian actor did show up in pop culture, it was often offensive (I'm looking at you Long Duk Dong), sexist, and stereotyped. When you don't see yourself in pop culture, it means you don't matter.

Along came Usagi Yojimbo into my life somewhere towards the middle / end of the Fantagraphics Vol. 1 run. They were animals, so they could represent any race of people, but the world was set in Japan. I knew these characters were Japanese. I saw myself in them. That means I mattered.

And then I discovered this little community called the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo on line thanks Todd creating it with Stan's Support. We would talk and discuss topics here and Stan would join in. He acknowledged us, even wishing fans happy birthday or welcoming them to the Dojo when they first arrived. I admired his work ethic and heart. I felt seen here by all of you and Stan. That means I mattered.

On facebook memories the other day, I saw I had shared a post from Stan about the death of Sharron. In that post, I wrote something about it also being the one year anniversary of Stan's grandson's death. Man, what a tough year for Stan. I don't know how Stan deals with grief but we all have losses in our lives and it is difficult even after years have passed. Grief is a human experience. I saw myself in Stan's suffering. And in a strange way, that means I matter.

I had the honor, thanks to Todd, to give a short speech after the SDCC's 25th Anniversary of Usagi Yojimbo session. I was younger then but words hold true today: https://vimeo.com/6211436 (and the old website I used some software that doesn't exist anymore, with all the broken links, represents some of the great Dojo members here: http://25yearsof.usagiyojimbo.com/files/video.html).

Happy New Year to you all! Look forward to see you all here in the future!

Peace, maka

[Steve Hubbell]

As always, Maka, well said!



Happy New Year and Happy New Decade!

[Stan Sakai]

Thank you, Maka. I am so appreciative of the Dojo. What a wonderful, supportive community. I have gotten to know many of you as friends that I would never have otherwise met.

Happy New Year! We are looking forward to a lot of new projects in 2020, many already in the works and some that will come as a big surprise to everyone here!

Thank you all!

[Gaffey]

[Eltanin]

I'm a little late to the party, but Happy New Year everybody!
Last year has been extremely busy for me, I moved from the US to Canada after my wife got a job offer near Toronto, and I also changed career. Unfortunately, between settling in a new country, studying in training programs, and looking for a job in my new chosen career path (I eventually found one!), I lacked the time to visit the Dojo.

But I wasn't completely cut out of the community and there are two people that I would particularly like to thank for that: Stan, who gave me a copy of the 35th anniversary tribute book when I met him at Toronto Fan Expo in September, and Steve, who was kind enough to reach out to me on Facebook to ask for my address where to send the Dojo Holiday card.
It warmed my heart to see that even when life pulls me (temporarily!) away from the Dojo, there are people who remembered me and reminded me I am still part of the community.
This Dojo is truly a great place.
Now that I finally have more time after settling down, I am looking forward to visiting more often in 2020.

[jabba359]

Good to have you back Eltanin! I hear you might be making it out to SDCC this year? I hope so!

[Steve Hubbell]

I'm a little late to the party, but Happy New Year everybody!
Last year has been extremely busy for me, I moved from the US to Canada after my wife got a job offer near Toronto, and I also changed career. Unfortunately, between settling in a new country, studying in training programs, and looking for a job in my new chosen career path (I eventually found one!), I lacked the time to visit the Dojo.

But I wasn't completely cut out of the community and there are two people that I would particularly like to thank for that: Stan, who gave me a copy of the 35th anniversary tribute book when I met him at Toronto Fan Expo in September, and Steve, who was kind enough to reach out to me on Facebook to ask for my address where to send the Dojo Holiday card.
It warmed my heart to see that even when life pulls me (temporarily!) away from the Dojo, there are people who remembered me and reminded me I am still part of the community.
This Dojo is truly a great place.
Now that I finally have more time after settling down, I am looking forward to visiting more often in 2020.

Welcome back, and sorry I missed the chance to meet you at the Toronto Fan Expo in September. I was only able to spend the first day there, but it was a blast getting to see Stan and company....

[Eltanin]

Welcome back, and sorry I missed the chance to meet you at the Toronto Fan Expo in September. I was only able to spend the first day there, but it was a blast getting to see Stan and company....

I wish I had been able to go on the first day of the con to meet you, but I had a job interview the next day and I wanted to prepare beforehand. I got the job, so it was right choice!

[maichan]

Welcome back Eltanin. It's nice to see your return to the Dojo!