Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Wizard Magazine is doing an article on "Bad CENSORED" in Comics: Dark Horse. They're listing the number that a character has hurt or killed over the years. The Dark Horse characters are Conan, Hellboy, The Goon, and Usagi. I figure Conan as the winner, with Usagi second.

Anyway Wizard needs an estimate of Usagi's numbers. Anybody have this information somewhere? These are characters that Usagi has personally hurt/killed. I never kept track. He's been in a number of battles during the war, and since then has encountered bandits, samurai, and ninja.

The thing is, I really don't see Usagi as a "bad BADWORD."

Stan Sakai wrote: The thing is, I really don't see Usagi as a "bad BADWORD."

A nice "Bad BADWORD"... a really nice, polite, friendly, easy-going, help everybodies' Grandmothers cross the busy street "Bad BADWORD"!

Death Toll...?
Just how many ninja were in that "wave" that Usagi was about to carve up in the pin-up for the Mexican comic?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... egory=3979

Abayo...

Death toll: Pi million. Or something .

Bad BADWORD? Usagi IS bad BADWORD! He may not look bad BADWORD, but that doesn't mean he isn't!

Gen looks more bad BADWORD though

I don't see him as a "bad" character in the sense you usually hear it used. He usually tries to avoid a fight if he can...but if a fight is unavoidable -- look out!

In that way he's kind of like the Qui Chang Caine character on Kung Fu. Does anyone remember that show. When I was a kid, it was my favorite show.

Kung Fu rocked. About a year ago they broadcasted that show on local TV at 1:00 A.M or so (I have afternoon turn in college, so I don't have to worry about staying up late ). I couldn't watch the whole show though.

Back on topic, my UY collection is back at home, so I can't count the casualties in the series .

If I have time I can go through my collection. And that's a complete one, every single normal released Usagi comic, bar any strips in alterior publications. I well imagine it is easily in the hundreds...

We've got the death toll thing figured out.

The Goon--over a thousand, about 1300

Hellboy--about 2600

Usagi--3500

Conan--7500

Wizard told me what the others' figures are, and I just guesstimated according to how long the series has been going on. Conan's the oldest, so he has the largest count. Usagi's 20 years old, and Hellboy is 11.

I just thought of who is missing in the list... GROO THE SLAYER (FRAYER)! He has to have racked up a massive death toll over his twenty-plus years...
Abayo...

I tried counting all of Usagi's "kills" once, got to around 400-odd (of course, these are only the ones we see him kill in the stories, there must be others in-between).

Do we only know for sure they are dead if we see the speech balloon with the skull in it or if the story states they are dead? I always assumed some were only wounded.

balloon with the skull in it or if the story states they are dead? I always assumed some were only wounded.

I was going to say something earlier about the difficulties onvolved in estimating death rates in historical battles, since there weren't a lot of careful records kept at the time. With wounds not instantly fatal, you have to decide the average skill of local doctors, the local treatment for a given wound (meaning, would a genius doctor of the time/place think mercury was a good treatment for a sucking chest wound), and whether the intervention of the doctor gives him rather than the attacker credit for the kill.

There's also a question of the variable sturdiness of humans. There was a hockey player about a decade ago killed by falling onto a very short metal stake (under 6 inches) hidden under snow. On the other end of the spectrum, at the Battle of Visby (1361, Sweden), a guy was killed whose skull was found by archaologists to have a HUGE hole in it from either a sword or axe. This wasn't what killed him, though, as it had mostly healed over by the time he got his fatal wound (consider that-- an open brain wound, delivered in combat, treated by medieval medicine, and the guy survived and thrived enough to be in a later battle )

SO, I assume the people making the calculations aren't counting everyone with a wound to be a kill, but some of them must be. If I had a more complete collection, I'd have a go at confirming it. As it is, I'll just make grim, ugly observations

Stan does say at the top "killed OR hurt". Altho, in many ways, I think only Stan can say for sure, as there are numerous battles that Usagi is in where he and at least 1 other person cut through a large group of people, and it's impossible to say how many each handled. Plus, there's no solid way of knowing how many Usagi dealth with on the Adachigahara Plain, during the war between Mifune and Hikiji. In the end, it's probably safest to do as listed and say "the oldest book has higher numbers" and down and down.

Stan does say at the top "killed OR hurt".

Erf. Should read the WHOLE thread again before writing, not just the subject line. My earlier maunderings are rendered off topic.

<retreats to cave for more brooding >

Looks like you were featured twice in the latest Wizard. The Four Horsemen article and Indie Jones (Independent Comic Book Spotlight). It's about time. Congrats!!

^-^ V yaya!