Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Hi all,

Back in November of 2015, I mailed the majority of my Usagi collection to a bookbinder to get 5 custom volumes made: 2 volumes making up the full run of Fantagraphics, a volume of the full run at Mirage, a volume of Space Usagi + Senso, and finally a volume collecting every color story by Stan (Usagi and otherwise) that I know of.

The binder finished the work and shipped them back my way in December, and then the package never arrived. It was sent via USPS, and tracking followed it as far as "out for delivery" but it was never actually delivered. I've tried a million angles with the post office over the last 6 months with no luck. The books look to be lost forever. The binders (Herring and Robinson) are amazing and are offering to refund my entire order. Nothing but praise for them. Major disappointment with the USPS.

I'm posting here for two reasons. One, to share an image of the spine layouts, so if any of you ever come across these for sale on eBay or elsewhere, you might contact me here with the info, so I can send it to the Postal Inspector to investigate mail theft.

As Usagi has a fairly small audience, I'm pretty sure the books are lost, and not the object of theft, but just in case, here's what the five missing books look like on the spines:



The second reason I'm posting is to try to rebuild my collection and get them bound again!
It's a major bummer to be out so many books, many of which I bought new, all the way back to 1986. But I've been slowly replacing all of them, and recently got most of the Fantagraphics run.

What I am missing is listed below. If anyone has a pile of extra books they'd like to sell at cover price (trying to keep cost down), please let me know!

Fantagraphics:
Summer Special #1
First series #1 first printing
Color Specials #1, 2, 3

Mirage:
Full run of #1-16

Space Usagi:
Vol 2 #1, 2, 3 (the color issues)

Dark Horse:
Color Special #4

Other color stories:
Wizard 97
Nocturnals Troll Bridge
Fish Police 14
Doomsday Squad 3
Grimjack 30
Trilogy II Tour Book
Dark Horse Star Wars Clone Wars 2009 Free Comic Book Day
Strange Tales 3
Buntori, Dark Horse Presents 7
The Artist, Parts 1 and 2, Dark Horse Presents 35, 36 2014
TMNT archie special

Once I've been able to re-collect and bind all these books, I'm planning to move on to binding the Dark Horse run. I'm missing these books to make that happen, so if anyone wants to sell, please get in touch.
Vol 3 #90-101, 136 B 25 years DH cover

Okay, that's all. Sad comic nerd story. Thanks for listening, and please let me know if you have any books for sale!

Casey

Hey Casey,

I have issues 90,91,92,94,95,96,97,98,99,101 and 136 (this version 25th cover)

They are not mint condition though. I buy comics, read them and then put them in a box. Some pages have yellowed more than others. I DO NOT smoke so I don't know if that's normal or not. I could post some pictures if you'd like. I have no interest in getting cover price for these. I'd be lucky to get a dollar a piece on eBay. We could work something out if you are interested. $50 for 136B is outrageous in my opinion.

Gaffey

EDIT: I'm pretty sure my brother has the entire Mirage run. I'll send him an e-mail.

Thanks Gaffey, PM sent your way.

The Mirage books are my #1 priority, and the whole reason I started this binding project. I love the colors on those issues so much.

Oh man, sorry to hear about the loss of your books. I'm not sure how such a large package just gets "lost". Good luck finding all the issues and books again.

I can help.

Sending PM.

Stan Sakai is the nicest human in comics!

Thanks Stan, response via PM

Dear Casey, that is a sad story. Glad people are here to help. Once you have a updated list of what you need, please post it here. Peace, maka

Wow, I just read this. This has to be one of the saddest comics related stories I've ever read. I would be totally heartbroken. However, it seems like Stan and the Dojo is coming to your rescue. I doubt I can help, but I'll check if I have any extras of what you need. In the meantime... Good luck!

Sorry to hear about that, Casey. I hope everything turns out OK.

Hey Casey, what is the status on this situation?

I had a similar problem with USPS in April. They lost a package I had sent to Australia. Among other things, it contained a hardcover copy of Seasons and Grasscutter. I'm still really bummed about it. I hope you've been able to recover a lot of what was lost.

Steve Hubbell wrote:Hey Casey, what is the status on this situation?

Hi Steve,

Thanks for checking in. Sorry, I haven't been on the boards for a few weeks, as I was driving from NYC to Yellowstone and back. Awesome road trip.

Nothing surfaced from the missing package, but Stan was incredibly generous and sent me all of these:
Fantagraphics Summer Special 1
Color Specials 2,3,4
Full Mirage run: 1-16
Space Usagi vol 2: 1-3
DH 93
(Stan, thank you again. Really can't thank you enough. If you didn't have my allegiance for life already, you certainly do now!)

Gaffey made a super generous offer as well (covering the DH issues I'm looking for), but he got shot down at the post office, who apparently now refuse to offer media mail on comics, because they are known to contain ads (even though Usagi features no advertising ...)

I've been able to track almost everything else on ebay and comiccollectorlive.com. I am still searching for the following issues, if anyone has them for sale at a reasonable price:
Nocturnals Troll Bridge
TMNT Adventures Special 9 (Archie)
Vol 3 #90-92, 94-101, 136 B (25 years DH cover)
I'm also looking for one more extra copy of Space Usagi Volume 2 #3 (color issue) to round out two different bound books I'm compiling.

Hey Casey,

I have an extra Vol 3 No. 90 that you're welcome to if you still need it.

Best,
ben

HI Ben,

Thank you so much for offering, and I apologize for how long I took to respond. I've been scrambling to relocate my art studio, as the entire building I share with 60+ artists in Brooklyn in was just given short notice to vacate :/

I believe I have a lead on the entire group of DH books I listed. If it doesn't work out, I'll let you know. I really appreciate you reading my post and offering up an issue!

Casey