NEWSARAMA, DECEMBER 6, 2006

[Andy]

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=93327

Check it out!

[Ben]

Usagi the artist? I'm intrigued.

Although frankly, I'm far more fascinated by the idea of Stan doing his own version of War of the Worlds. I never would have seen that coming! The Martian invasion was a global affair, and H.G. Wells's novel only covered the British perspective. I wonder if Stan's concept could be about the alien assault as it happened in Japan during 1898...

[Steve Hubbell]

STAN SAKAI ON USAGI YOJIMBO #100
by MICHAEL C. LORAH (NEWSARAMA, DECEMBER 6, 2006)

The story goes as follows: In the early 1980s, a young cartoonist named Stan Sakai became interested in telling stories inspired by the life of a legendary Japanese ronin swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, in comics form. During the process of preparing for the series, Sakai illustrated, on a lark, an image of a rabbit whose ears were pulled up into a samurai topknot.

Sakai fell in love with the design, and soon after in Albedo #2, he published the first story of Miyamoto Usagi (Usagi being Japanese for rabbit). A few issues later, Usagi Yojimbo (Yojimbo is Japanese for bodyguard) moved to the Fantagraphics anthology Critters, and soon after the Critters debut, Usagi Yojimbo became its own Fantagraphics series, running for an impressive 38 issues and five specials. In 1993, with sales of black & white comics at an all time low and Fantagraphics moving away from all-ages titles, Sakai made the move to color, publishing 16 issues with Mirage Studios, publishers of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Many Usagi fans had their first encounter with the ronin rabbit in one of his guest appearances on the Turtles extremely popular cartoon series.

After 16 issues with Mirage, the publisher (temporarily, as it turned out) folded up shop, and Sakai was looking for a new home. It didn’t take long. Dark Horse’s Usagi Yojimbo #1 appeared in stores in the spring of 1996. Originally scheduled as a three-issue miniseries, fan response meant that Usagi soon had a fourth issue, and he just kept on counting from there. Ten years later, and 99 issues after that Dark Horse debut, in January, Usagi Yojimbo will reach a milestone that few independent comics, and fewer series with anthropomorphized stars, dream of reaching.

In honor of Usagi’s 100th Dark Horse issue, here are ten questions with series creator Stan Sakai.

NEWSARAMA: First off Stan, although we’re talking about the 100th Dark Horse issue, you’ve actually created around 160 Usagi comics, plus short pieces for countless anthologies, and you’ve been doing it for just over twenty years now. Did you ever expect Usagi to have this kind of staying power? And how gratifying is it to you to still be producing stories that you obviously care for after all these years.

STAN SAKAI: When Usagi was first being published 22 years ago, I was just concerned about coming up with the next story. It was not until Usagi received his own series that I thought Usagi had a real future. It is very gratifying that Usagi is still around, not only in the US but in quite a few other countries as well.

NEWSARAMA: You started off wanting to tell stories about Miyamoto Musashi. Miyamoto Usagi has clearly gone his own way, but do you sometimes find yourself looking back to Musashi’s life for inspiration still?

STAN SAKAI: I never intended to do a biography of Musasahi, but rather to use his life as an inspiration for my own stories. Sometimes I think that Usagi should be more like Musashi, not as a swordsman but rather as an artist and philosopher. Those are aspects of Usagi that I would like to explore a bit more.

NEWSARAMA: Has reaching your 100th issue affected how you plot the series? Readers have noticed a return to prominence by the demon-swordsman Jei and his current host Inazuma.

STAN SAKAI: The numbering has not affected my storylines. The Jei/Inazuma storyline will be the next major arc. This was something that needed to be resolved, and I had originally scheduled it for much earlier. There were just a few other stories that I wanted to do first.

NEWSARAMA: How far ahead do you plot these days? Clearly, a story like Grasscutter was set up far in advance, and in the most recent TPB, Glimpses of Death, it seems clear that you are moving the supporting characters into place for something bigger.

STAN SAKAI: I’ve hinted at a few storylines that will not be resolved for years to come. Lady Tomoe’s Wedding is one of them. I have a few big stories planned; however, it’s writing those smaller stories between the big ones that are the more difficult.

NEWSARAMA: You’ve established a very rich supporting cast — Kitsune, the traveling entertainer and pickpocket; Gen, the outwardly brusque bounty hunter; Inspector Ishida; Usagi’s son Jotaro; Sanshobo the priest, any many more — do you have any favorites among them? Is it gratifying when you can move Usagi off-stage for an issue and another cast member carry a story with hardly any readers noticing the disappearance of the series’ protagonist?

STAN SAKAI: Gen is one of the oldest, and one of my favorite supporting characters. He works well against Usagi—both physically, and personality-wise. He is a rhino, and I like to play his massiveness against Usagi’s smaller frame. He is also a lot more boisterous and conniving, so I like to use him against Usagi’s quiet honor. Many of the supporting cast have their own fan clubs, so I like to use them in stand alone-stories to develop them a bit more fully, and to show that they have “lives” that do not revolve around Usagi.

NEWSARAMA: Issue #100 features a terrific range of guest creators — Sergio Aragones, Guy Davis, Mark Evanier, Rick Geary, Frank Miller, Jamie S. Rich, your publisher Mike Ricardson, Scott Shaw!, Jeff Smith and Andi Watson — and has been described as a “celebrity roast.” Who’s idea was it to assemble such an issue?

STAN SAKAI: I have to give the credit to my editor, Diana Schutz. It was all her idea, and she contacted the creators. I’ve been working with her for quite a few years so she knows who my favorites cartoonists are, and she got them all. We found that we had an extra page, so Matt Wagner is in there as well. I did not see any of the pages until the creators were finished, and I had to do a few framing sequences. All the stories are terrific. I’m very pleased at how this turned out.

NEWSARAMA: Amid all of that “roasting,” will readers get to see any ongoing Usagi developments, or is this issue going to be mostly a celebration of Usagi’s (and your) staying power?

STAN SAKAI: It’s pretty much a roast. I know these guys pretty well, especially Sergio. He tells about some of the traveling we’ve done together. Guy Davis has a hilarious dream sequence, and Jeff Smith tells of an “incident” during our Trilogy 2 Tour.

NEWSARAMA: You have on at least one occasion, Space Usagi, done something fairly different from your regular work on Usagi Yojimbo. Do you have other stories that you still want to tell? Is there any chance of Nilson Groundthumper seeing the light of day again?

STAN SAKAI: There are a few projects that I’ve been wanting to do: a final Space Usagi mini-series, a few more Nilson Groundthumpers, and a War of the Worlds mini-series. But I really enjoy working on Usagi, and it’s difficult to lay that aside, even for a little while.

NEWSARAMA: After two decades chronicling the stories of a ronin rabbit, what inspires you to continue sitting down at the drawing board and finding new places for Usagi to wander?

STAN SAKAI: Working on Usagi is like working with a hydra—for every story I finish, it leads to two new story ideas. My biggest inspiration, however, is my editor Diana. When she tells me she expects a story done by the first of the month, you’d better believe she gets it by the first.

NEWSARAMA: Would you care to offer any hints about what is coming up beyond issue #100?

STAN SAKAI: I’ll be wrapping up a story that I started in Usagi Yojimbo #95. An assassin is on Usagi’s tail. He catches up to our hero while he is still weak after being poisoned by a ninja dart. Beyond that, Jei, the demonic spearman, is one of my most popular villains, and I’ll be exploring his origins.

For any current information, you can always go to the Usagi website at: www.usagiyojimbo.com.

[Todd Shogun]

Awesome interview. Great inside info on what is coming up in UY...

[Stan Sakai]

Although frankly, I'm far more fascinated by the idea of Stan doing his own version of War of the Worlds. I never would have seen that coming! The Martian invasion was a global affair, and H.G. Wells's novel only covered the British perspective. I wonder if Stan's concept could be about the alien assault as it happened in Japan during 1898...

This is about the small expeditionary party of three ships that the martian sent to earth in 1628--more than two centuries before their big invasion.

Usagi has joined the Geishu clan by this time, and Lord Noriyuki has grown into a fine, capable lord. Lord Hikiji has made his move to overthrow the shogunate, and the county is driven into another civil war. It is during the great battle between the Geishu samurai and Hikiji's forces that the first of the Martian ships crashes into the middle of the field.

I had some nice images in mind--a huge tripod behind a Japanese castle, Edo being razed, armored samurai attacking a martian ship, and the Neko Ninja (again led by Chizu) infiltrating a tripod.

[Steve Hubbell]

Sounds really cool!

It also sounds like it could be a story that Space Usagi might tell to his young lord about the exploits of his ancester, told as a flashback and kind of like the "Momo-Usagi-Taro" story.

I hope you get a chance to do it someday soon.

[Ben]

There could be opportunities for exciting re-enactments of scenes from the original book here: The alien cylinder has just crash-landed. A large crowd of samurai and foot soldiers have gathered around, some shooting a few stray arrows at it (the capsule's still too hot for anyone to get close), trying to figure out just what the heck it is.

And then the lid of the cylinder starts to unscrew...

[Steve Hubbell]

Sorry, couldn't resist......
http://comicsnews.blogspot.com/

Stan Sakai parla di Usagi Yojimbo #100
La storia è come segue: Nei primi anni '80, a un giovane fumettista di nome Stan Sakai venne in mente di raccontare storie ispirate alla vita di un leggendario ronin giapponese con la spada, Miyamoto Musashi, attraverso un fumetto. Durante il periodo di preparazione della serie, Sakai illustrò, per gioco, l'immagine di un coniglio con le orecchie tenute assieme da un nastro per capelli da samurai.

Sakai si innamorò di questo design, e poco dopo in Albedo #2, pubblicò la sua prima storia di Miyamoto Usagi (Usagi è il termine giapponese per coniglio). Alcuni numeri dopo Usagi Yojimbo (Yojimbo è il termine giapponese per guardia del corpo) si spostò nell'antologico Critters della Fantagraphics, e poco dopo il debutto su Critters, Usagi Yojimbo divenne una serie regolare Fantagraphics, durata incredibilmente per 38 numeri e cinque speciali. Nel 1993, con le vendite dei fumetti in bianco e nero ai minimi storici e con la Fantagraphics decisa ad allontanarsi da titoli per tutte le età, Sakai passò al colore, pubblicando 16 numeri con i Mirage Studios, editori delle Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Molti fan di Usagi hanno avuto il loro primo incontro con il coniglio ronin in una delle sue apparizioni come ospite sulla famosissima serie a cartoni delle Turtles.

Dopo 16 nummeri con la Mirage, l'editore (temporaneamente) fallì, e Sakai si cercò una nuova casa. Non ci mise molto. Usagi Yojimbo #1 della Dark Horse apparve nei negozi nella primavera del 1996. Originariamente programmata come una miniserie di tre numeri, la risposta dei fan fece in modo che presto ci fosse un quarto numero, e quindi si andò avanti. Dieci ani dopo, e 99 numeri dopo quel debutto alla Dark Horse, a Gennaio Usagi Yojimbo raggiungerà una meta che pochi fumetti indipendenti, e ancor meno serie con protagonisti antropomorfi, sognano di raggiungere.

In onore del 100esimo numero dell'Usagi Dark Horse, ecco dieci domande al creatore della serie Stan Sakai (intervista eseguita da Michael C. Lorah per Newsarama).

Domanda: Innanzitutto Stan, sebbene stiamo parlando del 100esimo numero Dark Horse, tu hai dato vita a circa 160 albi di Usagi, più storie brevi per innumerevoli antologie, e sei stato all'opera su questo per più di venti anni oramai. Ti saresti mai aspettato che Usagi avesse una tale capacità di resistenza? E quanto è gratificante per te ancora produrre storie a cui ovviamente tieni per tutti questi anni.

Stan Sakai: Quando Usagi è stato pubblicato per la prima volta 22 anni fa, ero solo concentrato a far uscire la storia seguente. E' stato non prima che Usagi ricevesse una propria serie regolare che ho pensato che Usagi avesse un vero futuro. E' davvero gratificante che Usagi sia ancora in giro, non solo negli Stati Uniti ma anche in non pochi altri paesi.

D: Hai iniziato volendo raccontare storie su Miyamoto Musashi. Miyamoto Usagi ha chiaramente trovato una propria strada, ma guardi ancora indietro a volte alla vita di Musashi per avere qualche ispirazione?

SS: Non ho mai voluto fare una biografia di Musashi, ma piuttosto usare la sua vita come ispirazione per le mie storie. A volte penso che Usagi dovrebbe essere più simile a Musashi, non come spadaccino ma piuttosto come artista e filosofo. Questi sono aspetti di Usagi che vorrei poter esplorare un po' meglio.

D: Come ha influenzato il raggiungimento del 100esimo numero la stesura della serie? I lettori hanno notato un rilevante ritorno del demone-spadaccino Jei e del suo attuale ospite Inazuma.

SS: La numerazione non ha influenzato le mie storie. Il ciclo Jei/Inazuma sarà il prossimo grande arco di storie. Era un qualcosa che avevo bisogno di portare a compimento, e l'avevo programmato in origine molto prima. Ci sono state solo un po' di altre storie che ho voluto fare prima.

D: Con quanto anticipo abbozzi queste saghe? Chiaramente, una storia come Grasscutter è stata fatta piuttosto in anticipo, e nel più recente dei volumi, Glimpses of Death, sembra evidente che stai muovendo i personaggi di supporto in una direzione ben precisa per qualcosa di più grande.

SS: Ho un'indicazione di massima per alcune storyline che non si risolveranno se non negli anni. Il Matrimonio di Lady Tomoe è una di queste. Ho delle grandi storie in programmazione; tuttavia, è lo scrivere le piccole storie tra le grandi che è la cosa più difficile.

D: Hai creato un cast di supporto davvero molto ricco - Kitsune, l'artista itinerante e borsaiola; Gen, l'apparentemente brusco cacciatore di taglie; l'Ispettore Ishida; Jotaro, il figlio di Usagi; Sanshobo il prete, e molti altri - ce n'è qualcuno che ami di più? Ti gratifica quando puoi mettere Usagi da parte per un numero e un altro membro del cast porta avanti la storia senza che qualcuno si accorga della mancanza del protagonista della serie?

SS: Gen è uno dei più vecchi, e uno dei miei personaggi di supporto favoriti. Funziona bene messo a confronto con Usagi - sia fisicamente che caratterialmente. E' un rinoceronte, e mi piace usare la sua possanza in contrapposizione alla piccola taglia di Usagi. E' anche un po' più turbolento e cospiratore, quindi mi piace contrapporlo alla quieta integrità di Usagi. Molti dei personaggi di supporto hanno un loro fan club, quindi mi piace usarli in storie a solo per svilupparli maggiormente, e mostrare che hanno delle "vite" che non ruotano attorno a Usagi.

D: Il numero #100 presenta un enorme lista di autori ospiti - Sergio Aragones, Guy Davis, Mark Evanier, Rick Geary, Frank Miller, Jamie S. Rich, il tuo editore Mike Richardson, Scott Shaw (!), Jeff Smith e Andi Watson - ed è descritto come un "rimpatriata per celebrità". Chi haavuto l'idea di mettere assieme un numero così?

SS: Devo dare il merito al mio supervisore, Diana Schultz. E' stata un'idea tutta sua e ha contattato gli autori. Lavoriamo assieme da tanti anni quindi lei sa chi sono i miei fumettisti preferiti, e li ha coinvolti tutti. Abbiamo scoperto di avere una pagina in più, quindi anche Matt Wagner farà parte del gruppo. Non ho visto alcuna pagina finché gli autori non hanno finito, e ho dovuto fare solo poche sequenze di collegamento. Tutte le storie sono straordinarie. Sono veramente contento di come sia venuto fuori.

D: In mezzo a questa "rimpatriata", i lettori avranno modo di vedere sviluppi alla trama di Usagi, o questo numero è fondamentalmente una celebrazione della capacità di resistere di Usagi (e tua)?

SS: E' fondamentalmente una festicciola. Conosco questa gente piuttosto bene, specialmente Sergio. Lui ha raccontato un po' del nostro percorso assieme. Guy Davis ha una divertente sequenza onirica, e Jeff Smith parla di un "incidente" durante il nostro Trilogy 2 Tour.

D: Hai in almeno una occasione, con Space Usagi, fatto qualcosa di completamente differente dal tuo normale impegno con Usagi Yojimbo. Hai altre storie che vuoi ancora raccontare? C'è qualche possibilità che Nilson Groundthumper veda nuovamente la luce del giorno?

SS: Ci sono alcuni progetti che sono in attesa di fare: una miniserie conclusiva di Space Usagi, qualche altro Nilson Groundthumpers, e una miniserie sulla Guerra dei Mondi. Ma mi piace davvero lavorare a Usagi, ed è difficile metterlo da parte, anche solo per un po'.

D: Dopo due decadi a raccontare le storie del coniglio ronin, cosa ti spinge a continuare a sederti al tavolo da disegno e trovare nuovi posti in cui far gironzolare Usagi?

SS: Lavorare su Usagi è come lavorare con l'Idra - per ogni storia che completo, spuntano idee per altre due storie. La mia più grande fonte d'ispirazione, comunque, è il mio supervisore Diana. Quando lei mi dice che si aspetta una storia pronta per il primo del mese, farai meglio a sperare che l'abbia tra le mani per il primo del mese.

D: Ti va di offrirci qualche anticipazione su cosa ci aspetta dopo il numero #100?

SS: Porterò a termine una storia che ho iniziato in Usagi Yojimbo #95. Un assassino è all'inseguimento di Usagi. Rintraccerà il nostro eroe mentre è ancora debole dopo essere stato avvelenato da una freccia ninja. Più avanti, Jei, il lanciere demoniaco, è uno dei miei cattivi preferiti ed esplorerò le sue origini.


Fonte: Newsarama

Pubblicato da Comics News alle 13.20 0 commenti

[Cosmo]

This is about the small expeditionary party of three ships that the martian sent to earth in 1628--more than two centuries before their big invasion.

Usagi has joined the Geishu clan by this time, and Lord Noriyuki has grown into a fine, capable lord. Lord Hikiji has made his move to overthrow the shogunate, and the county is driven into another civil war. It is during the great battle between the Geishu samurai and Hikiji's forces that the first of the Martian ships crashes into the middle of the field.

I had some nice images in mind--a huge tripod behind a Japanese castle, Edo being razed, armored samurai attacking a martian ship, and the Neko Ninja (again led by Chizu) infiltrating a tripod.

Okay, but in my opinion this kind of stories is problematic, here's why :

One of the most interesting facts about Usagi Yojimbo is that it generally respects historical facts. The whole series can be considered as an accurate panorama of the Japanese society in the 1600's. You've done a lot of research for it, right ?

Imagining a resurgence of civil war in 1628, then this alien invasion would break not only the mere historical plausibility, but also the "suspension of belief" that every reader needs.

Seeing traditional Japanese monsters in Usagi Yojimbo doesn't break the suspension of disbelief, but the idea of an alien spacecraft in feudal Japan, a clash between The War of the Worlds and Seven Samurai... would it work ? It would be, like... how do you say in English ? Jumping the shark ?...

Moreover, if you put the story twenty years ahead of the main stories, it would be hard not to reveal the evolution of characters. Many people would be awfully spoiled if the story shows that Usagi and Tomoe finally got married and had a lot of kittens.

[Stan Sakai]

Okay, but in my opinion this kind of stories is problematic, here's why :

One of the most interesting facts about Usagi Yojimbo is that it generally respects historical facts. The whole series can be considered as an accurate panorama of the Japanese society in the 1600's. You've done a lot of research for it, right ?

Imagining a resurgence of civil war in 1628, Edo destroyed, then this alien invasion as the icing on the cake - it would break not only the mere historical plausibility, but also the "suspension of disbelief" that every reader needs.

Seeing traditional Japanese monsters in Usagi Yojimbo doesn't break the suspension of disbelief, but the idea of an alien spacecraft in feudal Japan, a clash between The War of the Worlds and Seven Samurai... would it work ? It would be, like... how do you say in English ? Jumping the shark ?...

Moreover, if you put the story twenty years ahead of the main stories, it would be hard not to reveal the evolution of characters. Many people would be awfully spoiled if the story shows that Usagi and Tomoe finally got married and had a lot of kittens.

I've taken all that into consideration, and the story will fit into Usagi continuity and Japanese history.

[Bryan Stone]

I don't think it's Jumping the shark at all, especially with Space Usagi as part of the Usagi Yojimbo body of work. Sounds like fun!

[Cosmo]

Well, Space Usagi is okay for me. I like science fiction, it's a whole imaginative new world, so it's all right.

But that "Samurais VS. Aliens" story, it sounds strange, like the title of a Z-movie. I really admire Mr. Sakai's work, but I'm still a little bit skeptical... we will see...

[Ben]

Well, Space Usagi is okay for me. I like science fiction, it's a whole imaginative new world, so it's all right.

But that "Samurais VS. Aliens" story, it sounds strange, like the title of a Z-movie.

Also keep in mind that H.G. Wells's creations have become antiquated and timeless in themselves, so much so that they could be seamlessly integrated into almost any period of history.

Besides, we might know that the invaders are aliens, but what would stop Usagi and co. from seeing the Martians as some other form of supernatural monster? They did fall down from the sky, after all.

[Rabbit Ronin]

Ben has a good point. How would a samurai know what aliens are? As cosmo said I like the historical aspect of Usagi's world. But i have complete faith in Stan. He HAS given us how many facinating stories of Usagi. Am I right.

[ellahrairah]

I myself remain skeptical (being a bit of a japan buff) but at the same time optimistic (i realize that doesnt necessarily fit together). I trust that if anyone can pull a rabbit out of his hat... its stan. forgive the pun