Stan Sakai @ AADL

[Steve Hubbell]

Featured Events
Stan Sakai @ AADL
Don't miss Stan Sakai, the creator of Usagi Yojimbo, at a special National Library Week event at the Downtown Library on Sat., Apr. 17 at noon! Stan is the lone author and nearly-sole artist of the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living 17th century Japan. The series was awarded a Parents Choice Award in 1990 for its educational value through Stan's skillful weaving of facts and legends into his work. His books will be for sale at the event, courtesy of Vault of Midnight.

Ann Arbor District Library

Meet Stan Sakai at AADL
Submitted by JennyH on Mon, 04/05/2010 - 9:10am
Usagi Yojimbo fans, take note: Stan Sakai is coming to AADL! The creator of Usagi Yojimbo, the epic saga of a samurai rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan, will be at the Downtown Library on Saturday, April 17, at noon. First published in 1984, Usagi Yojimbo continues to this day, with Stan as the lone author and nearly-sole artist. This special National Library Week event includes books for sale, courtesy of Vault of Midnight, and plenty of time for Stan to answer your questions!

[Steve Hubbell]

The Ann Arbor District Library - Downtown branch


Describing the origin of the word "cartoonist"


Talking about the origin of Miyamoto Usagi


Zato Ino and his pine-scented sense of smell


Talking about working with Jeff Smith and Tom Sniegoski


Groo, Sergio, and the art of rough pencils


A demonstration on drawing thumbnails


Nemo's Day!


The truth behind the colors


Some background on character development


After the presentation, time for the books to be signed.....

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better day! Going to see Stan's library presentation made up for having to spend 9 hours at work on my birthday after getting back into Kalamazoo.

[Steve Hubbell]

I already planned on taking my copy of The Art of Usagi Yojimbo along, but I was trying to think of something else to take along to the signing that might be a little differant. Then I remembered my copy of the Spanish edition of Riblet, a cool little 48 page square bound comic reprinting the Riblet back-up story from Bone (and in a weird kind of role reversal, a couple short Bone stories for back-up).





This great sketch by Stan was done prior to the start of his presentation, and the drawing of Riblet during the presentation.

[Maka]

Very Cool Steve!

Thanks for sharing, as always.

Love the Riblet sketch!

Peace, maka

[go]

Dear Steve,
Thank you very much for your wonderful report.
Best wishes to all!
go

[cynlee]

Nice! And it looks like a great time was had by all!

[shaxper]

What an experience! Your pictures and summary almost made me feel like I was there. Thanks so much!

[Stan Sakai]

Thanks for coming down to the presentation, Steve. I had a good time in Ann Arbor. I was also able to get some work done--roughly inked three pages in the hotel room, wrote the 2-part Taiko story on the flight over, and thumbnailed the first part on the flight back to LA.

The flight over was terrible, though. I will definitely cut down on my flying next year. Yeah, I know, I say that every year. This year is already booked up, and I've already made some commitments for 2011.

I will be at the Calgary Expo this weekend, then at Things from Another World in Universal City, CA on May 1.

[shaxper]

Thanks for coming down to the presentation, Steve. I had a good time in Ann Arbor. I was also able to get some work done--roughly inked three pages in the hotel room, wrote the 2-part Taiko story on the flight over, and thumbnailed the first part on the flight back to LA.

The Usagi #100 bit about you drawing with your feet while sitting at a table is starting to seem disturbingly accurate

[Steve Hubbell]

Video of Stan Sakai's presentation is now online at the AADL web-site.

Alternate Formats

•Download High-Quality Version MP4, 339.82MB

•Download iPod Video MP4, 189.04 MB

•Download Audio Only MP3, 55.56 MB


Runtime: 01:13:10
Viewed 30 times.

Meet graphic novelist Stan Sakai, whose most famous creation is Usagi Yojimbo, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in late-16th and early-17th century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly-sole artist.

Set primarily in Japan's Edo period, with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, it features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, who is partially based on the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Usagi wanders the land on a warrior's pilgrimage, occasionally selling his services as a bodyguard. Usagi Yojimbo is heavily influenced by Japanese cinema and has included references to the work of Akira Kurosawa and to icons of popular Japanese cinema such as Zatoichi, and Godzilla. The series was awarded a Parents' Choice Award in 1990 for its educational value through Stan's skillful weaving of facts and legends into his work.

[Maka]

Thanks Steve,

Just finished watching the video. It took all day between doing laundry, cooking, washing dishes and whatnot. Very fun to hear new and old stories. Thanks for pointing it out. Excellent.

Peace, maka