General discussion about Usagi Yojimbo, the comics, the stories, the characters, collectibles, TV appearances, Stan Sakai, Space Usagi, Nilson & Hermy, and all other related topics.
Stan Sakai wrote: Tuesday
The Baltimore Comic-con publishes a hc book where guest artists are invited to submit drawings. This year's theme is Usagi Yojimbo. 2014 is Usagi's 30th anniversary in print, and this is a great way to kick off the celebrations. Here is the cover I did for it. It was based on the art I did in Chris Sparks' sketchbook, which itself will be used in a variant edition. The Baltimore Comic-con takes place September 7-8.
Stan Sakai wrote: Tuesday
Chris' sketchbook art, done at San Diego Comic-con.
Stan Sakai wrote: 14 hours ago
Usagi first appeared in Albedo 2 in 1984. However, I had a story in the first issue as well. 2014 also marks the 30th anniversary of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy. Dark Horse will be publishing a complete Nilson and Hermy collection. I just finished the cover. Ink and watercolor on 4-ply Strathmore cold press Bristol board. (8 photos)
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
I will be doing a new Nilson and Hermy short story for an upcoming issue of Dark Horse Presents.
Stan Sakai wrote: 14 hours ago
The Nilson/Hermy collection will be full color (by Tom Luth), hardcover as was the UY Yokai graphic novel. There are about 80 or so pages of Nilson stories.
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
I masked the art, leaving the background sky exposed, then, using a 1 inch flat watercolor brush, applied the blue.
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
I stripped off the mask over the bushes and painted that in. The color is a bit off, no doubt because of photographing it under fluorescent lights.
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
I removed all the masks.
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
Applied some warm tones for the figures.
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
I like this turquoise blue. I use it for Usagi, and again for Nilson.
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
Hermy's personality is warmer, so gets a reddish brown.
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
The finished art, except for stripping off the border masks.
Stan Sakai wrote: 8 hours ago
I am fortunate in that I receive a lot of gifts from readers. I got this wonderful sculpture at San Diego. It was made by Miki Ivey and commissioned by Cynthia Fluharty. I brought it in to show Sharon, and she had the biggest smile. She would have laughed with joy, if she could laugh.
Sharon's blood sugar has been consistently good, so she now off her diabetes meds. They will, of course, monitor her sugar levels.
Stan Sakai wrote: 8 hours ago
This is the panel from my "How I Create an Usagi Story" feature that the sculpture was based on. They got it pretty dead on.
Mayhem wrote: July 21, 2013 (posted on Flickr)
Surprise gift
Right at the end, Mimi Ivey surprises Stan with a gift based on an old sketch he drew.
Miki Ivey wrote: July 25
Cynthia Fluharty commissioned me to make a sculpture for Stan Sakai and his wife Sharon, and have it done by comic con.. I finished it at the con, and made sure he knew who this was from.. Cyn, I wish you were here.
Cynthia Fluharty wrote: July 25
OHHH!!! SOO coool!!!! It turned out beautifully! What did he think? Did he know it's for Sharon? OH, it's Gorgeous!!!! Did he like it????
Miki Ivey wrote:
July 25
We video taped handing it over, he loved it! and He said Sharon is going to love it! I took better pics of the sculpt, I will send them your way once i get a chance to be on here again.
Cynthia Fluharty wrote:
July 25
Cool-- I shared the pic on my wall! It's gorgeous!
Stan Sakai wrote: 8 hours ago
Sharon walked the corridor loop twice today. That is about 600 feet, the most she has walked she entered convalescence care. Then she sat in the wheelchair and kept me company as I had lunch in the courtyard.
Stan Sakai wrote: 8 hours ago
The courtyard
I made char siu pork for dinner, and some mango sorbet (with fresh mango) for dessert.
Stan Sakai wrote: 8 hours ago
char siu pork, with macaroni salad, sauteed zucchini, and ginger rice.
DC Chen wrote: 8 hours ago
Almost like a Hawaiian plate lunch!
Stan Sakai wrote: 8 hours ago
That's what I had in mind, so made the mac salad. It's a bit more carbs than I like to eat at one sitting, though.
DC Chen wrote: 8 hours ago
I researched Hawaiian cuisine so could throw a luau once. The kalua pig was as good as you can expect from a crock pot but I got pretty good at Spam musubi.
Stan Sakai wrote: 7 hours ago
I went to a luau here in LA, but the hosts could not find a whole pig to bury with heated rocks, so they bought two halves and sewed it together. It was really good. That's the last time I had real pit roasted kalua pig.
Stan Sakai wrote: 8 hours ago
mango sorbet with liquored figs.
Stan Sakai wrote: 8 hours ago
On one of my trip to Europe I stayed with a family. The mother was charmingly delightful in that Old World way. She offered me some schnapps after dinner. If you know me personally, you may know that I am not a drinker at all. However, she was so sweet I could not refuse, and sipped it slowly. After breakfast she poured me another glass. I said it is a bit too early for me, but she said it is a tradition, for good health. How could I refuse, besides I did okay with the schnapps last night. But it was not schnapps. It was some home brew that made the schnapps look like soda water. I was dizzy all morning. However, she did give me a bottle to take home. It's still in my cupboard, so I decided to use some last week, and poured it in a bottle filled with dried figs. It turned out great, and the figs gives the alcohol a nice fruity taste.
Stan Sakai wrote: 8 hours ago
I've still got about a pint of it left, so will have to stock up with more figs.
Sharon got dizzy and swooned at the start of her daily walk around the convalescent center. Fortunately, the nurse therapist was holding on to her belt and I was right behind her with the wheelchair. She sat for a couple minutes, then insisted on finishing the 600 feet walk. Later, she sat with me as I had my lunch in the courtyard. What a trooper!
Chicken is on sale at Ralph's and , since I have fresh lemons, I made lemon chicken thighs for tonight's dinner. I know I should have taken the skin off, but crispy chicken skin tastes so good.
Stan Sakai wrote: 6 hours ago
With ginger rice, macaroni/cucumber salad, and zucchini. I was going to do a stir fry with zucchini, carrots, and green beans, but just made zucchini because I like it.
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
My hikes have been great in that there is a cool mist in the mornings, and the sun comes out when I am on my way down the Mt Wilson Trail. There are a couple of side trails and, though I have been wary of taking them during snake season, I followed a newer trail as I was walking down this morning. It is very well developed, though it did get confusing at the end. It is also very steep in places, and I slipped and slid for a few feet at one point. I also came across this lizard with a very impressive tail. He must be pretty proud of it, because he stayed around for awhile as I took pictures before scurrying into the brush.
Stan Sakai wrote: 3 hours ago
I pulled my left calf muscle about a half mile up the trail, and limped down the mountain. It's a good thing the weekend is coming up, because I won't be hiking for a few days.
Stan Sakai wrote: 22 hours ago
I'm still limping today from my pulled calf muscle, so did not go in to visit Sharon at convalescence. However, I am getting some work done. I hadn't been able to put in a full day at the drawing table in months. It does feel good to get back.
Stan Sakai wrote: 15 hours ago
I actually got quite a bit of work done today. It is so rare that I get any length of uninterrupted time at the drawing board nowadays. I watched Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen while working. Such a masterpiece. If Peter Jackson is looking for a new project he could much worse than updating the story of Siegfried. It's been awhile since I saw a DVD all the way through, much less one that is almost 5 hours long.
I hobbled around the kitchen and made garlic chicken, kabocha pumpkin, and rice with green onions for dinner. As usual, I made enough for a couple of nights, and I'm still finishing off the lemon chicken from Wednesday.
Stan Sakai wrote: 2 hours ago
You know I really like blueberry muffins (though I'm not particularly fond of blueberry pancakes). I made a dozen this morning, mainly because I had some sour cream I needed to use up. The last time I made blueberry/mango. This time it was straight berry. I tend to put a LOT of fruit, and had the problem of the muffins maintaining their muffin shape. I increased the baking soda and baking time, and they turned out great. I'm enjoying it while watching Mythbusters. Adam and Jamie are swimming in syrup.
Stan Sakai wrote: about an hour ago
At Comic-con a couple years ago director John Landis brought Adam Savage over to my booth to buy a few books. That was pretty cool, even if he did not blow up anything.
Stan Sakai wrote: 23 minutes ago
The good news--Sharon walked three times around the facility corridors today. That is 900 feet, three times the length of a football field, the most she has walked in the past (almost) 4 months.
The bad news--She is completely deaf in both ears. The left is a result of her brain tumor. The right was fine until pressure from an ear infection punctured a hole in the ear drum. It was healing fine, but she lost suddenly lost that hearing. Not even her sound amplifier makes any difference. Her doctor at convalescence is making an appointment with Sharon's ENT. Please pray that it is just a temporary set back.
Stan Sakai wrote: 3 hours ago
Sharon was really tired today, but still walked her three laps around the convalescence facility. We usually sit in the courtyard as I have lunch, but she was too exhausted for that and went back to bed. She has an appointment with her Ear/Nose/Throat doctor first thing in the morning. Hopefully, he will be able to find out the cause of her complete deafness and can cure it.
Daughter Hannah went out for seafood last night and brought over an order of clams this morning. I used it to make clam chowda. Is there any chowder better than clam (New England style, that is)? I think not. She also brought over a lobster. That is for tomorrow.
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