Usagi Yojimbo #1

A samurai rabbit!?  Sounds absurd but Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo took the comic book by storm and has become a cult classic.

Three’s nothing cartoonish about either the fighting scenes nor the Eastern philosopher incorporated into the series.

In Fantagraphics Books issue #1 readers learn about Usagi’s past.

A great deal of detail is given about how he trained as a samurai, his early associations, his master and the long arduous and difficult path he took to enlightenment.

Beautifully illustrated and written the series successfully introduces readers to the discipline (both physical and mental) that it takes to become a true samurai.

Hints are also dropped about possible future enemies and allies.  The story is told in flashback just after Usagi defeats and old enemy and tells the tale to an arriving friend.

Also included in the book is a short tale of Waddlewalk the platypus pilot in Tinkle Drop.  It’s aviation action courtesy of Dennis Fujitake.

Currently a raw mint copy of Usagi Yojimbo goes for around $75 with a slabbed mint copy fetching $500.

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”