Another publisher, Radio Comix, published two issues of The Art of Usagi Yojimbo (1997–1998) which contained a selection of unpublished drawings, convention sketches, and other miscellaneous Usagi Yojimbo artwork (including an original short story in the first issue).īecause Usagi Yojimbo is a creator-owned comic and Sakai has complete and sole ownership of the character, Miyamoto Usagi has been able to appear in occasional short stories published by companies other than the one currently publishing his series.
Yojimbo movie series#
The fourth is IDW Publishing, by which Usagi Yojimbo is still being published (volume four, more than 12 issues), and which is also republishing the Usagi Yojimbo portions of the Fantagraphics series as Usagi Yojimbo Color Classics. The third was Dark Horse Comics (volume three, 172 regular issues and two Color Specials), which also published the Senso miniseries (2015), The Art of Usagi Yojimbo: 20th Anniversary Edition (2004), and Usagi Yojimbo: 35 Years of Covers (2018), as well as republishing the Fantagraphics and Mirage series. The second was Mirage Comics (volume two 16 issues).
Yojimbo movie plus#
The first publisher was Fantagraphics (volume one 38 regular issues, plus one Summer Special and three Color Specials). The Usagi Yojimbo series has been published by four different companies. Usagi first appeared in the anthology Albedo Anthropomorphics in 1984, and later in the Fantagraphics Books anthropomorphic anthology Critters, before appearing in his own series in 1987. Sakai expanded on the idea of a rabbit samurai and his world took on an anthropomorphized cartoon nature, creating a fantasy setting which suited his dramatic needs with a unique look he thought could attract readers. Usagi was first conceived as a supporting character in The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, a brief series that predates Usagi Yojimbo. However, once as Sakai was idly doodling, he drew rabbit ears tied in a topknot on his proposed hero and was pleased by the distinctive image. Sakai originally planned for Usagi and other characters to be human in stories explicitly modeled after the life of Miyamoto Musashi.
The architecture, clothes, weapons and other objects are drawn with a faithfulness to period style. The stories include many references to Japanese history and Japanese folklore, and sometimes include mythical creatures. The books are primarily episodic, with underlying larger plots which create long extended storylines-though there are some novel-length narratives.
The series follows the standard traditional Japanese naming-convention for all featured characters: their family names followed by their given names. The series is also influenced somewhat by Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragonés (Sakai is the letterer for that series), but the overall tone of Usagi Yojimbo is more serious and reflective. Usagi Yojimbo is heavily influenced by Japanese cinema it has included references to the work of Akira Kurosawa (the title of the series is derived from Kurosawa's 1960 film Yojimbo), as well as to icons of popular Japanese cinema, such as Lone Wolf and Cub, Zatoichi, and Godzilla. Usagi wanders the land on a musha shugyō (warrior's pilgrimage), occasionally selling his services as a bodyguard. The main character is a rabbit rōnin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom Sakai based partially on the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. It is set primarily at the beginning of the Edo period of Japanese history and features anthropomorphic animals replacing humans. Usagi Yojimbo ( 兎用心棒, Usagi Yōjinbō, " rabbit bodyguard") is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai.