Tag: Usagi Yojimbo

Stan Sakai will pay tribute to his late brother in the next ‘Usagi Yojimbo’ miniseries

The five-issue ‘Usagi Yojimbo: The Thousand Plums’ will debut in March.

Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo will return in a new miniseries next March, featuring two different stories — “Ten Thousand Plums” and “Tabo.” That second story, in particular, has significant meaning for Sakai, as it pays tribute to his deceased brother.

“‘Tabo’ is very personal to me,” Sakai said. “It was written as a tribute to my younger brother, Kenneth, a month after he passed away and was inspired by his struggles during his last days. I cherish the time growing up with him in Hawaii. When she saw how deeply I felt about this story, Emi (Fujii) volunteered to color it as she knew Kenneth and his gentle spirit.”

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The Power Rangers will meet Usagi Yojimbo in a one-shot this fall

Ryan Parrott, Shawn Daley and James Fenner send the Power Rangers back in time to meet Stan Sakai’s samurai rabbit.

Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo will receive some visitors from the future in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Usagi Yojimbo, a one-shot coming from BOOM! Studios and Dark Horse Comics in September.

The time-displaced tale will be told by writer Ryan Parrott, artist Shawn Daley and colorist James Fenner.

“I think one of the most exciting elements of comics is the unexpected crossover, so when BOOM! Studios asked me if I was interested in pairing the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with Usagi Yojimbo, I didn’t hesitate,” said Parrott, a veteran of the Power Rangers franchise. “I’ve been a fan of Stan Sakai’s work and the epic story he’s been telling my whole life, so it was a true honor to get to step into that world and play with those characters. Plus, the moment I saw Shawn Daley’s artwork, I knew this had the potential to be an insanely fun, one of a kind ride that hopefully both Ranger and Samurai fans will enjoy.” 

Although it doesn’t appear that Sakai is involved with creating the comic (except for a variant cover), he did endorse it in the press release:

“I’m really excited with Usagi’s crossover with the Power Rangers,” Sakai said. “This is the first time Usagi has teamed up with real superheroes (that do not have shells)!  It’s a great story with fantastic art!”

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IDW announces five more ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ titles

To celebrate 40 years of Ninja Turtles, the publisher is going all out with a Nightwatcher title, TMNT Mutant Nation and more.

IDW continued to roll out their plans for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ 40th anniversary this week, following the news last month of the main series relaunch by Jason Aaron and a quartet of artists that’s coming in July.

In conjunction with this week’s ComicsPRO meeting, IDW revealed five new series they will launch in the coming months showcasing the Turtles from every angle imaginable.

“One of the great things about being at IDW is seeing all the amazing and diverse talent working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles over the years,” said IDW Co-Publisher Mark Doyle. “We wanted to create a slate of books that reflected that talent and allow them to tell a wide range of stories that would thrill all kinds of fans. It’s an honor to be publishing TMNT comics during the iconic franchise’s 40th anniversary, and we’ve gone all-out to truly celebrate Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s unforgettable creations.”

Here’s the rundown of what they have planned …

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Slugfest | Dark Horse resurrects ‘Lester of the Lesser Gods’

Plus: The Winx saga continues, Usagi turns 40, the Dreadnoks return and more!

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Lester of the Lesser Gods, which was originally published by Albatross Funnybooks, is finding new life at Dark Horse this year.

Written by Eric Powell and Lucky Yates, and featuring artwork by Gideon Kendall, Lester began life as unproduced animated short before finding its way to comics.

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Usagi returns to Dark Horse this September

Stan Sakai’s rabbit samurai contends with the mystical villain Jei in a new miniseries.

Stan Sakai’s long-eared samurai, Usagi Yojimbo, will return to Dark Horse this fall in a new miniseries, Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow. The five-issue miniseries is part of Sakai’s Dogu Publishing imprint, which Dark Horse announced last fall.

“I’m very excited, honored and thankful to have my own publishing imprint with Dark Horse,” Sakai said at the time. “As the sole creator and owner of Usagi Yojimbo, this is a significant milestone. I’ve known Mike Richardson for more than 30 years and he is one of the pioneers and champions of creator-owned IP. As the industry continues to change, I feel he brings a unique progressive perspective.”

Dark Horse published Usagi Yojimbo for about 20 years, up until 2019 when it moved to IDW. That relationship did not last long, but did result in several Usagi-related projects, including color versions of the famously black-and-white title and a graphic novel featuring Chibi Usagi. This new miniseries will be in color, thanks to HiFi Colour Design.

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Stan Sakai celebrates ‘Year of the Rabbit’ with a new shirt

The limited edition apparel is now available on Sakai’s website.

2023 is the year of the rabbit, and in honor of the Lunar New Year, Stan Sakai is offering a new shirt on his website featuring his signature creation, Usagi Yojimbo.

It’s a natural tie-in, given that Usagi is, obviously, a rabbit. And it’s a really stunning shirt as well, featuring Sakai’s artwork:

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Usagi + Ninja Turtles meet again in ‘WhereWhen’

Stan Sakai will write and draw a new miniseries bringing the old friends together.

Earlier this year Dark Horse Comics announced that Stan Sakai and Usagi Yojimbo would return to the publisher as part of the Dogu Publishing imprint after spending a few years at IDW, but it looks like Sakai’s time at IDW isn’t quite up. IDW announced today that Sakai is writing and drawing a team-up between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Usagi Yojimbo, titled WhereWhen.

“I am so pleased with the story and art for WhereWhen,” Sakai said. “There is a lot of emotion and, of course, lots of action. I actually wrote this story about five years ago and had been anxious to get to it. In the past, the Turtles have met just a few of Usagi’s friends. This time, everyone is thrown in—Gen, Tomoe, Jotaro, Yukichi, Kitsune, Chizu, and more! This one is epic!”

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Sakai + Schweizer present a new Usagi Yojimbo ornament for 2022

Usagi and Tomoe share a snowy moment in the latest limited-edition wooden ornament.

Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai has once again teamed up with artist and woodworking expert Chris Schweizer to offer a Christmas ornament featuring Sakai’s signature creation — and his signature, too, if you’d like.

This is the third year that they’ve offered an ornament featuring the samurai rabbit in a seasonal pose — this time he’s also joined by Tomoe. While Sakai provided the artwork, Schweizer handcrafted each wooden piece. When he’s not drawing comics like The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton, Schweizer creates and sells wooden pieces and papercraft, like this Die Hard Christmas ornament, this collection of Santas from around the world and this Lord of the Rings chess set.

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Stan Sakai returns to Dark Horse to spearhead a new imprint

‘Usagi Yojimbo’ returns to the publisher as a part of Sakai’s Dogu Publishing imprint.

Stan Sakai’s legendary run on Usagi Yojimbo has walked the path with multiple publishers over the decades, including Fantagraphics and, most recently, IDW. But now the legendary ronin rabbit will return to the publisher where he stayed the longest — Dark Horse Comics.

Following a more than two-year stint at IDW, Stan Sakai will return to Dark Horse to helm his own imprint: Dogu Publishing — joining Karen Berger, Matt Kindt, Kevin Smith and Brian Michael Bendis, who also have their own imprints at Dark Horse. Prior to 2019, Dark Horse had published Usagi for more than 20 years.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | ‘Saga’ continues

New comics arrive this week from Brian K. Vaughn, Fiona Staples, Tom King, Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Garth Ennis and more, including a special tribute to artist John Paul Leon.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. An old favorite returns on Wednesday, while DC pays tribute to an artist who left us way too young.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

Also, as a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop.

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Sakai and Schweizer re-team for a new Usagi Yojimbo ornament

The hand-crafted wooden ornament is limited to 200 pieces.

Stan Sakai and Chris Schweizer have teamed up again to offer a Christmas ornament featuring Sakai’s signature creation Usagi Yojimbo (and his signature, too, if you’d like).

This is the second year that the duo have teamed for an ornament featuring a festive version of the samurai rabbit. While Sakai provided the artwork, Schweizer handcrafted each wooden piece. When he’s not drawing comics like The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton, Schweizer creates and sells wooden pieces and papercraft, like this Die Hard Christmas ornament and this collection of Santas from around the world.

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Milestone Media’s revival finally kicks off with ‘Static: Season One’ #1

Check out new comics this week from Tom King, Bilquis Evely, Jason Aaron, Aaron Kuder, Gerry Duggan, Pepe Larraz, Peach Momoko, Stan Sakai and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital this week. This week brings new comics and graphic novels from Marvel, DC, AfterShock Comics, Milestone Media, Fantagraphics and more.

Check out a few highlights below, or visit Diamond’s website for this week’s almost complete list of new comics arriving in stores — you can visit Lunar Distribution’s home page to see DC’s release — and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally.

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