Tag: Usagi Yojimbo

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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What Are You Reading? | ‘Fist of the North Star,’ ‘Atlantis Wasn’t Built for Tourists’ and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately — from older stuff like Usagi Yojimbo and Fist of the North Star to newer stuff like Atlantis Wasn’t Built for Tourists and even a balloonless book about Stan Lee you may have heard about.

Let us know what you read this week in the comments or on social media.

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Way of X,’ ‘Blue Beetle,’ ‘Usagi Yojimbo’ and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately.

Let us know what you read this week in the comments or on social media.

Continue reading “What Are You Reading? | ‘Way of X,’ ‘Blue Beetle,’ ‘Usagi Yojimbo’ and more”

IDW announces six new graphic novels for 2021

New middle-grade graphic novels from Stan Sakai, Kim Dwinell, India Swift, Ray Friesen and more will arrive next year.

IDW has announced six new graphic novels aimed at the middle-grade (9-12 years old) audience, coming in summer 2021 from both IDW Publishing and their Top Shelf imprint.

The line-up includes new books by Kim Dwinell, India Swift, Ray Friesen and more. Plus: Chibi Usagi!

“Today’s young readers have an insatiable appetite for vibrant, thoughtful stories, so we’re thrilled to deliver an inspired mix of titles that showcases the full potential of graphic storytelling,” said Justin Eisinger, Editorial Director, Graphic Novels & Collections for IDW. “These books run the gamut from outright fun to introspective and even educational, further evidence that IDW and Top Shelf are home to an eclectic, necessary library of fiction and non-fiction graphic novels.”

Here are the publisher’s descriptions on what was announced:

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Silver Surfer,’ ‘Usagi Yojimbo’ and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately. In this edition, we talk about the new storyline kicking off in Usagi Yojimbo, the intersection of Slott/Allred’s Silver Surfer with Doctor Who, and more.

Let us know what you read this week in the comments or on social media.

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