Usaji Yojimbo Moves From Dark Horse To IDW

The Rabbit Samurai Finds A New Home

Stan Sakai’s Usajo Yojimbo has moved from Dark Horse to IDW and here’s the news, broken first by the New York Times…

The cartoonist Stan Sakai and his 17th-century samurai rabbit, Usagi Yojimbo, are about to embark on new, colourful adventures, with a monthly series starting in June with a new publisher, IDW.

IDW Publishing is also planning a series of full-colored collected editions of the complete Usagi saga, which began in 1984. The series had been at Dark Horse Comics since 1995 and was primarily printed in black-and-white.

Sakai, 65, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that the series is “mainly fantasy and action and adventure, but there’s a lot of teaching there, too,” as it is set in an anthropomorphic version of 17th-century Japan. “I draw from that history and culture and folklore to make my stories,” he said.

Previous installments have shown the craftsmanship of forging swords, the construction of massive paper kites and examined the role of Christian missionaries who went to Japan. The new series, which will be coloured by Tom Luth, will begin with a three-part story involving bunraku (Japanese puppetry).

The series has also won five Eisner Awards, the industry equivalent of an Oscar, including three for best lettering. In 1996 Sakai was awarded an Eisner for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition and, three years later, he received one for Best Serialized Story.

Sakai hopes to continue the adventures of Usagi for many more years. “I have no other job skills,” he said with a laugh. “If not for Usagi, I’m unemployed.”