Usagi Yojimbo

Originally, Usagi and other characters in the series were going to be human in stories explicitly modeled after the life of Miyamoto Musashi. However when Sakai was idly doodling, he drew rabbit ears tied in a topknot on his proposed hero and was inspired by the distinctive image it gave him.[10] Usagi was first conceived as a supporting character in The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, a brief series that predates Usagi Yojimbo.[11] Sakai quickly expanded on the idea and his story world quickly took on an anthropomorphized cartoonish nature which created a fantasy setting he decided suited his dramatic needs well with a unique look he thought could attract readers. Usagi first appeared in the anthology Albedo Anthropomorphics in 1983, and later in the Fantagraphics Books anthropomorphic anthology Critters, before appearing in his own series in 1987. The Usagi Yojimbo series has been published by three different companies. The first publisher was Fantagraphics (volume one; 38 regular issues, plus one Summer Special and three Color Specials). The second was Mirage Comics (volume two; 16 issues). The third is Dark Horse Comics, at which Usagi Yojimbo is still being published (as volume three, over 100 issues), and who also released a fourth Color Special. A fourth publisher, Radio Comix, has published two issues of The Art of Usagi Yojimbo which contained a selection of unpublished drawings, convention sketches, and other miscellaneous Usagi Yojimbo artwork. The first issue also included an original Usagi Yojimbo short story. In 2004, Dark Horse Comics published a Twentieth Anniversary hardcover volume also entitled The Art of Usagi Yojimbo. Because Usagi Yojimbo is a creator-owned comic and Stan 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. Usagi has appeared in stories published by Cartoon Books, Oni Press, Sky Dog Press, Wizard Press, and most recently in the benefit book Drawing the Line, the proceeds of which went to Princess Margaret Hospital and The Hospital for Sick Children, both in Toronto, for cancer research. Stan Sakai has also been able to experiment with formats for Usagi Yojimbo, such as when he published the color story "Green Persimmon" originally as twelve separate 2-page chapters serialized in Diamond Comic Distributor's monthly catalog "Previews." He has also serialized two short stories in a comic strip format in the tabloid size promotional publication Dark Horse Extra. With Usagi Yojimbo stories ranging in length from single page "gag" stories to multi-issue "epic" adventures, Stan Sakai has proven himself a master of sequential story-telling. Usagi has also appeared several times in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the comic, both of the animated series, and the toy line), and the Turtles have appeared in Usagi Yojimbo as well. In his guest appearances, he is closest to Leonardo, both sharing the same ideals and code of ethics. In addition, Sakai created a limited spin off series called Space Usagi that featured characters similar to those in the original series, including a descendant of Miyamoto Usagi, but set in a futuristic setting that also emulated Feudal Japan in political and stylistic ways. Three mini-series of three issues each and two short stories featuring the characters were produced. Sakai has tentative plans to produce a fourth Space Usagi miniseries, but nothing has been announced yet.[12] There was also an abortive project for a Space Usagi animated series before the failure of Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars discouraged further development.[13]Space Usagi was one of the action figures produced under the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line. Two editions of an Usagi role-playing game have been made, a 1998 version from Gold Rush Games and a 2005 version from Sanguine Productions. There was also a computer game called Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo released for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC platforms in 1988, by the now defunct computer game label Firebird. Awards The series has been awarded 3 Eisner awards. 1996 Eisner Award for "Best Letterer" (Groo and Usagi Yojimbo) 1996 Eisner Award for "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" (Usagi Yojimbo) 1999 Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story" (Usagi Yojimbo "Grasscutter") And around 20 nominations.