Review - Usagi Yojimbo 142

Three months ago I suddenly came to a shocking revelation. I'd never actually read any of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo! Oooops! Not one to let such injustice stand I ran out and bought the first three collections. Going in I knew some of the basics, Usagi is a traveling masterless Samurai, also he's also a rabbit. The mix of fast paced action, quite introspection, physical comedy, historical drama, and fantasy adventure hit all the right notes for me and I immediately regretted not jumping on the title years ago. Along with working my way through the many (many!) collections I bit the bullet and hopped on the latest issue.

First off, one thing I really respect about Usagi Yojimo as a whole is its accessibility. Its stories typically are self-contained, either within a single issue or in a story arch. This latest issue illustrates this rather well. With Usagi wandering the Japanese countryside, as he does, and coming across people in danger and in need of assistance. In this case a team of runners in the employ of a local lord are rapidly transporting a precious cargo as a special gift to another lord. But their long over-land route is beset by bandits and wild animals. Usagi steps in to help, and finds himself taking up the duty of the runners though he has no personal ties to their lord. The beautiful elegance of this story is in its apparent straight forwardness, but taking a step back reveals its larger complex nature. Particularly where what drives Usagi to do what he does is concerned. At 24 pages long, it weaves a very satisfying narrative, that makes you long for other comics to have as much economy of space.

Stan Sakai might be a good writer, but he's also something of a deft hand with a pen too. The line work showcased in this issue is nothing short of inspirational. Characters are lively, backgrounds are detailed, motion flows from panel to panel you can definitely feel a lot of love goes into the creation of this comic.

After years of putting it off, I've finally jumped into this series with both feet, and have continued to find it rewarding. Its certainly the sort of on-going series I can see myself following for years to come, and this issue is a really good example of just why that is. EXCELLENT.

Next: INVINCIBLE (well... soonish. I don't actually have my copy yet. Its in the mail. Maybe not til the end of the week.)