New Releases by Stan Sakai

For years, as Miyamoto Usagi has wandered the countryside, an unseen, malevolent entity has been tracing his steps. Thought dead since the events of Grasscutter, the demon Jei-the Black Soul-has been inhabiting the body of the swordswoman Inazuma, intent on destroying the evil he claims to see in Usagi! Meanwhile, Boss Bakuchi, shamed by his inability to avenge his son''s death, doubles the bounty on the killer-Inazuma. The money brings out scores of bounty hunters, unaware that they are merely a flock of sparrows intent on bringing down an eagle. The hunt for Inazuma also draws Usagi, hunters Gen and Stray Dog, and a mysterious stranger named Isamu, each with his own motive. As the threat of the Black Soul reemerges, this epic storyline reveals at last the true origin of Jei! * Collecting "Sparrows," the dramatic return of the demon Jei, and "The Darkness and the Soul," Jei''s long-awaited origin, plus the Usagi short from Free Comic Book Day 2009. * Introduction by Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times.

The wandering life of a ronin is often a lonely one, and Usagi has been on that path a long time. A temporary peace, staying with the merchant Endo and his daughter Hanaka, is interrupted by the deadly League of Assassins, setting Usagi back on the road, but with the uncomfortable sensation that he is being followed. * Collects issues #94-#102. This volume also includes the landmark Usagi Yojimbo #100, a celebratory roast issue featuring contributions from several of the best writers and artists in comics including Frank Miller, Matt Wagner, Jeff Smith, Sergio Aragonés, and more! Introduction by Brian K. Vaughan! “Matching the writing, Stan Sakai''s cartooning remains a lesson to anyone wanting to learn the craft. Well-researched details ground each scene in reality, while the carefully chosen angles and zooms maximize the humor or drama of each story beat . . . Long story short, Usagi Yojimbo continues to be the best adventure comic in the world today, and Bridge of Tears is simply more evidence.” -Newsarma

The discovery of gold ignites a struggle of striking proportions as a power-mad tyrant''s lust for wealth threatens to destroy not only Usagi Yojimbo and his companion Tomoe but an entire innocent village! When plague strikes a border town in the mountains of the Geishu Province, Lord Noriyuki sends his loyal bodyguard Tomoe to investigate. Once there, she and her retinue discover a truth far more terrible. Meanwhile, back at the castle, the sycophantic Lord Horikawa sets in motion a plot to eliminate Tomoe his own way. Only the rabbit ronin Usagi could extricate a friend from a predicament this perilous-if he hadn''t ended up landing in the same one himself! Usagi and Tomoe must use every ounce of skill and wit if they are to survive "The Mother of Mountains," an adventure in the spirit of the award-winning epic "Grasscutter" by internationally celebrated storyteller Stan Sakai! * Introduction by film director John Landis!

Master storyteller Stan Sakai opens this brand-new collection with a deadly ambush on the fugitive Lone Goat Assassin and his child, Gorogoro. Lone Goat is victorious, but wounded-and his son is too young to help. Unable to seek proper medical attention, Lone Goat collapses in an abandoned house. What he needs is a knowledgeable ronin, and soon! Elsewhere, Usagi is in a desperate search for his young companion, Jotaro, who has eluded murderous kidnappers. His is a panic that only rises out of fatherly love, though he has kept the secret of Jotaro''s parentage from the boy throughout their travels together. If they are able to continue on to Kitanoji Temple, will the rabbit samurai confess before they part ways? Featuring appearances by readers'' favorite characters-including the deadly Neko Ninja. Collecting issues #69-#75 of the ongoing series.

The rabbit ronin faces a horde of the undead when a harmless-looking but powerful charm brings a betrayed army back to life. With hundreds of zombies and an evil wizard to contend with, Usagi finds himself far out of his depth! Fortunately, he has the aid of fan-favorite character Sasuké the Demon Queller, most recently seen in the Yokai graphic novel. This volume also features several action-packed short stories, including the Eisner-nominated “Death of Lord Hikiji”! Collects Usagi Yojimbo #117–#123 and stories from Dark Horse Maverick 2001 and MySpace Dark Horse Presents #35.

The warrior’s path is fraught with peril as Miyamoto Usagi takes to the road with his bounty-hunter friend Gen. Traveling the countryside, the samurai odd couple must put bickering over money and shortcuts aside as they encounter a series of dangers, including trickster foxes, a gambler who is master of the bullwhip, and several factions of treacherous ninja. The stakes are raised even higher when the pair go their separate ways, as Usagi falls in with a clan on a suicide mission and Gen pursues a killer who isn’t what he appears, in adventures that will test each friend’s honor-and bravery! * Introduction by award-winning animator and official “Disney Legend” Floyd Norman! * The tales in this volume were nominated for the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series!

Learn why Tomoe is the most valuable retainer of Lord Noriuki of the Geishu Province, then plunge into a terrifying ghost story where a string of mysterious murders points to a woman dead for ten years. Finally, experience the mesmerizing beauty of a formal tea ceremony, as Usagi and Tomoe share this spiritual event to mark the rabbit ronin''s departure from the province to resume his travels. * Collects Usagi Yojimbo Color Special #1-3 (originally published by Fantagraphics) and Usagi Yojimbo #90-93. * Introduction by Heidi MacDonald of Publishers Weekly and features the newly redrawn "Tomoe''s Story" introductory tale! * Listed as one of the Young Adult Library Services Association''s (YALSA) Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

Usagis travels take him to a village plagued by rainstorms threatening to destroy it. While the rabbit ronin organizes the men to build a levee, the defenseless town is ransacked by bandits. Now Usagi and his companions must choose: chase after the brigands and risk a flood or finish the dike and face starvation! From a story idea by Sergio Aragoní©s! Reading Usagi Yojimbo is like curling up by a fire in a cozy blanket on a cold day. Its a comfortable, safe place that is fun to fully immerse yourself into and Sakai makes it easy to do that.ðComicosity This is a must read for any comic book fan.ðGraphic Policy

Usagi escorts a merchants daughter to the town where she is betrothed to a merchants son. While the parents are thrilled that the union will unite the two businesses, Usagi has his work cut out for him when Koroshi, the league of assassins, is hired to see she never arrives at her destination! Sakai puts on a Master Class in storytelling with each issue.� -Comic Book Resources

Usagi Yojimbo is one of the longest running and best-loved comic adventures of all time. Running from 1984 to the present day, and showing no sign of diminishing in popularity, the rabbit ronin is now seen as a figurehead of the comic book scene, and crucial to bringing the ideas of feudal Japan to a wider western audience. Roaming an anthropomorphic version of feudal Japan, the rabbit samurai has no master, but takes on tasks from any aggrieved animals he encounters - always ensuring he sticks to the noble way of the samurai.

Usagi Yojimbo is one of the longest running and best-loved comic adventures of all time. Running from 1984 to the present day, and showing no sign of diminishing in popularity, the rabbit ronin is now seen as a figurehead of the comic book scene, and crucial to bringing the ideas of feudal Japan to a wider western audience. Roaming an anthropomorphic version of feudal Japan, the rabbit samurai has no master, but takes on tasks from any aggrieved animals he encounters - always ensuring he sticks to the noble way of the samurai.

Usagi Yojimbo is considered key in the world of comics, and an important link between the manga comics of Japan and the superhero comics of the U.S. The series'' creator, Stan Sakai, first started drawing Usagi in the early eighties. Roaming an anthropomorphic version of feudal Japan, the rabbit samurai has no master, but takes on tasks from any aggrieved animals he encounters.

Since first appearing in November of 1984, Stan Sakai''s Usagi Yojimbo has become a favourite of librarians and educators and won a Parents'' Choice Award, an Inkpot award, multiple Eisner Awards, two Spanish Haxturs, a YALSA GGNFT award and a National Cartoonists Society Division award. The first Usagi Yojimbo Gallery Edition includes a selection of art from the earliest stories of the rabbit ronin, including the very first Usagi story, the complete origin tale Samurai and more from his Fantagraphics and Mirage years!

Usagi Yojimbo is considered key in the world of comics, and an important link between the manga comics of Japan and the superhero comics of the U.S. The series'' creator, Stan Sakai, first started drawing Usagi in the early eighties. Roaming an anthropomorphic version of feudal Japan, the rabbit samurai has no master, but takes on tasks from any aggrieved animals he encounters, always ensuring he sticks to the noble way of the samurai.

Adventure in feudal Japan waits for no one! In this fifth definitive Usagi Yojimbo compilation, rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi shares those adventures with several returning friends, including Inspector Ishida, sneak thief Kitsune, and bounty hunters Gen and Stray Dog. And Usagi''s most important friendship, with retainer Tomoe Ame, is spotlighted in the epic-length "Mother of Mountains," her origin "Tomoe''s Story," and the poignant tea ceremony tale "Chanoyu." Throughout, Stan Sakai''s award-winning combination of intriguing storytelling and deft line work constitute a master class in the comics form! Collects Usagi Yojimbo Volume Three #76-#93, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special #1-#3, and more!

Join everyone''s favorite rabbit ronin as he continues his gripping exploits on the warrior''s path! In this volume, Usagi teams up with fan-favorite guest star Inspector Ishida to solve a double murder at a roadside inn, then helps an allied clan protect its honor, and discovers that the soy sauce business can be as deadly as it is tasty! Featured in this collection is the story "Two Hundred Jizo," which celebrates Usagi''s two hundredth consecutive appearance under the masterful pen of creator Stan Sakai! Collects Usagi Yojimbo #139-#144, plus three additional, previously uncollected short stories: "Buntori," "The Artist," and "Sukanku"!

In this volume, Usagi teams up with fan favorite Inspector Ishida, helps an allied clan protect its honor, discovers how deadly the soy sauce business can be, and more! Features “Two Hundred Jizo,” Usagi’s two hundredth consecutive issue drawn by Stan Sakai! Collects Usagi Yojimbo #139–#144, plus three additional, previously uncollected stories: “Buntori,” “The Artist,” and “Sukanku”! * Introduction by Guy Davis (The Marquis, concept artist on Pacific Rim and The Strain)!

Join everyone''s favorite rabbit ronin as he continues his gripping exploits on the warrior''s path! In this volume, Usagi teams up with fan-favorite guest star Inspector Ishida to solve a double murder at a roadside inn, then helps an allied clan protect its honor, and discovers that the soy sauce business can be as deadly as it is tasty! Featured in this collection is the story "Two Hundred Jizo," which celebrates Usagi''s two hundredth consecutive appearance under the masterful pen of creator Stan Sakai! Collects Usagi Yojimbo #139-#144, plus three additional, previously uncollected short stories: "Buntori," "The Artist," and "Sukanku"!

The rabbit ronin faces a menace from Mars in this extraordinary story from multiple Eisner award-winning creator Stan Sakai! Fifteen years in his future, Miyamoto Usagi fights with Lord Noriyuki''s Geishu clan, in an all-out war against the treacherous Lord Hikiji. In the fury of the final battle, a mysterious metal rocket crash-lands from the heavens, shattering both armies and igniting a new, more devastating conflict. It will take all the considerable fortitude, ingenuity, and heroism that Usagi and his loved ones can muster to combat the fearsome extraterrestrial war machines and halt the alien invasion. In the end, not everyone will survive to tell the tale.

In the tradition of the celebrated collections The Art of Sin Cityand The Art of Hellboy, Dark Horse is proud to showcase the work of multi award-winning creator Stan Sakai in The Art of Usagi Yojimbo. The sold-out hardcover edition, timed to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the creation of Sakai''s signature character, Usagi Yojimbo, was met with an overwhelming response from thousands of fans around the world. This edition features scores of never-before-seen pieces, a long out-of-print twelve-page primer illustrating how Stan creates each of his Usagi stories, forty-eight full-color pages of Stan''s beautiful painted artwork, and more. Additionally, some of the biggest names in comics pay tribute to their favorite rabbit ronin in a fantastic gallery section, with pinups by Frank Miller, Geof Darrow, Jeff Smith, Sergio Aragonés, and Matt Wagner, among others!

The adventures of Stan Sakai''s beloved Miyamoto Usagi hit an early peak in this new deluxe compilation! Volume Two features the rabbit ronin''s first encounters with the Lord of Owls, Inspector Ishida, and more, and is highlighted by the Eisner Award-winning Grasscutter, a grand tale assembling nearly all the series'' characters in a struggle over the grasscutting sword of Japanese legend, with the fate of the nation in the balance! This omnibus collects Usagi Yojimbo Book 11: Seasons, Usagi Yojimbo Book 12: Grasscutter, and Usagi Yojimbo Book 13: Grey Shadows.

"This Gallery Edition reproduces Stan Sakai''s artwork for Usagi Yojimbo in full color and at original size. This first volume comprises the first ten years of Sakai and Usagi''s evolution, spanning from the earliest, unpublished Usagi story in the early eighties to the second Usagi Yojimbo series [in] the early nineties."--About this edition (CIP galley)

Usagi Yojimbo is one of the longest running and best-loved comic adventures of all time. Running from 1984 to the present day, and showing no sign of diminishing in popularity, the rabbit ronin is now seen as a figurehead of the comic book scene, and crucial to bringing the ideas of feudal Japan to a wider western audience. Roaming an anthropomorphic version of feudal Japan, the rabbit samurai has no master, but takes on tasks from any aggrieved animals he encounters - always ensuring he sticks to the noble way of the samurai.

Usagi Yojimbo is one of the longest running and best-loved comic adventures of all time. Running from 1984 to the present day, and showing no sign of diminishing in popularity, the rabbit ronin is now seen as a figurehead of the comic book scene, and crucial to bringing the ideas of feudal Japan to a wider western audience. Roaming an anthropomorphic version of feudal Japan, the rabbit samurai has no master, but takes on tasks from any aggrieved animals he encounters - always ensuring he sticks to the noble way of the samurai.

Usagi Yojimbo is one of the longest running and best-loved comic adventures of all time. Running from 1984 to the present day, and showing no sign of diminishing in popularity, the rabbit ronin is now seen as a figurehead of the comic book scene, and crucial to bringing the ideas of feudal Japan to a wider western audience. Roaming an anthropomorphic version of feudal Japan, the rabbit samurai has no master, but takes on tasks from any aggrieved animals he encounters - always ensuring he sticks to the noble way of the samurai .

The Red Scorpion Gang has been terrorizing the countryside for months, with evidence of their ill deeds appearing everywhere the rabbit ronin turns! Usagi first crosses swords with the Scorpions as the gang extorts protection money from poor farmers, then must defend a temple from their attacks. But when Usagi is accused of being a member of the gang, he has no choice but to take the fight to the Red Scorpion himself! This volume also features the return of wily thief Kitsune and the mysterious Lord of Owls! Collects Usagi Yojimbo #132-#138! Featuring an introduction by George Takei!

Experience the rabbit action epic that might have been! More than just a precursor to Stan Sakai''s beloved Usagi Yojimbo, his tales of medieval unwits Nilson and Hermy are every bit as funny, exciting, and beautifully illustrated as the saga of the familiar rabbit ronin! Collecting Nilson and Hermy''s complete exploits! * Collects every Nilson story, plus rarely seen extra art! * Newly scanned from Sakai''s original art and colored by Usagi colorist Tom Luth! * Don''t miss Nilson and Hermy in November''s Dark Horse Presents #30! "Stan Sakai is a master."—Alejandro Jodorowsky "Stan Sakai is one of the few artists working in comics who completely understand the medium."—Jeff Smith

"Stan Sakai''s tales of the rabbit ronin are collected in an omnibus format featuring over six hundred pages of samurai adventure, including the complete Mirage Publishing series and the beginning of the Dark Horse Comics series"--

A one-armed samurai tells Usagi of his losing duel with an invincible warrior who severs the sword arm of his victims and wears their finger bones on a necklace. When the skilled, sadistic samurai comes to town, can the rabbit _ronin_ defeat an unbeatable swordsman? * Self-contained story! Sakai puts on a master class in storytelling with each issue.�Comic Book Resources

The shadow lord Hikiji''s latest conspiracy pits the rabbit _ronin_''s friends against one another, as The Thief and the _Kunoichi_� concludes! One of them may die tonight, unless Usagi, Chizu, and Kitsune can stop a secret treaty! *_The Usagi Yojimbo Saga_ and _Usagi Yojimbo: Senso_ both made best-of-2014 lists!