LETTERS

[Letter-writing to Usagi is picking up with a vengeance, but we still can't get enough. Heck, we'll expand our letters page to two pages if we have to! Write to USAGI YOJIMBO LETTERS, 1800 Bridgegate Street #101, Westlake Village, CA 91361. (You can also send stuff straight to Stan c/o this address and it'll be forwarded to him, but please – don't ask for free sketches, or even a letter back.) Let's start off with a letter that touches on a subject close to my heart, namely me. – ED.]

Dear –ED,

What is your name, anyway? That's right, you, the editor? I was looking through Usagi Yojimbo #4 and I couldn't find your name anywhere. Maybe you're actually Stan Sakai hiding behind the utterly devious name of "—ED." But that couldn't be true because your work just couldn't be that good without an editor. After all, somebody has to make sure you spell "Usagi" correctly. By the way, how do you pronounce "Usagi," anyway? Is it "you-sagi" or "oo-sagi"?

Sakai, my guy (I figured you wouldn't want me to say "Stan, my man"), where did you learn to draw? I haven't seen such good-looking art since Cerebus. Don't let such praise go to your head, though. Just make sure you keep up the good work.

Yours rabidly,
"T.M. Bald Eagle"
East Bethany, NY

[Now that you mention it, I realize my name is nowhere in this, or any, issue. "—ED." is me, Kim Thompson, and the main reason I've been discreet to the point of modesty is that I really don't do much on Usagi, other than answer these letters and call up Scott Shaw! asking him where his art is once in a while. Shocking as it may seem to you, Stan is actually so good he does it all by himself. Here's a complete list of my editorial input on Usagi to date:

1985: "Stan, can we run Usagi Yojimbo in Critters? Okay, great!"

1986: "Stan, are you sure you want to show that skull being split open quite so graphically? Oh, you already changed it, huh? Never mind."

1987: "Stan, that's not how you spell 'despite.' It's okay, we can handle it."

For this I collect a salary? I'm not even sure how to pronounce "Usagi" myself. And sometimes a letter comes along that Stan has to answer, and I feel even more useless.

Dear Stan,

I would like to tell you Usagi Yojimbo is my favorite character.

(1) Are you ever going to have Usagi in a movie?

(2) What's Usagi's real name?

(3) Is Usagi always going to be a ronin?

(4) What does Usagi like better: the Wakizashi or Katana?

(5) Will we find out who Usagi's parents are?

(6) Stan, what made you think of a comic about a samurai rabbit? That's it for now. Keep up the great work.

Tim Abbott
Coral Springs, FL

[(1) There are no plans for an Usagi movie. However, we are negotiating to license him to areas other than comic books.

(2) "Usagi Yojimbo" literally means "Rabbit Bodyguard." His real name is "Miyamoto Usagi," a name inspired by a famous 17th century samurai, Miyamoto Musashi.

(3) I don't have any plans for Usagi to serve a lord anywhere in the near future but I am plotting a story with Tomoe and Lord Noriyuki, who appeared in the 1986 summer special/Usagi Book One.

(4) Usagi prefers the Katana, which is the standard fighting sword and is much longer than the Wakizashi.

(5) You've already met Usagi's father, who was the town magistrate and was killed defying Lord Hikiji.

(6) I chose a samurai rabbit because the samurai chicken just didn't work out.

– STAN]

Hey, Everyone,

What I liked best about Usagi Yojimbo #4 was Gary Kato's "Qwa's Quest." It was a short, beautiful, simple piece of work which seems to have captivated me. At first it looked like a re-telling of the Icarus legend (with an interesting twist of having cold water undo Qwa's work, unlike the sun undoing Icarus'). The only problem was that some of the more endearing moments were made to sound corny by the stinted dialogue, as often is the case with writer/artists. (Qwa's discussion with Tweeka was contrived in its scripting, but rang true in its message.) All in all, I'm looking more forward to reading the second part of "Qwa's Quest" next issue than the already classic lead feature.

The Little White Boy
(no address given)

PS: The art was great, too, in that every penguin looked different.

[T.M. Bald Eagle? The Little White Boy? Doesn't anyone have real names any more? Of course, who am I to talk, right?

By the way, Usagi fans should be on lookout for Critters #23, which contains a big two-page Usagi story – and about 50 pages more of comics, a flexidisc by Alan Moore and Ty Templeton, and a couple other little fun things.

And has everyone picked up the funny-animal issue of Amazing Heroes, on sale right now at your local comics vendor's? In it, among many other things, Stan explains why he chose to do Usagi Yojimbo as a rabbit (sorry, Tim Abbott, you'll have to spend another three dollars to find out the answer to that one). Thanks for the kind words on "Qwa's Quest." This issue, you'll note, is all-Usagi – although that's more due to a scheduling problem than anything else. Next issue is also an all-rabbit ish, although not all-Usagi!

– ED. (and proud of it)]

Dear Mr. Sakai,

I doubt you'll remember me, but I was at the same convention you were at some time ago in Houston. I said, "I have never read anything on Usagi Yojimbo, but I like the character, so could you please draw me a sketch?" Well, you did, and I had it framed along with all my sketches of super-heroes.

Time went by and I moved to a town in West Texas called Marfa. To give you an idea of how small this town is, the nearest McDonald's is 70 miles away.

When I was taking a trip back to Houston, I stepped into a comic book shop in San Antonio. I didn't have much money but I remembered I needed to buy an issue of Usagi. They were out of #1 and #3, so I thought I'd buy #2 and read it on the way to Houston. I loved it! I was pretty tired, but I was laughing and smiling. Even when my mother saw the cover, she thought it was cute – how an innocent little rabbit was dressed up in a kimono, holding a wooden sword ready to fight his enemies. Well, what I'm trying to get at is, can I buy some original artwork of Usagi? love how you put so much detail in each panel.

Well, I am glad I was able to see you and purchase one of your sketches.

Sincerely,
Brian Mertz
Marfa, TX

[Stan does indeed sell drawings of Usagi, much like the ones that occasionally appear on these letters pages. Write him c/o this address if you'd like to buy some. – ED.]

Dear Stan,

Usagi is my personal favorite and is a big hit where I live. I've read all the Critters that contain Usagi; I also read all the regular Usagi's. The graphic novel is great. Keep it up!

Stuart Miller
Bethesda, MD

[This is probably the reason Stan lets me answer the mail – he'd be too embarrassed to respond to letters like this one! That's it for this time. Be on the look out for the cover right below this letter next month… – ED.]