Usagi Yojimbo, v. 23: Bridge of Tears

Collects: Usagi Yojimbo (v. 3) #94-102 (2006-7)

Released: July 2009 (Dark Horse)

Format: 248 pages / black and white / $17.95 / ISBN: 9781595822987

What is this?: The rabbit ronin fights ninjas and gangsters, but he’s completely out of his depth with a waitress

The culprit: Stan Sakai

Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo is one of the most consistent series out there. Month in and month out, Sakai delivers issues that are excellent reads. The collections are no exception, and Usagi Yojimbo, v. 23: Bridge of Tears is just the latest example.

In Bridge of Tears, Usagi deals with assassins and gangsters — the usual stuff, really; if Usagi is to be believed, feudal Japan was filled with ninjas, swordsmen, and gangsters. (And anthropomorphic animals; but I digress.) But a waitress who just wants to blow town and hit the road is Usagi’s greatest challenge, one he’s completely unprepared to deal with.

The book begins with Usagi foiling the assassination of a merchant; this is standard stuff for the rabbit ronin, who runs into trouble and people needing armed help wherever he goes. But this makes him a target for the League of Assassins. Sakai draws others into the story: the reluctant assassin Shizukiri and his prostitute lover, the waitress Mayumi who desires only to run away from her gangster-corrupted town. Sakai spends eight of the nine issues in Bridge of Tears moving them toward a climax that is far more moving than it has any right to be, given that two of the characters were created only in this volume.

Sakai also advances the subplots of other characters: Chizu, former leader of the Neko ninja on the run from her clan, and the demon Jei, being chased down by bounty hunters Ren and Stray Dog. The latter involves a dramatic battle in which it seems at any moment that Sakai might kill or maim one of his long-running characters; the former allows Sakai to give a frightening look at one way the Jei storyline might play out as well as weakening Usagi for the climax of Bridge of Tears. (Usagi is such a great swordsman even Sakai realizes it’s hard to believe Usagi will fall in a swordfight if he’s at full strength.) Though these two stories are not part of the main plot, none of the book is wasted — each story, each revelation contributes to building Bridge of Tears or in whetting the appetite for the next volume. Which I want. Now.

The only complaint I have about Bridge of Tears is that the covers are not placed before the story they illustrate, being instead grouped at the end of the volume. As good as the cover for the “Fever Dream” story — a demonically possessed Usagi in front of a long line of corpses, with the speech balloons with their last breaths filling the cover — is, it would have had an even greater impact if it had been placed with the story. Still, I suppose I should be glad they’re included.

The end of the volume is a “roast” of Stan Sakai, celebrating 100 issues of Usagi Yojimbo at Dark Horse. Although there is the occasional chuckle, it isn’t a roast, as it doesn’t make much fun of Sakai or his most famous creation, and for the most part it isn’t that funny. Sakai’s own stories in the feature and the short Sergio Aragones reminiscence of things he’s eaten with Sakai are pretty good, though.

As always, you should be reading Usagi Yojimbo. Buy this book and pre-order the next, whenever it might come out.

Rating: (4.5 of 5)

Usagi Yojimbo, v. 20: Glimpses of Death

Collects: Usagi Yojimbo #76-82 (2004-5)

Released: July 2006 (Dark Horse)

Format: 192 pages / black and white / $15.95 / ISBN: 9781593075491

Probably no one would have thought the comic book adventures of an anthropomorphic rabbit samurai would last 20 years when Usagi Yojimbo debuted in Albedo #2 in November 1984.

Yet here, in 2006, writer / artist / creator Stan Sakai is still going strong, with the series Usagi Yojimbo (literally “rabbit bodyguard”) on its third publisher and nearing its 150th issue. (And that’s not counting the three miniseries starring Sakai’s sci-fi version of the character, Space Usagi.)

Usagi Yojimbo, v. 20: Glimpses of Death continues Usagi’s adventures. No longer traveling with his biological son, Jotaro, Usagi’s adventures are less personal: delivering a token of a faith he doesn’t share, helping an inventor deal with bullies, being bullied by an old woman who feels abandoned by her family, seeing justice done as a vendetta draws to a close. All of Sakai’s Usagi stores are rich in wonderful period and cultural detail, and the trade paperback also includes Sakai’s notes on the sources for his stories.

The final story, which wraps up the saga of Koyama Matabei’s search for his father’s killers, is the only one of the stories that has much of an emotional punch. Koyama and his vendetta first appeared in Usagi Yojimbo #53 (v. 17: Duel at Kitanoji) But this story is an excellent tale of atonement, justice, and vengeance that more than balances the more lightweight tales.

But readers looking for stories about the rabbit may be disappointed. About half the book features stories on other characters who have touched the life of Usagi. In another book, this would appear to be marking time, but since Sakai is the only creator who works on Usagi and he controls Usagi’s schedule, what point is there to waiting around?

Casual readers may not recognize their significance, but long-time readers will be rewarded with looks into the lives of other characters. The most chilling story is that of demon-haunted Inazuma, who breaks free of the control of the demon Jei long enough only to get a dim view of the horror he has put her in. Bounty hunters Gen and Stray Dog renew their rivalry in the pursuit of Inazuma; thankfully, they don’t catch her, but the pursuit isn’t the point. Tomoe deals with a sycophant seeking to replace her in the affections of their lord.

Two other tales involve Sanshobo, a priest, and Inspector Ishida, a detective. Both are enjoyable in and of themselves, which is fortunate, because unlike Tomoe, Gen, and Inazuma, their stories are unlikely to affect Usagi’s. Sanshobo tries to help a troubled priest on the eve of his vows and finds him haunted by an old love; Ishida tries to bring in a troublesome thief but finds himself clearing the thief of a murder he is being made a scapegoat for. The former story is steeped in folklore, the latter in urban legends of a real-life daring Tokyo thief. Both are perfect examples of Sakai’s use of Japanese history and mythology to flesh out his stories, giving them the appearance of being distinctly Japanese and completely original at the same time.

This is another excellent Usagi collection. Although the lack of the title character may put off some, it doesn’t interfere with a great set of stories of feudal Japan (albeit a feudal Japan populated with anthropomorphic animals).

Rating: (4 of 5)