Latest Comic Guest Announcement - STAN SAKAI

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Latest Comic Guest Announcement - Stan Sakai

Writer/artist: Usagi Yojimbo; Space Yojimbo; 47 Ronin

PRIOR to 1984 Stan Sakai spent two years lettering a variety of comics including Sergio Aragonés’ Groo the Wanderer, which became the inspiration for The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, a strip Sakai introduced in 1985 in issue #5 of Thoughts and Images’ Albedo Anthropomorphics.

Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy was not, however, Sakai’s first foray into writing and drawing. That came the year before when he created his signature character, Usagi Yojimbo, who first appeared in Albedo #2.

After also appearing in Albedo #3 and 4, Usagi Yojimbo migrated to Fantagraphics and Critters, which similarly became home to Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy. After several appearances in Critters and following 1986’s Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special, Sakai’s samurai rabbit graduated to his own title, which ran at Fantagraphics for six years and 38 issues before being relaunched by Mirage (home of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) for a 16-issue run that ended in 1995.

The artist – who was born in Japan in 1953 – then took Usagi Yojimbo to Dark Horse, where the comic has remained ever since. A futuristic spin-off, Space Usagi, was also published as a trio of Dark Horse three-parters between 1992 and 1996.

Across the years Sakai – who produced an original graphic novel (Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai) in 2009 to celebrate the character’s 25th anniversary –has focussed on his samurai rabbit but has found time to produce a clutch of covers (often for other anthropomorphic titles) while also making sporadic contributions to a variety of anthologies.

In 2012, however, he took time off from Usagi Yojimbo to illustrate the five issues of 47 Ronin, Dark Horse’s fictionalised account of a well-known episode that took place in 18th century Japan.

After almost two decades the artist returned to The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy, producing a new story for 2013’s Dark Horse Presents #30 following up with a Usagi Yojimbo two-parter that ran in issues 35 and 36 of the Dark Horse flagship anthology in 2014.

Later that year he launched the six-issue Usagi Yojimbo: Senso. After that, in 2015, Sakai – who has remained as letterer of Groo and Aragonés’ various other

[bundyse]

Great, Love his work