Summary: A tokage lizard wakes up and seeks food. Finding some, he earns the ire of a butcher who tries to kill him, leading him to seek refuge in the tower.

Usagi comes across a crowd that has formed looking up at the lizard in the tower, while the bloodthirsty butcher waits below. A familiar-looking woodcutter tells Usagi what is going on. Usagi decides to help the lizard, but the butcher will not let him. Usagi punches the butcher and makes his way up the ladder. The butcher chops off rungs so that Usagi cannot climb back down.

Atop the tower, he tried to befriend the lizard with a rice ball as it starts to snow. As the wind picks up, Usagi insists the lizard must trust him if they are to survive.

Usagi clears snow off the tower, and later the wind knocks over tea. Both land on the head of the butcher, enraging him further. He takes the woodcutters axe and starts to chop down the tower.

The tower crashes into the butcher's own shop. Usagi and Spot crash through the roof but survive. Blaming Usagi for his misfortunate, the butcher is more enraged then ever. But the lizard comes to Usagi's defense, attacking the butcher.

Usagi and the lizard decide to leave the town. Usagi names the lizard Spot.

Thoughts: Probably the best short story yet, and gives a true taste of what is to come. As I have often said, it is the combination of heart and craft which makes this series work. This issue is the perfect example.

The selfless heroism of Usagi. Helping who needs help. The karmic justice inherent in the world, where the butcher becomes the victim of his own rage. Stan is showing us a an inherently just world.

What makes the issue for me are the scenes of Usagi sitting atop the tower with the suspicious lizard. Patiently earning trust.

By this point in the series, it is clear these tokage are the animals of Usagi's world, standing in for cats or dogs or whatever woodland creatures they need to stand in for. Spot here seems like a dog-analogue. This is in contrast to the early Usagi's stories, where Noriyuki just had a dog.

Stan is also moving toward issue-length stories more and more. While in terms of story content, this could have fit into the short stories which dominated the early issues, the expanded page count gives Stan just enough room to tell the story gracefully. He has a gift for making all these stories seem precisely the right length.

Here, we are allowed a long prologue focused on Spot, including a page dedicated to his waking up. We are allowed large panels when necessary to convey the size of the tower. Stan has the room to flex his artistic muscles, and tell the story.

A turtle in the crowd has a strange ninja mask on. Interesting.

Usagi Yojimbo #7 includes a backup Patrick Rabbit story by Phil Yeh.

Grade: A

It really is a touching little story, the scenes with Usagi trying to coax the lizard to be his friend just showed so much heart. If I were to try and get someone to like Usagi I think this would be the story I'd use.

I never noticed this before!