Summary: Usagi finds a dying samurai pierced by arrows being dragged by his horse and frees the samurai. The samurai was a retainer to
Lord Nerai, who was ordered to commit
Seppuku by
Hikiji over his failure to kill
Noriyuki. Before his death, Nerai charged his vassel with bringing his confession to
Edo. The samurai asked Usagi to finish his quest.
Usagi agrees and is soon attacked by the
Neko Ninja.
Tomoe shows up and together they overcome the ninja.
Noriyuki presents the latter to the Shogun's advisor,
Okii Ashiyubi. But Okii is secretly in the employ of Hikiji.
Hebi instructs Okii to present the Shogun with a forgery instead, which will clear Hikiji's name and allow the matter to become a quiet investigation.
Thoughts: Over a year since the last issue of
Albedo came out,
Fantagraphics picked up the character of Usagi Yojimbo and reprinted the Albedo stories in this special. It also included one new story, the subject of today's review.
"The Confession" follows directly from the events of "Lone Rabbit and Child" and suggests a fairly tight continuity. Continuity will remain preserved throughout the series, but the issues will be less tied together than may be suggested to one who has only gotten this far. Hebi, Noriyuki, Tomoe, and the Neko ninja will all be recurring characters, but not regular parts of the supporting cast. The only true regular is Usagi himself, wandering around Japan, and occasionally running into the same people.
Going back to these familiar with the later stories, so much stands out. The second panel includes narration. Dramatic narration, but also functional, to tell us Usagi freed the wounded man from the horse. Stan will never resort to narration again. He trusts the pictures to tell the story. On occasion a brief blurb naming the town, or the footnote translating something for us. But never a description of action.
Some basic motifs of the series are taking shape. That Usagi is a wandering do-gooder. Who stumbles across situations and plays the hero. We saw him defend Noriyuki in the previous issue. He then stayed with Noriyuki for a fee, but the first time was just because it was right. (Or maybe because the bandits may not have spared him.) Similar here. A dying samurai has a last request. Usagi will honor it.
Stan's sense of facial expressions for Usagi is coming along quickly. The fight scene generates a range of emotional expressions from a character who has largely been stoic thus far. See also the shift from indignation to pleasantness of Okii Ashiyubi.
Usagi is still squat, but starting to have a more prominent neck.
Lord Hikiji has taken up his role as the behind-the-scenes bad guy, not appearing in this issue. Or ever again.
Noriyuki still has the dog we met in the previous arc.
Kampai is a toast. Other references/homages/cultural notes?
This is the best story yet, though the series is young. A more subtle plot on Hikiji's part. More character, partly coming from the facial expressions. Partly the warmth of the final scene between Usagi and Tomoe. Better action. Still not a great issue, but it is becoming more obvious that we are at the start of something great.
Notes:- Introduces Okii Ashiyubi, advisor to the Shogun, secretly in league with Lord Hikiji
On continuity, this story is the next story in the collected versions, and in terms of the story, must take place right after the events of Lone rabbit and child. Usagi has not gone far and Tomoe is looking for him. Attempting to squeeze other stories between these events would be awkward.
Yet we have skipped ahead a few months in terms of publication history. Usagi also started appearing in the Fantagraphics anthology Critters a few months earlier. The next two posts will deal with the first two such stories, both of which were published before this issue.
Grade: B
