shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,865
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Post by shaxper on Apr 19, 2016 9:03:33 GMT -5
Growing up i was very much into TMNT. Most the video games and the action figures. I had the Usagi figure they put out. I didn't even know his name but i played with it a lot. almost 20 years later i see an Usagi Yojimbo book at my library, thought it looked interesting and then realized the connection. The library had up to book 23 and i read them all as fast as i could. I swore i wasn't going to buy the series after reading the first few volumes from the library. After book 4 i was so hooked that i knew it would be a series i would want to reread a lot. So i started buying everything i could and i'm all caught up. I wonder how many Usagi fans discovered him through TMNT, or maybe through the Commodore 64 video game. I know I wouldn't be here, discussing him right now, if not for the former. Welcome to the board, by the way! |
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Post by richarddragon on Sept 14, 2017 18:31:27 GMT -5
How did you first learn about Usagi? Chris Sims' column in the now defunct Comics Alliance website. What made you start reading? Bought Saga vol. 1. Thought "eh, might give this a chance, after all, reviewers tend to say it's good". What was your first story? "Shades of Green". Then "Jizo". Then "Usagi's Garden". Then "AutumnohmygoodnessIreallyneedtogooutandbuymoreofthisit'ssogood What makes you a Usagi fan? Hard to tell, because it's so good. Art is subtle and defined. Plots can be either straightforward or full of twists, and you'll enjoy both anyway. Characters worth investing your time in. And best of all, Stan doesn't cheat while telling a story. "Ah you thought Gen was a good guy but actually he was out to kill Usagi despite no prior indications or hints" is not something Stan would do. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 25, 2017 14:51:07 GMT -5
How did you first learn about Usagi? What made you start reading? What was your first story? What makes you a Usagi fan? What made me start reading was the unanimously enthusiastic endorsement of people here (yours in particular). Up until recently I had barely seen a few pages of Usagi on the net; funny animals and serious stories, I thought, probably with good character development (since the mag is still ongoing) and accurate historical references (judging from the clothes and the architecture). It looked interesting, but I wasn't ready to invest myself in another long series like Cerebus, and Usagi really looked like something that was better if you read it all. Then I thought "what the heck... let's give it a shot"... And Stan's talent did the rest; I was thoroughly hooked after a few dozen pages of the first collected book I got from Amazon. Hooked as in "I gotta chase every Usagi book I can get my mitts on!" The first story I read was, oddly enough, the team-up with the TNMT in the first Dark Horse collection. I say "oddly" because, while many people here seem to have been made aware of Usagi thanks to the Turtles, I personally never read TNMT and never watched the cartoon. I probably knew as much about Usagi as I knew about them when I read that first story. What makes me a fan is the combination of brilliant storytelling, moving character development and (as much, if not more, than the rest) the believable journey Stan invites us to take in feudal Japan. I love learning about how to make ink, how to dry seaweed, how to make kites, how to perform the tea ceremony, how people sleep, how they dress... The mag is not a textbook in adventure comic clothing, but we learn so much in there. Reading Usagi should definitely be encouraged in school. A great series, deserving of far more recognition. |
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Post by usagigoya on Sept 26, 2017 17:56:32 GMT -5
How did you first learn about Usagi? From comments written by Mark Evanier in Groo the Wanderer. I had been reading Groo since 1984 and was a big Sergio Aragones fan. Of course, I knew who Stan Sakai was because of his work as part of the Groo Crew.
What made you start reading? The first couple Usagi comics I bought were for the Sergio Aragones content, but I also read the Usagi stories as well. At the time, the only comic series I was buying was Groo, so it took a little while to convince myself to buy more issues of Usagi.
What was your first story? The first actual Usagi Yojimbo comic I bought was v.1 #11 which included the Usagi & Gen story "The Tea Cup" and the Sergio Aragones Catnippon back-up story "The Missive". I also picked up some of the early Critters issues which also featured Gen appearances. I really loved the interaction between Usagi and Gen right from the start. I actually made the plunge and started buying the new issues coming out when Usagi Yojimbo moved to Mirage and fellow Groo Crew member Tom Luth started doing the colors for the series.
What makes you a Usagi fan? In elementary school, I used to love reading the old Marvel western comics like Rawhide Kid, Two Gun Kid, and Kid Colt Outlaw, etc (late 60's - early 70's).
In Jr High School, I started reading the Marvel barbarian comics like Conan, Kull, Thongor, etc (mid 70's)
A few years after high school, I discovered Groo the Wanderer and eventually fell in love with collecting comics again. (quit reading them in high school)
Something about wandering characters that help out those they find in trouble have always seemed to appeal to me. With Usagi Yojimbo, it was almost like the morals of the old marvel westerns mixed with an exotic setting almost out of a fantasy world like Conan, but tied down with a real world basis in history and culture.
Reading Usagi also provoked my curiosity enough to check out some of the films (Yojimbo, Zatoichi, etc) that Stan Sakai drew upon as influence, as well as some of the manga (Lone Wolf & Cub) which were referenced in the stories. I have since become quite addicted to jidaigeki cinema and television.
What makes me a fan, I guess, would be a combination of fantastic and unique style of art, interesting stories, appealing characters, interesting setting, and a quality to all of it which has not diminished in over twenty-five years of reading the series.
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Post by hondobrode on Jun 27, 2018 22:13:09 GMT -5
I'm reading through a huge bundle that I got from Dark Horse and loving it.
I knew it was solid, and had a few scattered issues that I'd picked up here and there, but took the dive and bought this huge bundle and have been reading through it and loving it.
It really is a masterpiece. Like other posters from the ClassicComics.org site, I have Shaxper to thank for really getting me more interested in the series. When Dark Horse had it on sale, I had to grab it.
I don't see how anyone couldn't enjoy the perfect balance of stand along and continuity stories and what really adds to my enjoyment was finding out that Stan uses historically accurate Japanese mythology.
I love it !
It's one of the few series that my brother, mostly not a comic reader, has tried and liked.
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