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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 22, 2020 12:37:51 GMT -5
After a three month long hiatus Stan Sakai is back with the continuing adventures of our favorite Rabbit Ronin in... Usagi Yojimbo #10
 Written and Illustrated by Stan Sakai Summary: Usagi runs into trouble when he learns that his loyalty to his former Lord literally marks him as a wanted man. Plot: This is the kind of story I've been waiting for ever since Stan brought Usagi back from its hiatus under the IDW banner. Sure, the brief adventures that preceded this issue were fun, and we did see one of my favorite supporting characters but it all sort of felt a little like treading water but with the start of this story we saw the makings of some real character progression for our favorite rabbit ronin. There were hints of his journey home early on with a retelling of the Goblin of Adachigahara in issue six and since then there have been multiple mentions of Lord Mifune and Usagi's home village leading to Usagi getting into a fierce duel with a group of bounty hunters who see an old Mifune loyalist as an easy mark. With his injuries leading Usagi into a trance like state at the end of the issue I'm looking forward to seeing how Usagi's reflections on his past and his visit to his home will effect his journey afterwards. Art: As always Sakai's art is fantastic in the latest issue. I loved the fluid action and the contrast with the scenic riverside made it seem incredibly cinematic, leading one to buy into the feeling that big things are on their way. Grade:10/10 |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jul 23, 2020 7:30:46 GMT -5
This story sounds incredible, and the next one may well prove an essential read for the Usagi fan. That being said, what an uninspiring cover for such an important issue. Perhaps it's the new colorist? That grass and sky have no texture to them. It all looks empty.
Thanks so much for reviewing this for us!
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 23, 2020 8:08:57 GMT -5
This story sounds incredible, and the next one may well prove an essential read for the Usagi fan. That being said, what an uninspiring cover for such an important issue. Perhaps it's the new colorist? That grass and sky have no texture to them. It all looks empty. Thanks so much for reviewing this for us! Yeah, the covers in general have been pretty uninspired for this run. I think only the covers for the first two issues had anything to do with the stories inside with the rest feeling more like random pinups than true cover images. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,864
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Post by shaxper on Jul 23, 2020 8:21:36 GMT -5
This story sounds incredible, and the next one may well prove an essential read for the Usagi fan. That being said, what an uninspiring cover for such an important issue. Perhaps it's the new colorist? That grass and sky have no texture to them. It all looks empty. Thanks so much for reviewing this for us! Yeah, the covers in general have been pretty uninspired for this run. I think only the covers for the first two issues had anything to do with the stories inside with the rest feeling more like random pinups than true cover images. Perhaps it has something to do with IDW. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 24, 2020 16:01:36 GMT -5
Yeah, the covers in general have been pretty uninspired for this run. I think only the covers for the first two issues had anything to do with the stories inside with the rest feeling more like random pinups than true cover images. Perhaps it has something to do with IDW. Perhaps, I remember reading that back in the day creating cover art was like the movie trailers in that the one had little to do with the other and was handled by a different staff at times but you'd think with a talent as large as Sakai that they'd be pretty hands off. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,864
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Post by shaxper on Jul 24, 2020 17:49:44 GMT -5
Perhaps it has something to do with IDW. Perhaps, I remember reading that back in the day creating cover art was like the movie trailers in that the one had little to do with the other and was handled by a different staff at times but you'd think with a talent as large as Sakai that they'd be pretty hands off. Stan has mentioned on occasion that he has to draw the covers far ahead of creating the rest of the issue for the purposes of solicits (and that was true at Dark Horse too), but he always seemed able to pair the cover to the story in the past, so maybe IDW wanted the first dozen covers all at once or something? |
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Post by brutalis on May 9, 2021 18:40:19 GMT -5
Though a "poster" image of a cover that has little to do with the interior, it is still quite a striking (pardon the pun) moment paused in time with 2 warriors in attack mode. Rather atypical of modern trends in publishing for covers, so I will think it was more an IDW request than Stan's idea. With what does occur between the covers I imagine there was some difficulty for Stan designing a cover to reflect it without "spoiling" what was inside.
We see how the small folk suffer and have to adapt with changes in power. Usagi shows his maturation as a person with showing mercy and not immediately killing those men, but is was wasted as he is forced to doing so in the end. Some people never learn, it isn't smart to provoke a samurai that is so much more skilled than themselves. A lone warrior travelling MUST be highly skillful in that he doesn't have any fear in being alone.
Where at first we have sympathy for the lowly innkeeper fallen from grace serving his lord, very quickly we, like Usagi are disgusted in his greed. Everyone faces so many difficult choices but pursuit of money almost always causes poor decisions. This time even leading to a foolishly unnecessary death.
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