Summary: In the ruins of the ancient Jedi temple Luke continues to hone the skills passed on to him by his departed master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. 
Plot: Collecting parts three and four of the strip originally exclusively published in the German language Star Wars fan magazine this issue was every bit as amazing as the first. When telling stories set between the scenes, so to speak, it can be easy to go overboard and present things that feel out of touch with where we know the story already goes and that's especially true when you're talking about Star Wars. It would have been far too easy to show Luke learning amazing talents from this adventure to a Jedi temple but they wouldn't have lined up with what we saw of his talents at the start of Empire Strikes back, fortunately Worley has a deft hand with this universe and the characters that inhabit it and side stepped that continuity drama entirely. Instead of granting him new Jedi powers Worely has Luke practice the skills already imparted to him by Obi-Wan and he does it in a way that still feels new and exciting. The whizz of the target droids is familiar but the renewed focus feels strong and Luke's drive to learn with out the guidance of a master is incredibly compelling and not only fits in to his quest to find Yoda in Empire but gives you a little back ground information into just why Luke was so eager to jump after that chance when it seemed his friends needed him the most.

The story isn't without its flaws however, we never see just how Luke escapes the Empire and makes his way back to the Alliance at the end, and although the fight with the Scavanger was fantastically done he was still really lacking in characterization. With the way he referred to the Jedi as sorcerers it recalled the way the Mandalorian referred to the Jedi but he wasn't wearing mando armor  and as he died at the end it isn't likely we'll ever learn more about him which is slightly dissatisfying. Still and all this was a fantastic comic and I'm still jealous that the German fan magazine gets amazing stories like this while Marvel continues to churn out mostly drivel these days.

Art: I think my favorite part of the art here is the way Coleman draws Luke's lightsaber. Instead of a more film accurate cylinder like beam Coleman went with the style seen in that original Star Wars poster with the arcing flare at the hilt and the beam coming to a point at the end. It's a great stylistic nod and totally my preferred look for lightsabers as it just feels way more dynamic than they usually appear whether it be on film or comics. 
Grade:9/10

Summary: Suspecting a plot against the Shogun the ever loyal Lord Noriyuki sends Tomoe to investigate Lord Tamakuro's new fortress. 
Plot: A lot of people (and I believe shaxper is one of them) would probably list Grasscutter as their favorite Usagi "epic" but for my money The Dragon Below Conspiracy is by far my favorite long form Usagi story so I was really excited to see it get a new colorized version so I could revisit it once again and it didn't disappoint. I think the main reason I love this story so much is because that it has a lot of what I consider to be Stan's greatest strengths as a storyteller all rolled into one comic: great action, lots of intrigue, amazing characterization, an ability to weave in interesting historical tid-bits, humor and a great supporting cast. That last element is incredibly strong in this first issue in particular as we get three parallel stories featuring Gen hunting a bounty, Tomoe investigating one of Lord Hikiji's vassals, Usagi aimlessly wandering the roads...and one of my all time favorite supporting characters: Zato Ino the Blind Swordspig! Each little plot gives the character in question their own character moment that not only establishes them as characters but also gives them good cause for their individual threads to combine into one story in a completely organic way.  
Art: While there is no new art here the addition of color by Ronda Pattison does make for a fun new way to experience an old favorite. When these new colorized versions first started coming out I initially was disappointed that they were going to be digitally colored rather than done in the traditional way Parrison has shown a deft hand at applying the colors to the art in an appropriate way. That said there are a couple of  panels where the typical errors associated with digital coloring do rear their ugly heads, with the most egregious being the flashback of Tomoe talking to  Lord Noriyuki where I feel the digital shading is a bit much, making him look more black and gray than his natural black and white but that aside it is still really well done. On top of that I really love the new cover by David Peterson of Mouseguard fame, I really love his slightly shaggy looking Usagi as it really gives him an appropriately road weary look and I'm really excited to see what else he gives us as the story continues.
Grade:9/10

Summary: Chibi-Usagi and his pals Chibi-Tomoe and Chibi-Gen rescue a Dogu village from the evil King Fire Salamander!
Plot: With a double shot of Usagi this just feels like its your kind of week shaxper ! Now, personally I'm not the biggest fan of chibi books as I tend to like more detailed art but if paired with a story with some substance instead of just cutesy gags these kinds of books can be fun and the JUST Sakai team( as they Julie and Stan label themselves here) delivers just that. While on the cute side and with stakes much lower than your average Usagi book it still retains the kind of energy, sense of exploration and the same cultural insights that make for a good Usagi book so it really lives up to the all ages banner by having layers of story that can be enjoyed by readers both young and old. Though not super threatening I really liked the idea of the villain being a fire salamander...who actually breathed fire! While a fire breathing character wouldn't fly in the regular Usagi book it was a fun visual here, giving the villain a slight Godzilla feel to him and that's never a bad thing! Also included here in this awesome book was the 2020 Free Comic Book day issue of Usagi which was titled "Attack of the Teenie Titans" which while I remembered being announced I completely missed due to covid last year. Unlike the main story, which was in the chibi style from start to finish, this second feature had the "normal" Usagi visit the chibi world after a battle with a tengu which was really fun. The contrast between the two art styles was a great look and the way the "real" Usagi scared away the Chibi-Jei really made me smile. So all and all this was a fantastic book that any Usagi fan should pick up post haste!

On a slightly different topic I really love just the title itself! I may be reading it wrong, but the way the subtitle plays off of the phrase "Heebie Jeebies" which makes me think that I may have been pronouncing the word chibi incorrectly my entire life. I've always pronounced chibi with the "i" sound being similar to bib, but the play on heebie jeebies makes me think chibi should sound like that same double "e" sound. Does anyone know which is the correct way to say it?

Art: Julie and Stan give themselves equal billing here and don't mention who did what so it's hard to single either out for praise so I suppose all one can say is that JUST really did a fantastic job putting this together. On the color front, as much as I like and respect the work Rhonda has been putting in on the Color Classic line I feel like the more pastel choices Emi Fuji choose for this book really fit Usagi's world better. It has an almost water colored look that I really enjoy and I'd love to see more of that in the traditional Usagi books.

Grade:10/10