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Usagi Yojimbo Origins #2
Usagi Yojimbo Origins, Vol. 2: Wanderer's Road
Presenting the earliest adventures of rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi in all-new full-color editions for the first time giving new readers the perfect opportunity to explore the groundbreaking series, while offering long-time fans a new reading experience. Cover art by Peach Momoko!
Usagi's cast of characters continues to expand with the first appearances of his longtime tokage (lizard) companion, Spot, and his greatest nemesis, the demented, seemingly unkillable wolf samurai, Jei! The bonds of family and the bounds of honor are tested as Usagi helps an elderly mother face the villain her son has become. When the blind swordspig Zato-Ino comes back for revenge, can Usagi still triumph after the playing field is leveled? All this, plus more adventures in anthropomorphic Edo Japan!
Begining with these early issues find out why this series has won six Eisner Awards, two Harvey Awards, an American Library Association Award and has been called by Stan Lee, "One of the most original, innovative, well-executed comic books anywhere to be found."
Wanderer's Road collects the stories "The Tower," "A Mother's Love," "The Return of the Blind Swordspig," "Blade of the Gods," "The Tea Cup," and "The Shogun's Gift" from Usagi Yojimbo Vol. One, issues #7-12, originally published in black and white by Fantagraphics from March to October 1988.
Usagi's cast of characters continues to expand with the first appearances of his longtime tokage (lizard) companion, Spot, and his greatest nemesis, the demented, seemingly unkillable wolf samurai, Jei! The bonds of family and the bounds of honor are tested as Usagi helps an elderly mother face the villain her son has become. When the blind swordspig Zato-Ino comes back for revenge, can Usagi still triumph after the playing field is leveled? All this, plus more adventures in anthropomorphic Edo Japan!
Begining with these early issues find out why this series has won six Eisner Awards, two Harvey Awards, an American Library Association Award and has been called by Stan Lee, "One of the most original, innovative, well-executed comic books anywhere to be found."
Wanderer's Road collects the stories "The Tower," "A Mother's Love," "The Return of the Blind Swordspig," "Blade of the Gods," "The Tea Cup," and "The Shogun's Gift" from Usagi Yojimbo Vol. One, issues #7-12, originally published in black and white by Fantagraphics from March to October 1988.
152 pages, Paperback
Published October 26, 2021
About the author
Stan Sakai
933 books378 followersStan Sakai (Japanese: 坂井 スタンSakai Sutan; born May 25, 1953) is an artist who became known as an Eisner Award-winning comic book originator.
Born in Kyoto, Sakai grew up in Hawaii and studied fine arts at the University of Hawaii. He later attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He and his wife, Sharon, presently reside and work in Pasadena.
He began his career by lettering comic books (notably Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier) and became famous with the production of Usagi Yojimbo, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly-sole artist (Tom Luth serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black and white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paper-back edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also made a futuristic spin-off series Space Usagi. His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959).
Born in Kyoto, Sakai grew up in Hawaii and studied fine arts at the University of Hawaii. He later attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He and his wife, Sharon, presently reside and work in Pasadena.
He began his career by lettering comic books (notably Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier) and became famous with the production of Usagi Yojimbo, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly-sole artist (Tom Luth serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black and white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paper-back edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also made a futuristic spin-off series Space Usagi. His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959).
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 19, 2022
Excellent
November 22, 2021
I had read this recently in Black and White and wanted to see if colour made it better or worse. My verdict? I was pleasantly surprised at how colour added a new dimension to the art. The stories are still top notch (early ones still fleshing out the mythos and supporting characters of our fav Ronin Rabbit). And for some stories I don't think the colour added much. But some (I am thinking of the fight with Jei in the lightning) really popped with the colour and made it worth the reread.
Overall "thumbs up" on the new colour. Is it worth a rebuy? Not for me - but I would say if you are just starting - get the colourized versions.
Overall "thumbs up" on the new colour. Is it worth a rebuy? Not for me - but I would say if you are just starting - get the colourized versions.
October 27, 2021
Usagi was such a great, fully developed series from the very beginning. This set of short stories develops Usagi and his world so beautifully. Returning characters Zato-Ino, Gen, and Tomoe build a continuing universe and ongoing relationships, while the shorter nature of the stories here allow Stan to explore the range of Usagi's world. Great plotting, outstanding character work, and top-notch cartooning. And yes, the new coloring is very well done (although these stories were excellent in black and white as well).
November 3, 2021
Unlike the first volume in this colorized reprint edition, this consists of a bunch of shorter stories. Of these, "The Return of the Blind Swordspig" and "The Teacup" were my favorites, as both showcase things about both Usagi and the wonderful backup characters he interacts with over the years. Even though he was only in a few stories, "Spot" was such a great little character.
The volume's cover art, by Peach Momoko, was a nice treat. The gallery of versions of Usagi by different artists added nicely to this volume.
The volume's cover art, by Peach Momoko, was a nice treat. The gallery of versions of Usagi by different artists added nicely to this volume.
September 3, 2024
Fun collection that introduced some of my favorite characters (Tomoe and Zato-Ino)
As a huge fan of Zatoichi (people are always impressed to hear that I've seen all 25 Zatoichi films. You should watch them too so your friends will be impressed.) it's fun to see Usagi and Zato-Ino face off twice.
I was introduced to Jei later on. And he becomes such a cool character as the series progresses but I found his introduction here to be a bit flat. Still cool to see the series from the beginning.
As a huge fan of Zatoichi (people are always impressed to hear that I've seen all 25 Zatoichi films. You should watch them too so your friends will be impressed.) it's fun to see Usagi and Zato-Ino face off twice.
I was introduced to Jei later on. And he becomes such a cool character as the series progresses but I found his introduction here to be a bit flat. Still cool to see the series from the beginning.
January 2, 2023
Great collection of stories, with different tones to each - some or funnier, some are sadder, some are more heartfelt and some are more action-packed. We also see some of the characters from the first volume make an appearance - the blind swords-pig, Gen, Tomoe & Lord Noriyuki. The coloring is on point, and helps flesh out some of the scenes better than B&W art would. I love these and will continue picking up and reading the next volumes.
September 21, 2022
More highly enjoyable work from Sakai and colorist Rhonda Patterson. I am super happy with the color additions. The stories are fine. Again, I'm no Manga fan, so I'm hoping for some bigger tales to spur things forward in future issues.
June 30, 2021
Disfrutar de las aventuras de Usagi, es algo que debí haber hecho desde hace mucho tiempo atrás. Tremendas historias unitarias.
December 1, 2021
Reprints in color of the early black and white stories of Stan Sakai’s Rabbit Samurai. The art and story still hold up after all these years.
July 24, 2024
I really enjoy reading about Miyamoto Usagi’s adventures. It is a real treat reading it in color.
April 2, 2025
Some great little missions and duels. I liked the guy with the black spear and the teacup escort job. Maintaining your stealth when being stabbed is epic.
October 17, 2025
He gets a friend for a minute and clashes with some foes. And there’s a lost sword.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews