11/11/2022 0 Comments Usagi yojimbo omnibus![]() ![]() While the story is marketed as middle grade, I saw nothing in it that would be inappropriate for my nearly 4-year-old. Dogu’s village has been overrun by Heebie Chibis, a gang of monsters (Chibi Usagi theorizes they might be some kind of lesser yokai, or spirits), led by the evil Salamander King. While out fishing for unagi (freshwater eels), Chibi Usagi, Chibi Gen and Chibi Tomoe meet Dogu, a small creature made of clay. Written and illustrated by Julie and Stan, lettered by Julie and colored by Emi, “Heebie Chibis” takes place entirely in the chibi world. ![]() At 114 pages, it’s more than twice as long as the graphic novel Yokai, the longest Usagi Yojimbo story that isn’t divided into smaller issues. A Case of the Heebie Chibis!įinally, the world of Chibi Usagi reaches a culmination of a sort in the original graphic novel Chibi Usagi: Attack of the Heebie Chibis. They vary much more in size and don’t always follow a straight line, reflecting the chibi characters’ much more childlike appearances and attitudes. ![]() Where Stan’s letters reflect a seasoned professional’s style, Julie’s are more playful. While the Dark Horse-era Chibi Usagi stories were lettered by Stan, the chibi characters in “Teenie Titans” are lettered by Julie. The lettering, too, undergoes a change in this story. Emi’s coloring of bounding lines serves to drench the page in even more color, heightening the story’s ultra-cute mood. Emi even colors the bounding lines, a huge departure for any Usagi Yojimbo story, which generally feature immaculately solid black lines. The meshing of coloring styles shines through in these scenes, as Usagi’s kosode (tunic) is colored with a dark blue wash, while Chibi Usagi’s kosode is an almost superflat baby blue. Emi’s colors provide a lovely autumnal texture to the first part of the story, set in Usagi’s Japan, and transition to softer, pastel colors as Usagi wakes up in the Chibi world. Also, with the transition to IDW, “Teenie Titans” is the first color Chibi Usagi story, deftly handled by Emi Fujii, Julie’s daughter. In it, Miyamoto Usagi gets knocked unconscious and finds himself rescued by his chibi counterpart, transported to a world of chibi characters reflecting his own. #Usagi yojimbo omnibus freeThen, as part of Free Comic Book Summer 2020, Usagi Yojimbo’s new home, IDW, published “Attack of the Teenie Titans,” the first full-length story featuring the Chibi Usagi characters (included in this volume). These three short stories tended to offset the grim mood of the main Usagi Yojimbo stories, and can be found in the collections Mysteries and The Hidden, as well as in the omnibus edition Saga 9. ![]() They featured familiar characters like Usagi, Tomoe and Jei, but reimagined as cute “chibi” versions of themselves (“Chibi” as an art style refers to a kind of superdeformed childlike cuteness, featuring large heads and eyes on tiny bodies). They were signed “JUST Sakai,” a blending of JUlie and STan. In the comics, new short stories began appearing in the backs of certain issues. While Usagi was on his extended visit with his friend Ishida, Sakai was undergoing his own transition: He married artist and designer Julie Fujii, welcoming Julie’s daughter Emi into their newly blended family. The world isn’t great, but it’s hardly a cesspit, and besides, good people exist who can solve its problems. If the general mood of noir is a kind of bleak paranoia stemming from a growing realization that the fundamental power structures of a society are ultimately and irredeemably corrupt, the genre’s reflection in Usagi Yojimbo is more of a dulled optimism. These stories come as close as this comic ever does to a film noir sensibility. #Usagi yojimbo omnibus seriesThis series of stories, culminating in the emotional tour-de-force The Hidden, capped off Sakai’s residency at Dark Horse comics, and while I would never describe any Usagi Yojimbo story as “dark” or “gritty,” Inspector Ishida stories generally deal with murder and conspiracy. In 2016, Stan Sakai began a series of mystery stories in the pages of Usagi Yojimbo involving the popular recurring character Inspector Ishida. Chibi Usagi brings these fun and thoughtful stories to middle grade readers as an original graphic novel packed with adorable art and captivating energy by Julie Sakai (story, art, lettering), Stan Sakai (story and art) and Emi Fujii (colors). Stan Sakai’s beloved rabbit samurai has won countless fans over his 35-year history, thanks to a clever blend of thrilling action, heartwarming characters and realistic portrayal of Japanese culture. ![]()
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