Fan Art
Andy Young
07/10/09 13:13
I am submitting a short story in comic form.
My name is Andy Young and the story is called "Birth"
My name is Andy Young and the story is called "Birth"
Nikki "Jotaro9" Caudill
07/09/09 13:04
A Special note for Stan Sakai:
My name is Nichelle (Nikki) Caudill. I am a young Fantasy writer who has yet to get her work published. I just wanted to let you know how much I sincerely appreciate your work. It has truly been an inspiration to me over the years, being why I chose to draw the main character from my novels showing his respect for Usagi.
My characters, in their own world, live their lives by a code of honor that is based on the Samurai’s way of life, and I often look to Usagi’s adventures for inspiration as to what a truly honorable person would do in certain situations.
The ideals that your stories provide have always filled me with a sense of peace and resolution, and one day I hope to aspire to your greatness in my writing skills.
I only hope that one day my work will be published, and if it is, I would hope that I could be compared to you in some ways, even though we work in different mediums. Your humor and skills are unparalleled, and so, I thank you again for inspiring this young writer as well as so many others.
-Ever your friend,
Nichelle Caudill
My name is Nichelle (Nikki) Caudill. I am a young Fantasy writer who has yet to get her work published. I just wanted to let you know how much I sincerely appreciate your work. It has truly been an inspiration to me over the years, being why I chose to draw the main character from my novels showing his respect for Usagi.
My characters, in their own world, live their lives by a code of honor that is based on the Samurai’s way of life, and I often look to Usagi’s adventures for inspiration as to what a truly honorable person would do in certain situations.
The ideals that your stories provide have always filled me with a sense of peace and resolution, and one day I hope to aspire to your greatness in my writing skills.
I only hope that one day my work will be published, and if it is, I would hope that I could be compared to you in some ways, even though we work in different mediums. Your humor and skills are unparalleled, and so, I thank you again for inspiring this young writer as well as so many others.
-Ever your friend,
Nichelle Caudill
Mora Tudor
06/20/09 23:39
Stan,
Congrats on 25 years. A big chunk of our lives. I’ve loved walking with Usagi down his path. Thank you sincerely for your friendship and support. I am honoured by it. This painting is small but it’s a good one I think. I hope it pleases you.
Love, Morna
Congrats on 25 years. A big chunk of our lives. I’ve loved walking with Usagi down his path. Thank you sincerely for your friendship and support. I am honoured by it. This painting is small but it’s a good one I think. I hope it pleases you.
Love, Morna
Joanna Weaver
06/11/09 12:19
It's a small (3 inch diameter) round porcelain coaster with Usagi's face carved on it glazed with a blue celadon that I made recently (my family runs a pottery business - www.waterstonesink.com). 
Steven James Walker
06/07/09 12:17
I grew up in Minnesota and first met the Ronin Rabit in the pages of TMNT some time around UY V1 # 10 or so. It was what 1988? 87? I was in 7th grade? I went and got all the back issues, and have been collecting it ever since. I get them imported here to the shop and get both the trades and the monthly books. I've missed a few years here and there, but I've been able to get most of the missing issues. I almost have every UY book and appearance there is, but not all here. (Most live in closet at my parents in Maryland). I wish I could afford to ship them here (safely in a container and insured).
Josip "CezarJ" Cubela
03/12/09 02:00
Sensei Sakai, I bow before you with my greatest respect to you and your work.
My first encounter with Usagi Yojimbo was as a kid. I was playing on the commodore 64 already 2 years, thanks to my brother teaching me how to use it. Once in a while, my brother got himself some new games, and one of them was Usagi Yojimbo. The game was different. It wasn't one of those scrolling action-only shooters, which were very common then. You could bow to the other person or draw your sword and fight. But knowing when to bow and when to fight was beyond my comprehension. There was something more complex behind it, and that made it somehow interesting for me then. I was 6 years old.
I stand at the comic book store to buy myself some magic cards and see the samurai bunny, which I have played many years before. It was the second TPB issue of Usagi named "Samurai". They didn't have the first, but the vendor assured me that you could read the comic at a later issue, without having much of a problem. I chose to buy it out of curiosity. As I started reading, feelings of nostalgia washed over me. Seeing Usagi trained to become a samurai was intriguing, and I wanted to know more about this rabbit and the world he was living. One by one I collected the comics, enjoying them often, (very often!), always waiting for the next issue to arrive to my store. I was 19 years old.
The more I read Usagi, the more I asked myself if it was possible to learn something through the use of the sword. So I searched the internet. I was surprised to see that there were some dojos in my area! So I immediately visited one with my friend. That day was unforgettable. Seeing all the blades being drawn out and back into of the saya, the people cutting the air before them, an enemy they have envisioned only in their minds - that was a dream come true. So I started my training there at once. The same day, I didn't carry any water buckets as Usagi did, but I learned the lesson from him that I had to train regularly to become something. I had the will to change myself because of him. I was 20 years old.
You have to know, until that time, I was very thin, and didn't have much confidence in myself. I was hanging around the computer all the day or watching TV. This changed then. I started with the bokken first, of course, sensei wouldn't allow it otherwise. I was very cautious at the beginning, but learned that without enough determination, I couldn't parry correctly, or my attack just bounced off too lightly from my opponents defenses. With time I learned other things, things that were outside of katas and sword strategies. I learned how to foresee things, be it an item that is about to fall down, or what a persons body language is telling me. I reacted to those things subconsciously, even surprised myself a few times of what I did. And with all this came confidence in myself that I can do things if I want to, something I have lacked. With that newfound knowledge I met my first girlfriend. I was 21 years old.
I am training since then, and got myself an original Japanese iaito (training sword, all is made exactly like a real katana, except the blade, which is blunt and made of an aluminum/zinc alloy), and I still learn from the way of the sword. I also had the honor to meet and learn for a short time from a real samurai, Sekiguch Komei, soke of the Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu style. A life-experience that will forever stay with me.
I still read your comics, paying them the same respect as I pay to my sword. They have changed my life. They have changed me for the better. Now I know when to draw my sword and when to bow to others.
Sensei Sakai, I bow before you with my greatest respect to you and your work.
Josip Cubela, 25 years old. (CezarJ)
My first encounter with Usagi Yojimbo was as a kid. I was playing on the commodore 64 already 2 years, thanks to my brother teaching me how to use it. Once in a while, my brother got himself some new games, and one of them was Usagi Yojimbo. The game was different. It wasn't one of those scrolling action-only shooters, which were very common then. You could bow to the other person or draw your sword and fight. But knowing when to bow and when to fight was beyond my comprehension. There was something more complex behind it, and that made it somehow interesting for me then. I was 6 years old.
I stand at the comic book store to buy myself some magic cards and see the samurai bunny, which I have played many years before. It was the second TPB issue of Usagi named "Samurai". They didn't have the first, but the vendor assured me that you could read the comic at a later issue, without having much of a problem. I chose to buy it out of curiosity. As I started reading, feelings of nostalgia washed over me. Seeing Usagi trained to become a samurai was intriguing, and I wanted to know more about this rabbit and the world he was living. One by one I collected the comics, enjoying them often, (very often!), always waiting for the next issue to arrive to my store. I was 19 years old.
The more I read Usagi, the more I asked myself if it was possible to learn something through the use of the sword. So I searched the internet. I was surprised to see that there were some dojos in my area! So I immediately visited one with my friend. That day was unforgettable. Seeing all the blades being drawn out and back into of the saya, the people cutting the air before them, an enemy they have envisioned only in their minds - that was a dream come true. So I started my training there at once. The same day, I didn't carry any water buckets as Usagi did, but I learned the lesson from him that I had to train regularly to become something. I had the will to change myself because of him. I was 20 years old.
You have to know, until that time, I was very thin, and didn't have much confidence in myself. I was hanging around the computer all the day or watching TV. This changed then. I started with the bokken first, of course, sensei wouldn't allow it otherwise. I was very cautious at the beginning, but learned that without enough determination, I couldn't parry correctly, or my attack just bounced off too lightly from my opponents defenses. With time I learned other things, things that were outside of katas and sword strategies. I learned how to foresee things, be it an item that is about to fall down, or what a persons body language is telling me. I reacted to those things subconsciously, even surprised myself a few times of what I did. And with all this came confidence in myself that I can do things if I want to, something I have lacked. With that newfound knowledge I met my first girlfriend. I was 21 years old.
I am training since then, and got myself an original Japanese iaito (training sword, all is made exactly like a real katana, except the blade, which is blunt and made of an aluminum/zinc alloy), and I still learn from the way of the sword. I also had the honor to meet and learn for a short time from a real samurai, Sekiguch Komei, soke of the Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu style. A life-experience that will forever stay with me.
I still read your comics, paying them the same respect as I pay to my sword. They have changed my life. They have changed me for the better. Now I know when to draw my sword and when to bow to others.
Sensei Sakai, I bow before you with my greatest respect to you and your work.
Josip Cubela, 25 years old. (CezarJ)
