Usagi Noob Question
 

Since Usagi is a close friend to the TMNT....I figure some of you can probably help me with this...

I have recently wanted to start reading some Usagi....but I have no idea where to start. Is there a collected book that starts from the beginning? Something still in print and not costing an arm and a leg? There seems to be a ton of Usagi stuff out there and I am clueless as to the order and where to start

Read a potato instead. It would ne more entertaining.

All of the original Usagi has been reprinted so many times it's easy and inexpensive to pick up the trades on eBay. I often times see lots where people are selling several trades together.

They have also just recently started puting out the Usagi Yojimbo Saga Editions. These collect larger chunks of the story in a very thick trade. On top of that, the hardcover versions of the Saga editions or gorgeous books. I bought hard and soft covers of Volume One for the turtles appearance and was so impressed with the look of the book I'm continuing the rest of them in hardcover.

That wasn't very helpful and didn't answer any of his questions.

Sweet Thanks!!

I just ordered the Saga1 paperback and the Saga2 hardcover which seems to come out on 3/10. Looks like the Saga1 HC goes for $200ish on eBay....if I like it enough maybe I will throw down for it

*bitch slaps* MewMeow :P

Considering Usagi is my favourite comic series of all time... yeah, is that wise to say on a TMNT forum? Ah, you lot forgive me heh...

The Saga books begin around the time when Dark Horse began to publish Usagi, just on TPB #8 and beyond (they also handle the old Mirage issues for example). If you want something with all books 1-7 in it, then you'll need to hunt down this (but it's pricy!): http://www.amazon.com/Usagi-Yojimbo-...+fantagraphics . Although the page states a softcover version is coming out in about six months time.

Each Saga publication that DH is releasing is equivalent to three TPB. So Saga #1 contained books 8-10, Saga #2 will contain 11-13, and so on. So to collect all of them, DH will be presumably going up to Saga #7. Book #29 will be out this summer, and I'll be getting the hardcover as usual :D

The Usagi wiki page has a comprehensive list of the publications and what Usagi issues feature in each book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usagi_Yojimbo

As for the actual reading, then book #2 is ideally the best place to begin. Why not book #1? Book #1 contains a lot of short stories, pretty much all the tales that Stan drew for Albedo and Critters, some of which were published after the standalone Usagi comic began in 1986. So it gives you a taste of Usagi, but book #2 is where the whole backstory about Usagi's origin, his training and why he's a ronin is told.

After that, I'd say book #6 because it throws two absolute spanners into the works of what Usagi believes in life. You don't usually get two life defining revelations in the space of a few stories in most publications! Stan was on a roll. Then book #7 especially if you find you like Gen from what you read, as it goes into some of his history.

Wait a minute. Usagi is one of the best comics ever made and it's all done by one guy.

To answer the question. The first 7 trade paperbacks are still in print by Fantagraphics.

Dark horse print the rest of the series and has recently stopped printing the individual trades. But they just started collecting 3 trades in to a book started with Usagi Yojimbo Saga volume 1 which collects TP 8-10. Volume 2 releases next week.

UY's reprint game is on point, yo. I've got a ton of the collected books, & be it from Fantagraphics or Dark Horse, the quality is always really good. Stan's work speaks for itself (it's Godly). I love that the books are (typically) manga sized, I think it's a great format for UY. I enjoy taking one out to my back deck & reading a few stories on a nice spring day. :trazz:

This is the book I started my collection with- http://www.amazon.com/Usagi-Yojimbo-.../dp/0930193350

I picked up the series around issue 100, though, I think. I've got so many floppies from there on, I oughtta sell 'em off & just stick to the digest joints.

Contribute something decent or don't post at all.

That's kind of where I am in my collection.
I've a handful of floppies, a pile of collections, but what I'm really eyeing are the giant, hardbound omnibus editions.

It seems like every UY hardcover is sold out and goes for big bucks. Would it be wise to preorder saga 2 now while I have the chance? Is it that popular?

Get the original book collections, they're about $15 each and they've collected the whole series so far up to a few issues behind where the current run is.

The hardcovers are only printed once. So yeah, that's partly why they are out of print and reasonably valuable. They settled on 300 copies for each of the normal collected editions now that come out once per year, although there are more than that printed (due to Publisher and Artist Proofs), so it's probably closer to 350.

I think Stan and Dark Horse got caught out by the potential popularity of Saga #1 despite being merely reprinted material they had already reissued a number of times. There was 900 copies of the hardcover, and they sold out pretty much instantly. There will be 1500 hardcover copies of Saga #2 printed by comparison. So if you fancy getting the h/c of Saga #2 instead of the softcover, then yeah, I'd pre-order just in case.

My comic store screwed up and didn't order Saga #1 in hardcover for me, and they humbly apologised, and will be ordering the rest for me heh. Thankfully I was able to get the hardcover from a friend of mine in the US (although the shipping cost me almost as much as the book itself!).

Btw as for my Usagi collection, I have every single Usagi comic and any comic with Usagi content published in English, every single hardcover collection, magazines with interviews, promo materials, all the sketchbooks, every official print and poster (bar one made for charity that had five copies made) and a ton of original artwork . Probably still takes up less space than my TMNT stuff though heh...

Here is a good place to figure out where to start. It's what I used.

I never read any of the Usagi books, But you can also check out Space Usagi, Those are set in the future, and all the characters are descendants of the main characters.
http://turtlepedia.wikia.com/wiki/Space_Usagi

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/...20140603232752

There was even a pilot for an animated series that never got picked up.

Sure thing! Glad to help! I'm really glad you posted since Mayhem's response made me aware of that softcover coming for the Saga: Books 1-6. Hooray for community! :tgrin:

Glad to help heh... I knew a softcover was coming for the Fantagraphics collected books 1-7 (as Stan had mentioned it was in the works), but I didn't know when. Stan sold his last hardcover (sealed) copy of the collection at SDCC in 2013 for $200, and despite the markup, the person buying it was ecstatic! :tlol:

(I was helping him on his stand at the time heh)

Funniest and saddest moments last year though was the sheer number of people coming to the stand asking about the Sakai Project, as it could have sold 2-3 times the number of copies that were actually there (and that was hundreds, probably thousands). I had to tell Fred Tatasciore we had no copies left. I had to turn down the Hulk hah hah. I was sorely tempted to let him have my personal copy for a $100 donation to charity, but had no idea if I'd be able to get another signed copy myself at a later date! Meh heh...

Stan is honestly someone I can call a friend, and he is without doubt the nicest man in comics bar none. The things he does for people that you never hear about is staggering. The time he gives to projects and others is amazing. The man is almost tireless. And unbelievably despite the things that have happened to him and his family. This is a man that inspires me to be a better person...

Thanks everyone...I really look forward to reading this series. I met Stan at BCC last year and he was so extremely nice...even with everything he was going through with his wife. I had him sign the original TMNT Usagi figure as it was a favorite of mine when I was a kid, and he even drew a little turtle head on my Mirage artist's shell.......even though he did very little with TMNT....Usagi was still a fond memory of my childhood TMNT.

I hope some day I can get a commission from him

Nice, but you really need to add a bunch of translated editions to your collection as well..... :lol:

Nice to hear about the Fantagraphics Special Edition having a tpb version in the works.

Actually, he did his fair share of TMNT work. More than some of the iconic guest issue era artists, in fact. 2 Mirage crossover issues, 1 Mirage pin-up, 1 Mirage (non-TMNT related) back-up story, 1 Dark Horse crossover issue, 3 Mirage era UY crossover issues, 2 OT episodes, 8 4kids episodes, cameos in video games & toylines, etc.

So as far as comics alone are concerned, he's responsible for at least 7 appearances. That's pretty legit. :)

I commissioned Stan via Facebook last year. I asked if I could arrange something for a friend to pick up at SDCC, which he was cool with. So I made my request, sent my payment, & my homegirl scooped it at the con & shipped it to me later that week. Easy breezy. :tsmile:

If you wanna see it:

I love that one!

Usagi was also published by Mirage for a volume, too...so there's that tie.

Yeah, but he didn't actually write those cartoon episodes. He just allowed his characters to be used.