Usagi Yojimbo: Lone Goat and Kid

This is a wonderful story that just goes to show that true literature can be told through a comic book. I had never taken a comic or graphic novel seriously until I found Usagi. A must read!!

Usagi Yojimbo is the kind of quality work that transcends time, genres, demographics, and even age groups. It crafts a delicate and beautiful balance between honor and savagery, cute innocence and dark brutality, simple heart-warming stories and multi-part epics that shape a dense continuity. Whether or not you've ever been a fan of feudal Japanese culture, furry anthro characters, or independent, non-superhero comics, Usagi Yojimbo is a comic that can't help but impress even the harshest critic. There's no such thing as a bad Usagi installment, but Book 5 of the Miyamoto Usagi saga is probably among the weaker of the volumes. It comes right after The Dragon Bellows Conspiracy, a beautifully crafted and masterfully executed 7 part epic that no doubt left creator Stan Sakai a bit drained by its conclusion. As a result, while Book 5 includes some fun Usagi adventures, it pales in comparison to what came before it, as well as what will follow. Worth noting in this volume is "A Kite Story," the first of several memorable stories in which carefully researched history takes the center stage. Here, Sakai salutes the ancient Japanese art of box kite making. Usagi's presence in this adventure is actually secondary to the primarily educational story. This is a very daring and surprisingly successful approach to storytelling. Also fondly remembered is "Lone Goat and Kid," a homage to the legendary "Lone Wolf and Cub" manga. For fans of the original series, this adventure does not have much to offer, but if you are unfamiliar with the original material, you will no doubt find this story as thoroughly entertaining as I did. Sakai truly infuses the richness of those characters into this story with little lost in the translation. Finally, "Blood Wings" and "The Way of the Samurai" both play an important part in the long term continuity of Usagi Yojimbo, though neither story particularly stunned me. Still, there is no such thing as a bad Usagi story.

If you ask me, anything touched by Stan Sakai is good, Usagi Yojimbo is my favorite comic, because of the consistency and depth in Stan's story telling. Don't be scared off by the animorphic animals, it just sets the book apart. This is a genuinly good comic.

I am by far not an avid comic book collector, but I have to say I absolutely love Usagi Yojimbo. Stan Sakai keeps the Japanese history and culture vibrant and true to form through our wandering Rabbit Bodyguard! The artwork, inking, lettering are beautiful and expressive and the stories themselves are interesting, exciting, and keeps you wanting more. I highly recommend this series for anyone who loves reading.

I wouldn't say that this is Stan Sakai's best Usagi book, but it is still head and shoulders above just about any other comic.Though it is titled "Lone Goat and Kid" (a nice reference to that classic samurai manga "Lone Wolf and Cub"), they don't appear "on-screen" until the last story. The most of the stories are stand-alones, which is unusual in UY comics. The stories that revolve around the kite festival are quite enjoyable. Sakai is very interesting even when his main characters don't appear in a chapter because he is explaining something technical like how kites are made or how swords are fashioned (see UY 9 "Daisho").The "Blood-Wings" story is interesting, but the Komori Ninja have never been as compelling to me as the Neko Ninja. (Though they aren't as bad as the Mogura Ninja.)"Lone Goat and Kid" is something of a let down when you get there, if one is familiar with Lone Wolf and Cub. If not, then it's a nice, average Usagi tale in a book that is full of them.