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Usagi Yojimbo: Grasscutter #1
Released by: Dark Horse Comics
Released on: February 11th, 2015.
Written And Illustrated By: Stan Sakai
Stan Sakai's latest Usagi Yojimbo story, coming hot on the heels of the recent six issue Senso series, begins in the Japan of 1605 where a small group of villagers kneel along the roadway into their town, showing respect to the 'Lord' who is arriving with an entourage of swordsman in tow. The swordsmen warn two new arrivals to get out of the way for Lord Sakana-No-Ashyubi's procession, but they refuse and tell one of the samurai that it is their Lord who should get out of the way for them.
The elder and larger of the two new arrivals is Jai, a self-proclaimed emissary of the gods and he is accompanied by Keiko. He refuses to pay homage to Sakana and as such, the swordsmen attack him. Bad idea, as this ends poorly for all of them and Jei leaves a pile of bodies in his wake. Later, in a nearby forest, a ronin named Murakami Gennosuke arrives on the scene, surprised by what he finds - he knows this was not a robbery but a mass slaughter. It turns out the victims of this second act of carnage are Hosuku's men, the local authorities have been after those bandits for ages. When Murakami overhears them talk, he takes credit for the act figuring he'll get a reward but when word gets back to them that Sakana's men are dead with the same expressions of fear and terror on their faces, Murakami has to admit that he lied. He's promptly arrested.
At a nearby inn, the innkeeper serves tea to a female samurai named Inazuma. She refuses it, forces him to drink it, and is not the least bit surprised when he then drops dead. She's got a price on her head so when she's spotted by a drunken samurai, he plans to take her out. On her way out of town, Inazuma walks past Murakami, bound by the police, who shortly thereafter take him to that same inn where they spot that drunken samurai looting the innkeeper's corpse. They arrest him too.
Meanwhile, while all of this is going on, Usagi stands alone on the ocean's shore contemplating an epic battle that took place four centuries ago. It was at this battle that a sword called Grasscutter was lost, which led to the Emperor losing power. He heads back to the village intending to catch up with old friends. He arrives just in time to help clean up after a sudden earthquake. In the nearby palace, Lord Noriyuki and Lady Tomoe discuss the Shogun's plan to abdicate after serving only two years in his post, Noriyuki pledging his allegiance to the shogunate regardless of local politics. Kotetsu, on the other hand, is embroiled with his men and planning to overthrow the Shogun at the first opportunity. His plan is already in motion, and in involves the recovery of a certain 'sword of the gods'…
This first issue of Usagi Yojimbo: Grasscutter is a return to form after the more experimental, science fiction tale that was Senso. What we have in this first issue is a more political story. We've obviously got different factions vying for power and within those various plots we're likely to see in future issues the involvement of the mysterious Inazuma, the deadly Jai and of course, everyone's favorite, noble samurai rabbit Usagi. What will happen from here isn't clear, but the seeds are in place for treachery aplenty and for some solid battle scenes as well. This debut issue is light on action but loaded with the kind of intrigue that will no doubt lead to it - that that crave the seat of power will often kill to get it.
Sakai's gifts as a storyteller are in fine form here. The art is as solid as it always is. Attentive readers will enjoy soaking in the funny little details that populate the backgrounds of this comic and as is the norm with his work he's able to really humanize these 'funny animals' in really interesting ways. When Usagi comes into town after the earthquake he helps a woman get her son out from under some rubble. This only takes a few panels but it's bits and pieces like this that endear the character to us and that help to allow human readers to identify and relate to the animals that populate the story. It ends, as a first issue in a new arc often will, on a bit of a cliffhanger. That, coupled with the quality of the writing and the artwork, has this reader eagerly awaiting the next issue BUT given that this is a Dark Horse Comics '#1 for $1' title, hey, those future chapters are already out! This leads into the upcoming release of The Usagi Yojimbo Saga Volume 2 Collection coming out later in February. It's a great teaser and a pretty effective way to bring new readers into the fold!