Artist's Proof, Inscribed
Usagi Yojimbo: Book Five
Publication: Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, 1992. First Edition.
Notes: The fifth installment in the one of the most successful "funny animal" comic books series, now in its fifth decade. This is one of 1000 numbered hardcover copies signed on a bookplate on the front pastedown (the typical Fantagraphics limited edition format). Title on the spine: "Lone Goat and Kid," an homage to the influential Japanese manga, Lone Wolf and Cub. The volume collects UY nos. 19 to 24 plus a 14-page black-and-white comic, "How I Do Usagi Yojimbo" which is exclusive to this hardcover edition.
Usagi Yojimbo is one of the longest-running comics series written and illustrated by a single artist, spanning 250 comic book issues over four decades. The books have won a number of Eisner and Harvey awards. The Netflix series, Samurai Rabbit, is based on Usagi Yojimbo characters. Sakai (born Sutan Sakai in Kyoto, Japan, in 1953) was raised in Hawaii and lives in California.
[2], 142, [14], [2:blank] pages. Foreword by Stan Lee.
Edition + Condition: First edition (first printing, with a numberline ending in 1). Fine in a fine dust jacket. This is copy 63 of 1000, signed by Sakai with a drawing on the limitation bookplate.
Item No: #366196
Price: $200