Usagi Yojimbo Volume 39: Ice and Snow

“Sixteenth-century Japan is never so entertaining as in Stan Sakai’s tales of Miyamoto Usagi.”—NPR’s Best Books of 2014

“Stan Sakai has successfully brought to American comics a collection of Japanese fables well told in the American style. Usagi Yojimbo is an enduring work. Bravo.”—Will Eisner

“I think Usagi Yojimbo is one of the most original, innovative, well-executed comic books anywhere to be found. Stan’s style of artwork, his crisp incisive writing, and his thoroughly professional pacing, all done in a relaxed and absorbed manner, have provided comics with something so rarely seen in this field—a new literary and artistic approach to illustrated storytelling.”—Stan Lee

“Sakai is a total pro and a consummate craftsman.”—Rolling Stone

Stan Sakai was born in Kyoto, Japan, and grew up in Hawaii before settling in California with his children, Hannah and Matthew. He holds a fine arts degree from the University of Hawaii and pursued further studies at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Sakai is the creator of Usagi Yojimbo, a comic book series chronicling the adventures of a samurai rabbit in a feudal Japan inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. The character first appeared in 1984. Since then, Usagi Yojimbo has been featured in animated television shows, toys, clothing, comic books, and collected trade paperback editions. In 1991, Sakai introduced Space Usagi, which follows a futuristic descendant of the original character.

Beyond his celebrated character creations, Sakai is also an award-winning letterer. His lettering work has been recognized for its contributions to Sergio Aragonés’s Groo: The Wanderer, the Spider-Man Sunday newspaper strips, and Usagi Yojimbo itself.

Sakai’s numerous accolades include a Parents’ Choice Award, an Inkpot Award, multiple Eisner Awards, two Spanish Haxturs, an American Library Association Award, and a National Cartoonists’ Society Division Award. Notably, Usagi Yojimbo Book 12: Grasscutter was adopted as a textbook for Japanese history courses at the University of Portland.

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