USAGI YOJIMBO

[Asher]

Immer gern zu Hilfe.

[L.N. Muhr]

part 2 (of 3) - asher, your help is requested a second time!

Have you ever thought about doing Usagi as a daily newspaper-strip

[usagigoya]

Fan = Ventilator , ich liebe BabelFisch !

D'oh, I can not believe I missed that, this time around. I caught it in a previous message I had translated and I could not think of a accurate substitute!

We take the best Covers from the original Issues, sometimes we have the same Taste like Carlsen - thats all.

So the books contain different story content then?

The Interview was made by L.N.Muhr, ask him, he is a Member into the Forum.

Stefan Pannor is the name listed as the interviewer. So L. N. Muhr provided the original English to German translation?

Maybe Iwill get lucky and he will read this message posting.

[EDIT: apparently, he answered quicker than I did]

Crappy english, I need a Fish in my Ears ...
"langatmig" meens boring.

I need the fish in my eye sockets to translate what I read and write, not what I hear...

[EDIT: The "langatmig" was initially "lengthy" and translated back into English as "long winded" which seemed to be close enough. The interview was far from boring!]

[L.N. Muhr]

wtf.

can't obviously post longer texts anymore. the system just cuts right after the beginning.
~~~~~

Stefan Pannor is the name listed as the interviewer. So L. N. Muhr provided the original English to German translation? Maybe Iwill get lucky and he will read this message posting.

l.n. muhr is my web-name. i did the interview and the translation. i work as journalist, editor and translator.
~~~~~
i try again ...

no, won't work.

[Schwarze Katze]

@muhr: Schau mal nach, ob da irgendein Sonderzeichen drin ist. Mit dem Geviertstrich oder so gibt's wohl Probleme.

@usagigoya: Nope, L.N.Muhr is Pannors nickname here. It's the same person. ^_^

[L.N. Muhr]

(copyright for the whole text in any language by stefan pannor.)


Have you ever thought about doing Usagi as a daily newspaper-strip - like Jeff Smith first did with "Bone"?
SS: Stan Lee once encouraged me to do a newspaper strip but I do not think Usagi would work in that format. Newspaper strips here tend to be very conservative and pretty much all do the same thing, usually a joke-a-day format. Usagi's stories are adventures and the days of the adventure strips--Steve Canyon, Terry and the Pirates, even Popeye-- have long passed away. Besides I would not like to work with a deadline every day.

Have you thought about self-publishing "Usagi Yojimbo", like Dave Sim with "Cerebus"?
SS: Sergio had encouraged me to self-publish but publishing is a full time job in itself. I prefer to spend that extra time writing or drawing. Besides, if I self-published, I would need to hire assistants whereas I like to do everything myself. I have always enjoyed my relationships with my various publishers. Our agreements have always been where they would leave me alone and I will send them the stories. They do no have input in the storylines or art so I have a wonderful freedom that most comic book artists in the US do not have. Of course, when I work on other people's characters, I work according to their guidelines such as when I did stories for The Simpsons or Matt Wagner's Grendel.

The first Usagi-Stories were published at Albedo and didn't sell very well. But you didn't stop to draw the rabbit. what was your motivation to gon?
SS: Albedo came out at a time when black and white comics were not very popular. The publisher printed about 2,000 comics which quickly sold out and became highly collectible. They originally sold for $1.50. A copy sold on e-bay last year for more than $650.00. But you are right in that we did not get rich doing comics at that time. However, I received a lot of positive comments about my work and I wanted to continue drawing Usagi. I still had a lot of other work doing art to help support me and my family and did Usagi in my spare time. Now it is the other way around where Usagi is my full time job and I do other work in my spare time.

The first Usagi-Stories were evidently more cute, the persons were drawn with larger heads and smaller bodies. Did you intend to do it as a funny book and if so, why did you change your mind to do a more sophisticated comic?
SS: Usagi's appearance changed on his own as my art style matured. It was completely unconscious on my part. It was never intended to be a humorous comic but I just wanted to tell the kind of stories that I wanted to read. Some stories were serious, some were humorous, there were mysteries and some straight adventures. When I wanted to tell science fiction stories I created Space Usagi, a descendant of the original Usagi Yojimbo.

Before you turned over to your current publisher Dark Horse, "Usagi Yojimbo" was published at Fantagraphics and Mirage. What was your first contact to Fantagraphics and why did you left them?
SS: Usagi was first published by Thoughts and Images in their anthology comic Albedo. Kim Thompson at Fantagraphics liked my work and invited me to contribute to his new funny animal series Critters. Usagi was popular enough to get his own series at Fantagraphics. That publisher later cancelled almost all of their general-reader comics such as Critters, Captain Jack, and Eye of Mongombu. All that were left were their mature reader titles such as Love and Rockets, Hate and Eightball. I enjoy those books but Usagi just felt out of place among such books. Mirage Studios had created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and I had a relation with them (Usagi was in their toy line as well as in their tv series). They wanted to expand their comic book line and invited me to join them. A few years later, the downturn in the American comics market and some serious damage to their studio forced them to discontinue their publishing line. Dark Horse offered to continue the series with no interruption so I signed with them. I still maintain an excellent relationship with all of my publishers. In the US Fantagraphics still published the first 7 of the Usagi album collections and Dark Horse published the rest as well as a Space Usagi book.

Then "Usagi Yojimbo" became a part of Mirage Comics and a part of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"-success. You did some crossovers with the Turtles - was that your idea or just some kind of promotion-gag?
SS: Usagi and the Turtles were first published at about the same time and we liked and respected each others' works and I soon became very good friends with Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, the creators of the Turtles. It was at a San Diego Comic Con when I was sitting next to Peter that he asked if I would like to be a part of their toy line. And so, the first Usagi toy was made. It sold more than 2 million units the first year alone. That led to two appearances in the TV series, a Space Usagi toy, and Mirage being my publisher.

Were you doing any crossovers with other characters?
SS: There were a few crossovers such as Usagi in The Space Ark and Usagi Meets Space Usagi but nothing long running or serious. I don't consider these crossovers as part of the Usagi story.

Now publishing "Usagi Yojimbo" at Dark Horse - you have free hand to do whatever you want in your book?
SS: I own the character so have always had a free hand to do whatever I want with Usagi. I send in the completed story and it is printed. The only input the publisher has is with thing such as correcting misspelled words and the producing the visual design of the books, and even that need my approval.

You're doing "Usagi Yojimbo" on a nearly-monthly-base for 17 years. weren't you sometimes tired of the character? Haven't you sometimes the feeling to go on over to a new world with new characters?
SS: I really enjoy working on the Usagi books and have stories planned for many years to come. I also do other work to break up the monotony. As you pointed out, I still do some lettering. I work with other publisher on their projects such as a back-up series for Jeff Smith's Bone comics call Riblet, I wrote and drew a Simpsons Treehouse of Horror story, I illustrated a Queen and Country story written by Greg Rucka, and I am now doing the art for a Grendel story written by Matt Wagner.
~~~~~
What is it that makes this rabbit that important for your work and life?
SS: Drawing Usagi is important to me but more important is working in the comic book field. I think that if I did not create Usagi I would have come up with another character or characters. I enjoy working in the art field but comics in particular.

Is there any other comic-book-character you would love to write or draw?
Have you ever thought about doing a superhero- or Disney-comic?

Some comic-creators open their "universe" for other artist, as Matt Wagner with "Grendel" oder Mike Mignola with "Hellboy". Have you ever thought about that?
SS: Yes, I have discussed a series called Usagi Yojimbo: Kagemusha which would have stories written and/or drawn by others. But I just do not have the time to follow through with this project. I already have a list of people I would like to participate in this. I think though that this is something that will not happen for awhile.

You're writing at least 10 issues of "usagi Yojimbo" each year - are you writing them all alone?
SS: Except for coloring most of the covers, I do everything myself--writing, art and (in the US) lettering.

Would you say you are more of a penciller or more of a writer?
SS: I had this discussion with Sergio Aragones some time ago. He considers himself as a writer who does art. I think of myself as an artist who writes. Either way though, we both are cartoonists, a person who writes as well as draws.

How long does it take to write a Usagi-Story? How far are the forthcoming Usagi-Stories up in your head?
SS: The time it takes to produce a 24 page story may vary because of how much research a story may need, how intricate the art is, and other factors such as other projects I am currently working on but usually it takes about 4 weeks. I have plotted special "landmark" stories that I know what I want to do. That gives me a direction to go towards. For example: I wanted to do a long story based on the legendary Grasscutting Sword and so the stories leading up to that epic laid the foundations by introducing characters and setting up the situations for Grasscutter. This is the way I normally work. I have stories that I know I want to do a year from now. However, I may not know the story I will do next month.

You do a lot of historical research. Do you do it all alone or do you get some help?
SS: I do the research by myself. I have a fairly extensive library on Japanese history and culture. Also people send me books or magazines that they think I might find useful. I have received help from the Usagi fan website. When I working on Grasscutter, I could not find any visuals of what the sword actually looked like--even old woodblock prints showed it as a katana instead of a tsurugi. I put the word out through the website what I needed and a fan spent about three months in his spare time finding a verifying a picture of it. When I needed pictures of a particular shrine in Japan people sent me to various websites and one person who had vacationed there sent me some of his vacation photos. The Usagi fans are wonderful.

How free are you using historically details? Are you using them in the most correct way or are you changing them for the sake of the story to tell?
SS: I try to do as much research as I reasonably can. The story is the most important thing so I may change facts for the sake of the story. For instance: Usagi's adventures take place at the turn of 17th century Japan (circa 1605). I wanted to do a story involving the Japanese theater form kabuki and an onnagata or female impersonator. But kabuki was not established until 1605 and the onnagata came about 30-40 years later. Many times when I do an amount of research I will add story notes at the end of the story explaining the bits of cultures or history that I had used. The notes would include a bibliography of the books, videos, and other references I used.

What is it, that fascinates you about the japanese middle-age?
SS: As I said, it is a part of my heritage but it is also an interesting time of Japanese history. It was a time of change politically, socially and culturally. The age of civil wars had just ended with the rise of a shogun or military dictator and so a time of peace was just beginning. This led to a lot of unemployed samurai warriors. Add to this the start of foreigners arriving and the rise of the merchant class and you have a turbulent era of Japanese history. Open warfare was replaced by political intrigue and it was a time of progress but at the same time people were being repressed.

Have you ever thought about Usagi leaving Japan, for example to China?
SS: Japanese citizens were not allowed to leave without special permission from the government. In fact, for an average citizen to come in contact with a foreigner was an act of treason punishable by death. As a historical note, Lord Date Masamune who was the inspiration for my Lord Hikiji sent the very first emissaries to Europe to visit the Pope, a mission that ended in failure.

Some "Usagi Yojimbo"-stories are used in japanology-courses. Is that correct?
SS: Yes, Grasscutter is used in Japanese history courses at the University of Portland. There have also been many college thesis written on Usagi. I have also received a number of awards for my work: a Parents Choice Award, an Inkpot Award , three Will Eisner Awards, two Spanish Haxtur Awards and a 2002 American Library Association Award. I have heard that the German edition of Usagi has been nominated for a Max-and-Moritz Award.

Although you work with japanese history and use elements of typically manga-story-telling, "Usagi Yojimbo" isn't a big success in Japan. Why?
SS: There has never been a western comic that has made a big impression in the Japanese manga market. True, Usagi is based on Japan history and culture but the storytelling style is very western.

Has there ever been a Japanese publishing of "Usagi Yojimbo"?
SS: There has not been a Japanese edition of Usagi. I was in Japan years ago and met anime and manga creators and was surprised that many of them knew of my work.

Actually, Mangas and Animés are a big success (at least in germany). Does that influence the sales of "Usagi Yojimbo"?
SS: Usagi is more a western comic book than a manga series. There is some manga influence because I had known about Japanese comic for many years and still use some for reference.

Lik to to many other comic-book-characters, there was a projected "Usagi"-TV-Series. Can you tell whats happened with that?
SS: Usagi has been optioned many times for a television series or a feature film but so far nothing concrete has come about. I usually do not make a big deal of such options because many things can happen during any stage of development to kill the project. The closest we got was with Space Usagi. An animated short and a series bible were made and we even were offered a time slot on TV. But, for various reasons, it was decided to not go forward with it.

According to the fact that Usagi Yojimbo" is the life-story of Myjamoto Usagi (Musahshi), there has to be an end? Do you have any plans to bring Usagis wandership to an end?
SS: Usagi was first created as a secondary character in the Nilson Groundthumper epic, though he had not yet appeared in any of the stories. There was a definite ending to that series. However, I preferred working on Usagi and switched my efforts on him. That ending has since become obsolete and Usagi has gone in a completely different direction than what I first imagined for him. Many times a character takes on a life of his own and he determines the "path" his life will take. So it was with Usagi.
~~~~~
finished.

[usagigoya]

Thank you very much for the fantastic response to my inquiry. I really appreciate you posting the English language version of the interview, and I am looking forward to sitting back and reading it very soon.

Between the interview in Usagi Yojimbo Bd. 10 and the interview and article in MangasZene #11, I was really impressed with the attention given to Stan Sakai and his comic series.

Has there been any other articles or interviews concerning Usagi Yojimbo published in German of a similar quality since those two were published?

( Wondering if I should stick to posting in English after my previous mangling of the German language )

[L.N. Muhr]

i did another longer article about usagi for a bonus-feature of "hit comics", a former german comic-magazine.

beside this, i think there were onlie some short articles about the series, from other authors and from me.

ah, please don't forget: if you post the interview somewhere else, please note that the copyright for the whole text in any language is by me, stefan pannor.

[usagigoya]

i did another longer article about usagi for a bonus-feature of "hit comics", a former german comic-magazine.

beside this, i think there were onlie some short articles about the series, from other authors and from me.

ah, please don't forget: if you post the interview somewhere else, please note that the copyright for the whole text in any language is by me, stefan pannor.

Any idea where I might find a copy of the "Hit Comics" magazine you mentioned above? Can you provide any more details concerning;
1) the magazine - publisher, issue number, and date.
2) the article - approximate page count, subject of article, and whether any illustrations were included?

Any chance of an English language translation being available? Or possibly a file copy that I could run through Babel-fish for an imperfect translation?

I added your copyright of the interview with the copy I posted on the Usagi Yojimbo Dojoboard Forum
http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/forum/po...itpost&p=14095

Thanks again,
Abayo.....

[usagigoya]

i did another longer article about usagi for a bonus-feature of "hit comics", a former german comic-magazine.

Hit Comics #31 (March / April 2002)

Would this be the correct issue?

Abayo....

[Geier]

http://www.comic.de/rezensor/druckfrisch011101.html

Look in the Middle of the Page - Freibeuter #2

[usagigoya]

http://www.comic.de/rezensor/druckfrisch011101.html

Look in the Middle of the Page - Freibeuter #2

Thank you for the reference..

I've ran across images of this magazine, but have been unsure as to what it might contain in regards to Usagi Yojimbo. It does have a cool cover.

By the way. what does "Kurzgeschichte" translate as?

Abayo....

[TigerRider]

Kurzgeschichte = Short-Story

...We take the best Covers from the original Issues, sometimes we have the same Taste like Carlsen - thats all...

Nicht zu vergessen, dass es eine Abstimmung für die Fans gab, welches Cover genommen werden sollte. Ich erinnere mich, weil es mit einer Verlosung verbunden war (?) und ich einen Kalender gewonnen habe.

There once was the possibility for the ventilatoren to vote for the next cover. Great!

[Geier]

"So the books contain different story content then?"

Yep ! The Carlsen-Issues are incomplete. In our Books are all Usagi-Stories + a new (better) Translation.

@Tigerrider
Stimmt ja - mein Gedächtniss wird immer schlechter ...

[hollandshoffnung]

hat jemand zufällig einen link zu musterseiten mit dem samurai hasen?


does someone have coincidentally one link to sample pages with the samurai hare?

nur falls hier niemand mehr deutsch spricht...

[L.N. Muhr]

Hit Comics #31 (March / April 2002)

Would this be the correct issue?

Abayo....

no. this was an article about rabbits in comics general, where i just mentioned usagi. you know, it was the easter-issue and i had a lot of fun researching for the text. senseless things you sometimes need to do just for yourself and the fun ...

the freibeuter #2-issue was a bonus-part of some hit comics issue and a free giveaway on some fairs. please ask either michael möller (also called "mille" here in comicforum) from schwarzer turm, if he still has an issue for you or martin jurgeit (he's under that name here in the board), former chief-editor of hit comics. you better first ask mille ...


@HH: was verstehst du unter musterseiten?

edit: this is the correct link for the interview on the UY-dojo:
http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/forum/vi...239c2949340b5d
~~~~~
@usagigoya: one question to you - do you have any informations about a possible reprint of the nilson-grundthumper-storys? i only have the one from the UY-color-special #1, would like to read them all ... (there was an usagy 2099-back-up in one of the mirage-issues i owe - was'nt that a nilson-story too? or am i completely confused ...?)

[Mille]

I think there are still some copies left...
@usagigoya
Would it be of any help if I'd scan the pages or do you prefer a copy of the original issue?

@hollandshoffnung
Wenn Du bei www.darkhorse.com "Usagi Yojimbo" in die Suche eingibst, wird Dir eine Liste der lieferbaren Hefte angezeigt. Bei einigen davon steht "Preview" daneben, da kannst Du einen Blick in die Hefte werfen.
Bei Dark Horse gibt es auch vier nett anzuschauende sogenannte Usagi-eComics...

[hollandshoffnung]

danke mille, dann werde ich mal einsteigen und ein paar bände mit dem hasen antesten.

noch was ( ich bin zu faul um mir den ganzen thread durchzulesen...) :

es wird eine neuauflage der vergriffenen carlsen bände geben ( verbessert mit chronologisch geordneten kurzgeschichten, wenn mir das richtig zugetragen wurde...) ?

[usagigoya]

no. this was an article about rabbits in comics general, where i just mentioned usagi. you know, it was the easter-issue and i had a lot of fun researching for the text. senseless things you sometimes need to do just for yourself and the fun ...

Oh well. There is a good chance that I will own a copy of this issue real soon anyways. The ebay auction ends in a couple hours and I already placed a bid.

the freibeuter #2-issue was a bonus-part of some hit comics issue and a free giveaway on some fairs. please ask either michael möller (also called "mille" here in comicforum) from schwarzer turm, if he still has an issue for you or martin jurgeit (he's under that name here in the board), former chief-editor of hit comics. you better first ask mille ...

No need, Mille has already read your comment and commented....

I think there are still some copies left...

@usagigoya
Would it be of any help if I'd scan the pages or do you prefer a copy of the original issue?

I would love to get an actual copy of the freibeuter #2 magazine. It would be such a great addition to my collection. It contains the short story "Usagi's Garden"?

@HH: was verstehst du unter musterseiten?

edit: this is the correct link for the interview on the UY-dojo:
http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2251&sid=41e6a8d6b25855a4da239c294 9340b5d

Sorry about the bad link. Obviously, I was not paying attention to what I was doing. I copied the link while I still had the message editor page (is that what you would call it?) still open.
~~~~~

@usagigoya: one question to you - do you have any informations about a possible reprint of the nilson-grundthumper-storys? i only have the one from the UY-color-special #1, would like to read them all ... (there was an usagy 2099-back-up in one of the mirage-issues i owe - was'nt that a nilson-story too? or am i completely confused ...?)

USAGI YOJIMBO (MIRAGE COMICS)
volume: 2, issue:9 - Aug/1994
Nilson 2199 (featuring futuristic Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy)
story/art: Stan Sakai, color: Tom Luth (8pages)
originally conceived with different characters in 1988 as “Ranger”

As far as a Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy reprint volume (in the USA), Stan has commented:

6. Will there be a Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy trade paperback?

(WWW Board Aug 2000) There are not yet enough Nilson stories to fill a trade paperback collection.
http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/other/faq/nilson.html#faq6
http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/other/wwwboard/messages/4843.html

The possability was mentioned again more recently (but I can't find the reference), but it has never been acted upon, as far as I've heard.
With the smaller size reprint volumes being published by Schwartz Turm, I would believe there to be more chance of a collected volume being published in German than in Engish. Something similar to the Riblet book which has never been released in English.

Here is a short list of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy appearances (in English):

THOUGHTS AND IMAGES
ALBEDO ANTHROPOMORPHICS
issue: 1 - Jun/1984
The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper 8pages
first appearance of Nilson Groundthumper - (later titled “we're not Lost… Just Misplaced”) 8 pages
issue: 5 - Oct/1985
Slipknot (featuring Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy) 10 pages

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
CRITTERS
issue: 5 - Nov/1986
The Magic Stick (featuring Nilson groundthumper and Hermy) 4 pages
issue: 16 - Sep/1987
Return of the Wizard (featuring Nilson groundthumper and Hermy) 4 pages
issue: 27 - Aug/1988
Mother Pearl(featuring Nilson groundthumper and Hermy) 10 pages
Cover Art (featuring Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy) 1 page
art: Stan Sakai, color: Tom Luth

CRITTERS SPECIAL: The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy
issue: 1 - Jan/1988
* We're Not Lost…Just Misplaced (featuring Nilson groundthumper and Hermy) 8 pages
* Slipknot (featuring Nilson groundthumper and Hermy) 10 pages
Game of Death (featuring Nilson groundthumper and Hermy) 10 pages

USAGI YOJIMBO COLOR SPECIAL (volume 1)
issue: 1 - Nov/1989
Lost in a Lost City (featuring Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy) 5 pages
issue: 2 - Sep/1991
Still Lost in a Lost City (featuring Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy) 8 pages
issue: 3 - Sep/1992
Loxos and Doxos (featuring Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy) 5 pages
ANTARCTIC PRESS
FURRLOUGH
issue: 50 - Feb/1997
Cover Art (featuring Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy) 1 page
art: Stan Sakai, color: Pat Duke

GRAPHXPRESS
EQUINE THE UNCIVILIZED
issue: 6 - Jul/1989
Painting The Town Orange 27 pages
R. Konkle, M. Wallace, and M. Livingston
cameo appearance of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy by Stan Sakai (pg. 18 - 19)
(* = reprinted from Albedo Anthropmorphics)

I hope this is worth even a fraction of the help you have provided me.
Thank you, again, for all your assistance.

Abayo....

~~~~~

Kurzgeschichte = Short-Story

Danke für die Übersetzung

There once was the possibility for the ventilatoren to vote for the next cover. Great!

The use of cover art that originally appeared on the Albedo and Critters issues which featured Usagi Yojimbo was really cool. The Schwartz Turm Bd. 2 was the first German issue I bought, because I really liked the cover.

Have you seen the covers for the Belguim issues of Usagi Yojimbo published by Enigma? They used some of the full page illustrations from within the comics, removed the lettering, and colored them for new and unique covers. When I first saw them, I initially thought Stan Sakai had provided them with all new cover art. They have also commissioned some cool "ventilatoren art" from Belgium artists for the back covers.

The newest batch of releases of Usagi Yojimbo issues from Enigma in Belgium...
• Usagi Yojimbo 7 - backcover: Steven Dupré
• Usagi Yojimbo 8 - backcover: Michetz
• Usagi Yojimbo 9 - backcover: Kristof Spaey
• Usagi Yojimbo 10 - backcover: Michetz
• Usagi Yojimbo 11 - backcover: Mauricet
• Usagi Yojimbo 12 - backcover: Michetz




Abayo....

[Geier]

@holländer
Usagi #1+2 vom Turm sind Neuauflagen. Der Unterschied zu den Carlsen-Bänden ist eine Neuübersetzung - die Alte lies zT arg zu wünschen übrig. Und das nun alle Stories in chronologischer Reihenfolge abgedruckt werden, dh es ist auch neues Material dabei das bei Carlsen fehlte.

[usagigoya]

@usagigoya: one question to you - do you have any informations about a possible reprint of the nilson-grundthumper-storys?

I found the references I was looking for concerning this:

how did you know that Usagi was THE ONE?

Usagi was the character that appealed to me the most. I was also doing Nilson Groundthumper at the time but after the first published Usagi story decided to concentrate my efforts on the samurai rabbit. Nilson and some of my other characters pop up from time to time in various projects. I have been discussing a Nilson collection with Dark Horse.

http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/forum/vi....php?p=422#422

Stan:
Do you need some lobbying from the rest of the Dojo to DHC?

The Nilson project is something that is almost definite. We're discussing in what format it should be presented in. It started because another publisher asked about the rights, which led me to ask Diana if DH would be interested. It will probably be scheduled for 2004--20th anniversary of Nilson/Usagi.
There are two Usagi collections scheduled for this year. The Shrouded Moon should be in store the beginning of January and Duel at Kitanoji is set for August (unfortunately, after the San Diego Con).

http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/forum/vi....php?p=422#422

Hey Stan,
Have you ever considered putting out a sketchbook?
I thought I read somewhere that you were thinking about a 20th anniversary coffee table book. Any truth to this?
John

I think about putting out a sketchbook every year, especially when I see the ones sold by artists at San Diego. Every year, I just run out of time.
Diana and I talk about the coffee table book every so often. She does have it on her schedule, however a lot of it has to do with me just getting stuff together in some kind of organized form. I would much rather spend the time working on the next Usagi story. This is the reason that there has never been an Art of Usagi Yojimbo #3 or the Nilson Groundthumper collection.

http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/forum/vi...hp?p=1901#1901

It has been a while since anyone has brought up the subject with Stan Sakai, and since the "coffee table book" has finally been released, maybe the Nilson book might finally be in the works.

I still believe the comments I made previously about a German Edition being released much sooner and easier apply.

Abayo....
~~~~~
I posted a request for an update from Stan Sakai on the status of the Nilson Groundthumper tpb on the UY Dojo Forum. Usually, Stan will post a reply within a day or two (time permitting).

Abayo....
~~~~~
Here is the reply to the inquiry I posted on the UY Dojo Forum:

It falls on Diana to schedule the book. The problem is that she is tremendously overworked. My part is almost all done, since the stories are just reprints. I would like to do at least one new story for it, and, of course, a cover needs to be drawn or painted.

http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2253
note: Diana Schutz = Stan's Editor at Dark Horse Comics

Abayo....

[L.N. Muhr]

yeah.

since it's almost impossible to get all the single-issues including nilsson, i'm looking forward to this book ...

[usagigoya]

Is there any way to upload a personal avatar image to this forum?

Thanks....

[Asher]

Well, yeah, if you pay a small amount of money to support the forum you are allowed to do this (you find it in "kostenpflichtige Abos" in "Mein CF", then it's "Premiumdienst Avatar").
This limitation is also due to the fact that the administrators want to guard the forum against "illegal" images. If only a small amount of people upload their own image, it does not need that much time to check the avatars for copyright problems before they activate it.

[usagigoya]

Gefunden ihm. Danke für die Hilfe.

Abayo....