USAGI YOJIMBO - The greatest saga in comics
Plus, more recommended reading for your weekend!
Howdy, strangers.
That was the first page of our special 99-cent issue of Saga, which was supposed to be a fun jumping-on comic to welcome potential new readers to the series. So naturally, Fiona Staples and I opened with what remains our single most polarizing and complained-about scene (next to Hazel once mentioning a fidget spinner, at least).
Anyway, I’m one of those annoying creators who would rather process third-rail politics in my fiction instead of my social media, so while our terrifying world collapses around us on multiple fronts, I hope you won’t mind if I just ramble about comics from my admittedly privileged perch this Friday.
Speaking of…
The fifth chapter of one of my favorite new series (despite the involvement of my longtime writing nemesis Ed Brubaker) is finally available from my brilliant friends Marcos Martín and Muntsa Vicente over at Panel Syndicate.
Friday’s investigations finally seem to bear fruit thanks to Lancelot’s enigmatic casebook. But as she delves deeper into the mystery behind his death and new dangers emerge from the shadow of the White Lady, will it only lead her to even more tragedy?
As always, this “post-YA” comic is available for immediate download at any price you think is fair, including nothing. But seriously, it’s exceptional, so thanks to those of you who can throw them a buck or two.
And if you still read your comics in print, check out this absolute behemoth, on stands at your local comic-book shop right now:
I know I throw around a lot of superlatives here at Exploding Giraffe, but these are the greatest crime comics ever, end of discussion. Tough break, Crime SuspenStories, I’ve made my decree!
Adapted by the late (that still hurts to type) Darwyn Cooke from the novels of “Richard Stark” (excellent pseudonym of author Donald Westlake), this second oversized edition collects The Score and Slayground, both masterclasses in graphic storytelling, not to mention insanely propulsive reads.
Plus, this gorgeous edition was put together by the great Scott Dunbier, so you know it’s the best presentation possible, with over 100 pieces of never-before-seen art, a roundtable talk with Darwyn’s closest friends and collaborators, and a brand-new 17-page story by multiple Eisner Award-winning creators Sean Phillips and…
…oh, goddammit.
Fuck, and it’s really excellent, too.
BRUBAKER!!!!!
We’ll leave you free subscribers here for the weekend, but I hope all you generous members of The Tower will stick around for a brief chat about the greatest ongoing epic in comics:
We’ll be discussing why I think the anthropomorphic historical dramas of Stan Sakai should be mandatory reading for creators who want to tell serialized stories in any medium.
I’ll be showing off an extraordinary gift from Mr. Sakai, one that offers a rare look behind the scenes of this comic grandmaster’s process.
Plus, one random commenter in our Tower chat will win this copy of Usagi Yojimbo: Bridge of Tears, signed AND sketched by Stan Sakai!
All that and more after this brief paywall!