Writer, Artist & Letterer: Stan Sakai
Colorist: Hi-Fi Colour Design
Cover Artists: Stan Sakai & Emi Fujii; Jared Cullum; David Petersen
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: February 14, 2024
Jei and the bandits attacked Usagi and Yokichi while crossing a frozen river. Usagi and his cousin survived weakened and frozen. Trekking through the snow, they stumble upon a village. Will they find friends or adversaries there? Let's grab our katanas, charge into Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow #5 and find out!
Story
The farmers planted their crops, but the rains came late. Heavy snowfall killed much of what grew. In their hut, a couple kneels before the cookfire, grumbling that their diet is limited to barley gruel and whatever starving tokage they can find. If only the lizards tasted better than the disgusting gruel. Sorry farmers! You can't always get what you want!
Karma throws them a curveball when two samurai arrive on their doorstep. "Gimme Shelter," Usagi cries while Yokichi asks for food. “We have some delicious gruel,” the farmer replies. Stan Sakai opens Usagi Yojimbo: Ice And Snow #5 like he began the first chapter of this story arc. Usagi and his cousin arrive hungry, tired, and cold, hoping to spend the night in a stranger's hut. They have another encounter with the bandits they fought in the first and fourth issues. As Sakai closes his Ice And Snow story arc, these sword-wielding rolling stones discover more supernatural beings in the cold, remote mountains. But then, you’ve got to have sympathy for the devils! After all, Yokai must live somewhere!
Usagi and his cousin are kindhearted and share many similarities. Yet Usagi showed more concern for the woodcutter couple in the first issue. In Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow #5, Usagi is more willing to believe that criminals can reform than Yokichi. Stan Sakai's story also addresses radical changes in behavior. Doctors, psychiatrists, and scientists explain and treat behaviors that people like Usagi and Yokichi once ascribed to supernatural phenomena like Yokai.
This issue lacks the weird charm of Keiko playing her flute, unaffected by the violence around her. I missed the way Jei tilted his head and smiled in a Joker-esque way as he dispatched opponents with delight. This issue feels more like a tragedy as the travelers discover the village's terrible secret. The ending suggests that Usagi and Yokichi’s paths may diverge soon. If so, I’ll miss Usagi’s younger cousin. But then, Usagi is a ronin, fated to live his life as a wanderer. And while a hero may walk in the company of others from time to time, their journeys are often more solitary than not.
Art
The farmers look old and infirm. Their expressions are pained, and the husband walks with care, his head tilted to the side as he approaches the door. Usagi and Yokichi look worse. They hunch, eyes barely open, like scouts using their last ounce of strength to report an invading army to their leaders. Elder Hatatake clutches a staff in both hands as he walks. Yet he leaps back when Usagi demonstrates that a samurai is always at readiness, even when asleep.
Stan Sakai reveals the bandits’ mean streak when alone. But their eyes widen, and they nearly drop their bowls of gruel when Usagi and Yokichi appear. Their actions seem sedate compared with the farmers after the moon rises over the nearby mountains. The farmers grunt and growl. Their infirmities melt away as they bare their teeth and extend their claws.
Hi-Fi Colour Design's vibrant colors give Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow #5 a modern appeal. The shading and highlights have a soft, smoky look akin to airbrushing. People and objects in shadow often look gray, while the snow ebbs between white and blue. Yet when night falls, the air surrounding the farmers burns yellow and orange and glows neon pink and purple.
Stan Sakai fills balloons with large, black, uppercase dialogue that grows bold or swells but never shrinks. He often reveals emotions with symbols like questions or exclamation marks. Skulls in cloudy balloons proclaim that A Murder Is Announced. In this village where everyone knows your name, and no one (not even the postman) knocks once, let alone twice, a creaking door announces the entry of a friend, neighbor, or elder.
Final Thoughts
Weakened and near death, Usagi and Yokichi place their lives in the care of a village with a terrible secret that evokes Ted Nugent's signature song in Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow #5.
Rating 9.4/10
To preview interior art see my review on Comic Book Dispatch.
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