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: April 3, 2024
Usagi and Yokichi have left the mountains. They survived their battles with freezing temperatures and supernatural monsters. What terrors might they face next? Let's grab our katanas, charge into Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #1 and find out!
Story
Lowland warmth rejuvenates Usagi and Yokichi. The travelers gladly exchange their boots for sandals. They luxuriate on the grass, soaking in the sun's rays. A stranger rides along the dirt road and pauses to warn them not to stick around before riding away. Unsettled, Usagi and his cousin resume their journey.
Yokichi notices a crow circling. He hears metal striking metal. When he and Usagi enter a stand of trees, they see four people attacking someone. Like Conan, Usagi and Yokichi throw caution to the wind and aid the underdog. The crow also intervenes with its beak and claws. The crow attacks from above, and samurai strikes from the rear prove too much for the fiends, and they hurry away.
The warrior they save thanks them and introduces his pet as Yatagarasu. Trained crows are rare, and Usagi and Yokichi are impressed. The traveler thanks them for their assistance and directs them toward the nearest village as he heads in the opposite direction. Yet when Usagi and Yokichi reach this hub of civilization, the people they pass in the street make the wanderers uneasy.
Usagi and Yokichi enter a restaurant to discover the four who attacked their friend in the woods. Yokichi’s lack of prudence puts him and Usagi at a disadvantage. Still, as they replenish their bodies and learn why the town is crowded, Usagi and Yokichi discover an intriguing link between the rescuee and an ancient Japanese emperor.
In Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #1, the first installment in Stan Sakai's new five-issue miniseries, Usagi and Yokichi’s good deed could return to haunt them.
Art
Usagi and Yokichi sit on a stone wall as someone arrives on a horse. Flies buzz around the stranger as he warns the travelers not to stick around. Yokichi holds his hand over his eyes when he spies the crow. Usagi grabs his sword when he hears metal striking metal. Stan Sakai fills panels with up to four people fighting in these intense action scenes. The traveler smiles as his pet alights on his shoulder. He smiles and bows to the rabbit warriors as they part.
Usagi and Yokichi arrive in a town filled with two-story structures. People in the streets frown. Others sit on the ground or recline on the upper-story balcony. Many of them grasp sake jars. Flies circle one swordsman who walks with a tilted head. A panel in the restaurant captures a tense moment as the attackers from the woods rise from their table to meet Usagi and Yokichi.
Hi-Fi Colour Design brings bright colors to Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #1. A full palette of pleasing colors reveals highlights and shadows. The overall effect welcomes readers into this intriguing new story.
Stan Sakai fills white dialogue balloons with generously sized letters, colored question marks, and exclamation marks. He captures the crow’s utterances in blue balloons. A few sound effects enliven the swordfight as the dialogue captures the combatants' emotions.
Thanks to Dark Horse for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #1 ponders the dangers of helping strangers without knowing all the facts, shows how the necessities of life drive people into moral gray areas, and introduces a character linked with a revered historical personage.
Rating 9.4/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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