Writer, Artist & Letterer: Stan Sakai
Colorist: Hi-Fi Colour Design
Cover Artists: Stan Sakai & Emi Fujii; Derek Chew; Mitsuhiro Arita
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 12, 2024
Inuyoshi captured Yukichi. The vicious leader doesn’t want competition from Gen, Stray Dog, and Usagi as his bounty hunters track the bandit Jimmu. Inuyoshi will kill Yukichi unless Usagi and his friends leave the area. But will Inuyoshi release Yukichi if Usagi, Gen, and Stray Dog agree to his terms? Let's grab our katanas, charge into Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #3 and find out!
Story
As Merchant Yamada’s convoy traverses a narrow mountain pass, Jiro assuages Masa's concerns by reminding him that mercenaries protect them on their journey. Like his fellow porter, Masa is tired and wishes Merchant Yamada paid them as much as he did the mercenaries. When the two porters spot a crow flying overhead, Jiro muses that the bandit Jimmu reportedly has a crow, just like his legendary namesake. Masa dismisses Jiro’s worries that the crow could be a scout for Jimmu. Crows are stupid. They have no sense of loyalty!
Despite the friends’ attempts to distract and comfort each other on the long journey, Jimmu has laid a trap for them. As Jimmu’s people attack and people die around them, Jiro and Masa help each other. As their end nears, the friends confess how they wronged each other. Then Jiro opts for a reckless escape, and Masa follows his lead.
In Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #3, Stan Sakai contrasts the need to survive versus the value of loyalty. Inuyoshi was once a samurai but became a ronin. The way his lord dismissed him embittered him. He admires strength and results, and those he hires emulate him. Two of his scouts worry about the cost of hiring additional bounty hunters to take on Jimmu’s organization. They comfort themselves that some new hires will die, leaving more of the bounty for them.
Jimmu also demonstrates how ruthlessness achieves results. Anyone who watches the news knows how vicious political battles can be. How many lords in Usagi's day began as bandits and built an organization so strong that others had to recognize their legitimacy? The legendary Jimmu was the first emperor who united the warring factions of Japan. The bandit in Sakai's story exhibits the organization and prowess necessary to become a rising power.
Much of Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #3 concerns Masa and Jiro, Jimmu and his crow, and Inuyoshi and his bandits. Usagi and Yukichi bear some blame for their predicament, as they rescued Jimmu from Inuyoshi’s bounty hunters earlier. Usagi’s history with Inuyoshi tells him the vicious ronin cannot be trusted. Yet what can he do? Even if Usagi knew where Yukichi was, how could he rescue his cousin from the bounty hunters? Could Usagi prevent Inyoshi or his people from killing Yukichi in such an attempt? Or, for that matter, prevent them from freezing his cousin in carbonite?
Art
Stan Sakai shows the sheer cliff along which the merchant party travels. Evergreens dot the mountainside, their exposed roots clinging to the rocky slope. The convoy traverses the narrow path single-file, or two people walk together like Jiro and Masa. There are a few packhorses, and some porters pull a wagon. The porters carry heavy packs while the mercenaries walk unladen by extra weight. Unlike the mountain pass of Coradhras, snow covers the mountainside, but a storm doesn’t make the path impassable.
Jimmu displays none of the lightheartedness he showed Usagi and Yukichi. As his spy alights on his shoulder, Jimmu issues orders. Trees fall. Arrows fly. Warriors leap to attack, swords drawn. Jimmu’s bandits don’t resemble Uruk-hai, but they inspire the same fear. While others run and chaos explodes around them, Jiro and Masa look out for each other. When the end comes, Jiro and Masa grasp each other’s hand in Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #3.
Amid the white and gray mountains, Hi-Fi Colour Design helps characters pop by painting their clothing in bright colors. Yukichi brightens the gray and brown temple where Inuyoshi holds him captive. The surrounding greenery reminds us how the temple once contributed to the community. Intriguingly, the bounty hunter who brings Yukichi’s broken swords and relates Inuyoshi’s demand wears blue like Stray Dog and Usagi.
Stan Sakai rewards readers with generously sized letters in white dialogue balloons. Raised voices swell and darken words as trees crack and crash along the mountain pass. A boy's thoughts appear in a cloudy balloon, while colored question marks and exclamation marks join a skull in dialogue balloons. Thanks to Dark Horse for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Fate offers Usagi a hand as an act of selfishness returns to bite Inuyoshi’s bounty hunters amid a powerful meditation on friendship and loyalty in Usagi Yojimbo: The Crow #3.
Rating 9.8/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
No comments:
Post a Comment