And what better way to examine those differences that through this new collection from Dark Horse featuring all of their meetings throughout the years.Īs described in TMNT co-creator Peter Laird’s introduction, Usagi Yojimbo is a traditional Japanese samurai tale that just happens to feature animals instead of people whilst TMNT are mutated anthropomorphic animals that have been dropped into a modern world with regular people.

But from a storytelling standpoint, they could not be more different. They are both anthropomorphic animals who partake in forms of Japanese martial arts and are generally viewed as the golden standard when it comes to independent publishing in comics. We feel that through this imprint with Dark Horse, an expanded Usagi Universe is becoming a reality.Usagi Yojimbo and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a few things in common. Because of this new synergy, I am able to continue to do what I love most: create more Usagi Yojimbo stories. I still write, hand-draw, and hand-letter each story. Being the sole creator of Usagi Yojimbo takes a tremendous amount of time and responsibility. As the industry continues to change, I feel he brings a unique progressive perspective. I've known Mike Richardson for more than 30 years, and he is one of the pioneers and champions of creator-owned IP. As the sole creator and owner of Usagi Yojimbo, this is a significant milestone. I'm very excited, honored and thankful to have my own publishing imprint with Dark Horse. Sakai will serve as Dogu Publishing's creative director, and notes the scale of this accomplishment in relation to a single-creator IP, saying: Dark Horse will publish content through Dogu Publishing, its new imprint focusing on bringing Sakai's works - including Usagi Yojimbo - to fans. Today, Dark Horse Comics has revealed a new partnership with Stan Sakai’s Dogu Publishing that will not only bring Usagi Yojimbo back to the publisher but also include expansions of the Yojimbo universe.

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Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai