This seminal book collects the classic original Usagi stories chronicling a time of settling unrest and political intrigue, told through the story of a wandering and masterless samurai named Miyamoto Usagi, AKA Usagi Yojimbo! With over fifty graphic novels in print, the samurai rabbit is more popular than ever! This is the seminal Usagi book collecting all the classic original Usagi stories from Albedo, Critters, Doomsday Squad, and the Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special. This is one of Fantagraphics' very best sellers, and is also where Usagi started-don't miss out! The setting is 17th century Japan, when the age of civil wars has barely ended and the Shogun has established power. The samurai is the ruling class throughout the land, following a warrior's code of honor known as Bushido. Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 1 chronicles this time of settling unrest and political intrigue, told through the story of a wandering and masterless samurai named Miyamoto Usagi, aka Usagi Yojimbo! One of the great classics of the last 20 years, perfect for all ages. Black-and-white comics throughout Miyamoto Usagi is no Bugs Bunny. He's a rabbit bodyguard, a samurai who wanders the mountains, plains, and villages of a 17th-century Japan populated almost exclusively by anthropomorphic animals. Cats, snakes, rhinos, and ninja moles plot and fight their way across a land ravaged by civil war. The 10 stories in this first collection introduce Usagi, the evil Lord Hikiji, and a host of other characters. The stories themselves can stand alone, but taken together they begin to form an ongoing saga of treachery and revenge. Sometimes violent, sometimes funny, Usagi's adventures are filled with fascinating historical detail. The costumes, landscapes, and buildings are beautifully drawn, creating such a sense of realism it's easy to forget the hero is a rabbit. If you buy the first book in this series, you'll want the rest. "These bittersweet adventure stories offer entertaining reading, especially for young Asian-Americans who feel excluded from mainstream juvenile literature." ― Los Angeles Times "I don’t think I’m exaggerating at all when I say that Stan Sakai is arguably the greatest living comic book creator in the world, and Usagi Yojimbo is a thirty-year masterpiece that has a consistency and craftsmanship that other comics only touch when they’re at their peak." ― Chris Sims, ComicsAlliance "One of the most original, innovative, well-executed comic books anywhere to be found." ― Stan Lee "As a fan of samurai fiction (to the point of having a Seven Samurai tattoo) and comics, I can’t recommend Stan Sakai’s beautifully drawn, note-perfect reinvention of the genre highly enough." ― Kevin Church, BeaucoupKevin.com Stan Sakai is a Japanese-born American artist and comic book creator. His creation, Usagi Yojimbo, first appeared in 1984. Usagi has been on television as a guest of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as toys, on clothing, in comics, and in a series of trade paperback collections. He is a multiple Eisner-Award-winning cartoonist and the recipient of numerous national awards including an American Library Association Award and a Cultural Ambassador Award from the Japanese American National Museum. In 2020, Sakai was inducted into the Eisner Award Hall of Fame. He currently is an executive producer on the Netflix original CGI animated series  Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles , which is based on "Usagi Yojimbo". He lives in Pasadena, CA.     Stan Lee (1922-2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher and producer for Timely/Marvel Comics and was the co-creator of many of the Marvel Comics iconic heroes, including Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Daredevil, Thor, Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, and the X-Men. 17th Century Japan: A Tale of Samurai and Intrigue Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 1: A Classic for All Ages Black-and-White Comics Throughout