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Best New Graphic Novel: Usagi Yojimbo – Homecoming

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In 2019, Stan Sakai announced that he would be moving Usagi Yojimbo to IDW from Dark Horse, his publisher for more than 20 years. Certainly it wasn’t the first time that Usagi had moved houses, with early stories at Thoughts & Images, then Fantagraphics and a brief stint at Mirage Studios, but despite all of these moves, the collected format of these comics had remained remarkably consistent.

The trade collections, numbered volumes 1-33 (available in paperback and limited hardcover editions), maintained the same size (roughly 6” x 9”) and, for collectors, looked really nice all collected on a shelf. The smaller-than-floppy size wasn’t a huge drawback, because Sakai’s uncolored clean lines and lettering lent themselves to being resized while retaining the beauty of the art. With the paperback editions kept perpetually in print, these were the most convenient way to collect the series.

The omnibus editions of the series consisted of a special edition hardcover slipcase from Fantagraphics which was later republished as a paperback which has become almost equally hard to find (though there are rumors of a reprint hardcover edition coming later this year). From Dark Horse, the limited hardcover Usagi Yojimbo Saga collections (volumes 1-9 and Legends, collecting non-canonical stories), remain something of a gold standard for omnibus collectors. These editions feature full comic sized pages, and each collects three of the numbered editions.

Which is a long, circuitous way of saying that, moving forward, IDW will not be publishing new Usagi content collections consistent with the Fantagraphics and Dark Horse collections. The smaller 6” x 9” format for trade collections has been abandoned in favor of full-sized editions. This presents the art in a larger format that’s more consistent with the monthly comics, but, as many collectors find important, it won’t gel well on the shelf with prior collections. The numbering scheme has also been restarted, with “Bunraku and Other Stories” being the new volume 1, and “Homecoming,” the collection under discussion, as the new volume two. [Read more…] about Best New Graphic Novel: Usagi Yojimbo – Homecoming

The Leader Reading Order!

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When it comes to Hulk villains, there is no greater match for the Jade Giant than the Leader. Like Bruce Banner, Sam Sterns got his powers after being bombarded with gamma rays, but instead of his muscles growing like the Hulk’s, Sterns gained incredible intelligence and a brain the size of a soccer ball.

As The Leader, Sterns matches the Hulk brains-for-brawn, but it doesn’t stop there. In many ways, Bruce Banner and Samuel Sterns are two faces of the same coin; one is a self-loathing and guilt-ridden man who wants to be left, while the other is a would-be Ruler of the World, reveling in the strength of his own grey (green?) matter. One man seeks isolation to protect the world from what his strength and rage might do; the other puts himself above other people because they’re not as smart as him. And while other the Hulk villains — from General Thunderbolt Ross to the Abomination — might have come to blows with the emerald enforcer more frequently, the Leader is the one who feels like his true nemesis.

With The Leader featuring in both the end phase of Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk and promotional material for the upcoming M.O.D.O.K. show (and perhaps in Disney+’s She-Hulk?), now is the perfect time to catch up on Samuel Sterns’ comic book history, from 1964 to today. [Read more…] about The Leader Reading Order!

All-New Wolverine Omnibus Review!

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Tom Taylor’s a big deal in 2021. He spent years writing the Injustice and Injustice 2 comics, he monopolized DC’s 2000s zombie-era nostalgia comics with DCeased, and has just recently taken over the Nightwing book to great excitement from a lot of people. And that’s not even half of his career. It’s safe to say he’s a big deal. But I’ve never been convinced.

Taylor’s style always felt to me that it was prioritizing characterization and “canon” over exploring themes and ideas with the characters. And while that’s enough for a lot of fans, it’s not what I look for in my comics. It feels like all fluff with little real substance.

But I didn’t always feel like this. In fact, when I was first getting into ongoing comics, Taylor’s All-New Wolverine was one of my favorite books to read from month to month. Laura was a phenomenal character, and the perfect successor to Wolverine. As a fan of the characters and someone whose tastes hadn’t solidified yet, I loved it. So with the All-New Wolverine omnibus coming, I figured now was as good a time as ever to revisit this run, and see how it held up outside of its zeitgeist. [Read more…] about All-New Wolverine Omnibus Review!