If you grew up in the ‘80s, your introduction to Usagi Yojimbo was probably via the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. I know I was shocked to learn years later that the rabbit I had an action figure of as a kid was not just a Ninja Turtles character. Crossovers between Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird and Stan Sakai’s creations have happened both on-screen and in their original comic book medium, and now Dark Horse is collecting all of their comic crossovers for the first time.
Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Collection will collect every comic team-up between Miyamoto Yojimbo and Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, and Raphael. With stories originally published between 1987 to 2017, all of the adventures in the collection are written and drawn by Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai. The trade paperback will also include sketches and other material from Sakai.
There have been collections that include individual team-up stories between these characters, but they’ve never before been available in one volume. Check out all press release for all of the details, as well as some preview art, below, and look for Usagi Yojimbo/TMNT: The Complete Collection in stores in September.
MILWAUKIE, Ore., (April 09, 2018)—Throughout the last three decades, comics master Stan Sakai has penned many crossover stories full of action-packed adventures between his creation, Usagi Yojimbo, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now, Dark Horse is thrilled to bring fans the complete collection of every Usagi Yojimbo/TMNT crossover ever produced! The rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, and the Turtles have a long-standing history of teaming up to fight evil both on the comics pages and on screen as Usagi has appeared in every animated television series incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, including last summer’s three-episode arc on Nickelodeon’s fifth season, titled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Collection TPB collects every existing Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover comic including “Turtle Soup and Rabbit Stew,” “The Crossing,” “The Treaty,” “Shades of Green,” and the recent full-color tale “Namazu.” Loaded with bonus material from Stan Sakai’s studio, this volume is the essential companion to every Usagi Yojimbo and TMNT fans’ collection!
Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Collection TPB retails for $17.99 and goes on sale September 26, 2018. It is available for pre-order at Amazon and your local comic shop.
Praise for Usagi Yojimbo:
“Writer and artist Stan Sakai brings us a fun shell-shocked adventure featuring the heroes in a half-shell and the rabbit bodyguard that fans of both series are sure to get a kick out of.” —ComicsVerse
“I think Usagi Yojimbo is one of the most original, innovative, well-executed comic books anywhere to be found. Stan’s style of artwork, his crisp incisive writing, and his thoroughly professional pacing, all done in a relaxed and absorbed manner, have provided comics with something so rarely seen in this field—a new literary and artistic approach to illustrated storytelling.” —Stan Lee
“Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo is a genuine treasure, and this issue is no exception. In an ideal world, everyone would read Usagi Yojimbo. This is as good a place as any to start making that happen. Check it out. You’ll be pleased you did.” —Comic Book Resources
“Stan Sakai is able to spin a web of emotions with few words . . . nothing is lost as each sentence has a meaning and purpose towards the larger narrative. The art is equally gorgeously simple . . . a must read for any comic book fan.” —Graphic Policy
Essential buying/reading. As culturally relevant and big as Asterix and Tintin books, for me. Maybe Barks.
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