Stan Sakai

Stan Sakai

Stan Sakai in his studio, 2015
Born Stan Masahiko Sakai
(1953-05-25) May 25, 1953
Kyoto, Japan[1]
Nationality American[2]
Area(s) Artist, writer, and letterer.
Notable works
 Usagi Yojimbo
Signature
Signature of Stan Sakai

Stan Sakai (坂井 雅彦, Sakai Masahiko, born May 25, 1953 in Kyoto, Japan) is a Japanese-American cartoonist and comic book creator.[3] He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo.[4][5]

Biography

He began his career by lettering comic books (notably Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier) and wrote and illustrated The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy; a comic series with a medieval setting, influenced by Sergio Aragonés' Groo the Wanderer. The characters first appeared in Albedo #1 in 1984, and were subsequently featured in issues of Critters, Grimjack, Amazing Heroes and Furrlough.

Sakai became famous with the creation of Usagi Yojimbo, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan.[6][7][8][9] First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly sole artist (Tom Luth serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black-and-white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paperback edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also created a futuristic spinoff series Space Usagi.[10] His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959). The Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo presented an exhibit entitled "Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo" from July 9 through October 30, 2011.

Sakai wrote and illustrated the story "I'm Not in Springfield Anymore!" for Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #7 and illustrated the back cover of Treehouse of Horror #6.

Sakai was the artist for Riblet, the back-up feature in the trade paperback of Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails.

In 2013, Sakai illustrated the limited comic book series 47 Ronin, an adaptation of the famed story of the 47 Ronin written by Dark Horse Comics Publisher Mike Richardson and with Lone Wolf and Cub writer Kazuo Koike as an editorial consultant.

The seventh episode of the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series' fifth season, "Yojimbo", was written by Sakai and features the first appearance of Miyamoto Usagi in the series.

Awards

From 1993 through 2005, Stan Sakai has received twenty-one Eisner Award nominations. He has also been nominated for the Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer in 1999 and 2000.

Bibliography

Usagi Yojimbo

Stan Sakai at a Comics Convention in New York City in 1992

Other works

Notes

  1. ↑ "The Art of 'Usagi Yojimbo' at the Cartoon Art Museum". Animation Insider. Archived from the original on January 30, 2012. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  2. ↑ "Usagi Yojimbo creator comes back to where it all began". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  3. ↑ "USAGI YOJIMBO: Stan Sakai and Diana Schutz". Mania.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  4. ↑ "Interview: Stan Sakai: Down the Rabbit Hole with Usagi Yojimbo". The Trades. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  5. ↑ Solomon, Charles (March 8, 1993). "Take one part Toshiro Mifune. Then add adventure and humor to get artist Stan Sakai's 'Usagi Yojimbo.'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  6. ↑ Solomon, Charles (December 18, 2005). "Don't get between the rabbit and his sword". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  7. ↑ "25 YEARS OF "USAGI YOJIMBO"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  8. ↑ "25 Years of the Rabbit Ronin: Stan Sakai on Usagi". Newsarama. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  9. ↑ "BCC: SPOTLIGHT ON STAN SAKAI". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  10. ↑ "Stan Sakai Talks Usagi Yojimbo". UGO.com Comics. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  11. ↑ http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2011/05/04/stan-sakai/
  12. ↑ http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/other.html
  13. ↑ http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/inkpot.php
  14. ↑ http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/haxtur99.php
  15. ↑ http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/haxtur00.php
  16. ↑ http://www.ursamajorawards.org/UMA_2001.htm
  17. ↑ http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/reuben02.php
  18. ↑ http://www.ursamajorawards.org/UMA_2002.htm
  19. ↑ http://www.ursamajorawards.org/UMA_2003.htm
  20. ↑ http://www.ideaship.com/CAA/events_news/MX.pdf
  21. ↑ http://www.ursamajorawards.org/UMA_2004.htm
  22. ↑ http://www.ursamajorawards.org/UMA_2005.htm
  23. ↑ http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/harvey07.php
  24. ↑ http://fantagraphics.com/flog/more-photos-of-stan-sakais-cultural-ambassador-award/
  25. ↑ http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/your_2012_eisner_award_winners/
  26. ↑ http://www.inkwellawards.com/?page_id=3940
  27. ↑ http://comicbook.com/2016/09/04/2016-harvey-award-winners-announced/

References

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