Stan Sakai Gallery Celebrates 25 Years Of ‘Usagi Yojimbo’ – See It Before It Becomes 26

Despite my fierce awareness of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' continued 25th anniversary celebration, I'm embarrassed to admit I hadn't seen this monument to the their furry friend from Japan -- Stan Sakai's "Usagi Yojimbo."

Fantagraphics Books has posted some very cool insights into the gallery - as well as a link to Flickr user Moonage Daydreamer's shots of Sakai's work exhibited earlier this year in the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco.

It's a pretty interesting snapshot of the creator's quarter of a century in comics, especially after seeing him in person back in Baltimore earlier this fall.Sakai is full of energy and enthusiasm after all of this time and it's kind of infectious. Some of his latest work can be seen in his latest "Usagi" installment through Dark Horse as well as Marvel's upcoming "Strange Tales" #3, which feature's a samurai version of the Hulk.

Given the strong relationship between Sakai and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' creators, keep your fingers crossed for Usagi to show up somewhere in the context of the next generation of TMNT from Nickelodeon.