Usagi Yojimbo: Senso

The thing about Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo is that it's been one of the best comics on the stands for over 30 years. It's both fantastic and consistent to the point where I can't think of a bad issue, but when every single installment of a comic is at that high a level of quality, you sort of get used to it. It gets to the point where the stories are as epic and thrilling as they've ever been, but they don't quite surprise you in the way that you want them to, if only because you're expecting them to be that good, and as much as I love Sakai's work, it's been a while since I've actually been surprised by it. Until I read Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, I mean. Because really, if you want to spice up an exhaustively researched samurai adventure story about a cast of furry animals, it just makes sense to throw a Martian invasion into the mix.

Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo is a modern masterpiece of comic book storytelling, in a way, that's kind of its only problem. The long-running series is consistently and unquestionably one of the best things on the stands month in and month out, but it's been so good for so long that it can be difficult for your ol' pals at ComicsAlliance to talk about. For Usagi Yojimbo, being phenomenally good isn't news, it's the status quo. That's why I'm always on the lookout for a big shake-up to happen in the story of everyone's favorite bunny rabbit samurai, and this week, Dark Horse announced a good one: Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, a new miniseries set 20 years after the events of the ongoing series, where the final battle between Lord Noriyuki and Lord Hikiji is interrupted... by a crashed rocket ship. Really. Check out a preview below!

  Stan Sakai's name has been in the news lately as the Cartoon Art Professional Society has been raising money to help pay the medical bills for his wife, Sharon, who suffers a debilitating illness. That financial setback hasn't stopped the prolific creator of Usagi Yojimbo from working, however. Indeed a new, six-issue miniseries titled Usagi Yojimbo: Senso is set to start in August. Plus, in cel