- Title: Usagi Yojimbo #163
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Stan Sakai
- Artist: Stan Sakai
Part 1 of “The Mouse Trap” begins with the robbery of Hatamoto Asano’s home by a popular thief who drops some of his ill-gotten gains to the crowd and hops a series of rooftops to make good his escape. Escaping Miyamoto Usagi is no small feat, but an unexpected confrontation with the Black Goblin Gang leaves the Nezumi framed for murder (and forces him to give up more of his treasure to try and prove his innocence).
The start of the three-part story has several moving pieces including the introduction of another thief to give Usagi and Inspector Ishida trouble, an unknown street urchin keenly eyeing the investigation, and rumblings inside the Black Goblin Gang which are likely to cause trouble for everyone in the town. With Usagi getting himself in over his head as the comic comes to a close, I’ll be curious to see where the story takes him. Once he regains consciousness, that is.
Usagi Yojimbo #163 also includes another page of the ongoing Chibi Usagi story. Worth a look.
[Dark Horse, $3.99]