- Title: Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #1 (of 7)
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Stan Sakai
- Artist: Stan Sakai
The new seven-issue mini-series from Dark Horse Comics starts not with our title character but with a chase through town, death, and a theft which will present a new mystery for Inspector Ishida and Miyamoto Usagi to solve. The introduction of Usagi and Ishida comes fairly late in this first issue, but it does help to begin frame the reasoning for a pair of murders and new policies from the Shogun to ferret out those with dangerous religious ideas.
Given the extended set-up, one thing we do learn is that Japan has begun to take a dim view of Christians within its borders. Just how much this theme will play into the investigation is yet to be seen.
While most of the more recent Usagi Yojimbo stories have been shorter one-off tales, I’ll be curious to see creator Stan Sakai dive a bit deeper into a single mystery. The discovery that one of the dead men is a Christian offers a different reasoning for the attack… although their is still that mysterious package. Just what did the street thief grab which marked him for death as well? Worth a look.
[Dark Horse, $3.99]
Usagi is the best