Dark Horse has really set the standard with these deluxe, oversized art books, and Art of Usagi Yojimbo stands up nicely to the standards set by the previous Sin City and Hellboy volumes. At first, I wasn't as sure about this one, as a quick glance showed a fair amount of sequential and cover art I had seen before, but upon actually sitting down to read the book, I was impressed by the organization of the whole thing, by the way it really gives an overview of Sakai's twenty years of creating Usagi and by just how gorgeous the artwork looks in this format. As with the previous "Art Of" volumes, if you're already a fan, you're going to love this, and if you're not, than this book is likely to make you one.
The Art of Usagi begins and ends with inside covers that present a large number of cast members in the outdoors, flying kites. It's as good an indication as any of the size and scope of story that Art of Usagi covers, hitting not just on the major cast members but on the literally dozens of interesting supporting characters that Sakai has introduced over time. In reading through this volume, the focus is most definitely on Usagi himself and the evolution he has gone through both visually and in terms of story, but the extensive supporting cast of the book is also given plenty of attention. This volume makes it very clear that what Sakai has created is more than just one interesting character, but indeed a complete and engrossing world that the character lives in.
In general, The Art of Usagi is arranged as a look at the character and comic through time, with sections marked "Beginnings, Early Years, Middle Years," etc. The chapter breaks are full-page black and white close-ups of Usagi's face, seen through thin color acetate-style pages, and it's a beautiful design touch, one amongst many that makes the volume stand out as an art object as well as an impressive overview of Sakai's career. While most of the divisions are done by time period, there are a few exceptions. The first is the very first section in the book, "Creative Process," which reprints a story of Sakai talking directly to the reader and explaining how he creates the series. The story is apparently a reprint that originally ran in Amazing Heroes, and it's not the last time that promotional and rarely-seen pieces from magazines and convention sketches will pop up in The Art of Usagi, meaning that there will be something new for all but the most devoted Usagi completist.
The other three exceptions are specifically based on the creation of the artwork, as there are two color sections and one gallery that features Usagi as done by some other creators specifically for this volume. The Gallery is disappointingly short at only 10 pieces, but that disappointment comes because the pieces presented are uniformly excellent. My particular favorites were done by Andi Watson, Tim Sale, Paul Chadwick and Frank Miller, but they are all well done, and by names that any comics reader will instantly recognize. I was also very pleased with the color sections, because Usagi is one of those black and white series that works really well in black and white, and it's rare that such a series can also work just as well in color. However, the painted color version of "Return to Adachi Plain" looks as beautiful as the black and white rendition of the same story, and the colors in "The Guardian," reprinted from the Trilogy Tour Book 2, help to play up the light-hearted nature of that story's ending without losing the intensity of the story's plot. And it will surprise no one to learn that the color section reprinting all of the covers is beautiful, given that Sakai is a gifted cover artist in the first place and the cover reproductions here have no cover copy that interferes with the pieces as pure art.
The majority of the book, however, is made up of examinations of Usagi's "life" throughout the years. "Beginnings" is one of the most interesting sections to me, as it shows Usagi before Sakai had fully developed the character's look. The character studies show Usagi as somewhat more cartoony at the beginning, his rabbit features played up more than his samurai features, and while the character certainly has an interesting look, it's unlikely he would have been able to sustain the serious, human connection that the modern Usagi has. The early Usagi stories reprinted here have a Usagi who is somewhat shorter in stature and whose rabbit features are more pronounced, although even in that first story it's easy to see how Usagi would change to become the character we all know today.
The other sections, from "Early Years" through to "Recent Years," go to show just how much Sakai has perfected his take on Usagi. The same craftsmanship and attention to detail of the most recent Usagi volumes can be seen in the early stories, and it's interesting to get insights into Sakai's creative process, such as his re-drawing of detailed backgrounds on several occasions. It is clear that in addition to creating an enduring character, Sakai is a consummate professional and working artist whose dedication to the medium never comes up short, even when it means more work for him. "Middle Years" has some particularly good examples of this work ethic, with a page that focuses in on Sakai's use of architecture or some stirring pieces like Usagi riding a horse through a hailstorm of arrows or a double-page splash of ninja and samurai at war, both originally from Usagi Yojimbo Volume 2 #13. "Recent Years," meanwhile, shines with a lot of previously unseen work like pages with redrawn backgrounds, convention sketches, action figure designs and art from small print run books and magazines.
While The Art of Hellboy remains a treasure of my comics collection, I think that with The Art of Usagi Yojimbo, Dark Horse has really raised the bar for future "Art Of" collections. This is a strong tribute to a long-running character and the singular vision of its creator, a treat for longtime fans of Usagi and new fans alike. 10/10
