Usagi Yojimbo (vol. 36): Crossroads

The good news is that creator Stan Sakai isn’t trying to retcon any more backstory into Usagi’s early years with this volume.  It’s all about introducing the title character’s cousin, Yukichi, to some familiar adventures with familiar friends here.  Starting off with Kitsune and Keiko who have managed to steal a ledger from a local crime boss and are contemplating selling it back to him for a fee.  Usagi and Yukichi would rather see it turned over to the local magistrate, but before either of them can put their plan into action, Keiko is kidnapped by the boss’ men who tell them to bring the ledger to his place by dawn – or else!  Then we have the title story which sees the two rabbit ronin literally taking the path less traveled and passing by some scruffy vagabond samurai on the way.  However, they soon find out that these samurai are killers and subsequently split up to track them, with Yukichi’s path taking him to the one recurring member of the cast that no one should have the misfortune to run into.

As the first full volume to feature Usagi’s adventures with Yukichi, the results are resoundingly… fine.  The same quality storytelling that has marked the previous thirty-six volumes is still here and longtime fans like me won’t be disappointed by it.  I’m feeling a bit less sure about Yukichi’s presence here, however.  He doesn’t offer much personality to stand out next to his cousin, simply coming off like a less experienced version of him in just about every way.  I don’t know if this is so that Sakai can have another character go through overly familiar schtick like not realizing that Kitsune has stolen their purse and be surprised by it.  If it is then Yukichi’s presence is going to get old really quick.  There’s only one more volume’s worth of issues to collect in the IDW run of this series, so my hope is that we’ll see what makes Yukichi stand out from his cousin before the series makes its return to Dark Horse.