Usagi Yojimbo (vol. 38): The Green Dragon
It’s the end of an era as this marks the last proper volume of “Usagi Yojimbo” (not counting the upcoming “Wherewhen” crossover with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) to be published by IDW. Creator Stan Sakai now has his own “Dogu Comics” imprint at Dark Horse so it’s a very safe bet that all future adventures of the Rabbit Ronin will be coming out from that publisher. Which is a good thing as “The Green Dragon” shows the series returning to its usual standard of quality.
The volume opens with “A Ghost Story” as Usagi and his cousin Yukichi hear about a local legend involving a mistress who was murdered by her merchant paramour and the shrine that was erected in her honor. Naturally the two ronin encounter a woman who may be facing a similar situation and swear to help her out of it. It’s a story with solid execution and the outcome isn’t as straightforward as you’d expect, which was nice.
It’s followed up with “The Long Road” which has the two of them encountering a merchant and assistant being harassed by bandits on the road. While they aren’t able to save the merchant, they are able to save his assistant and the treasure they were carrying: A jade dragon that’s reported to be worth a lot of money. Usagi and Yukichi agree to escort the assistant to his destination, but they’ve still got to deal with the bandits who attacked them along the way.
That was a nice little tale that benefits from Usagi being just as perceptive about the situation as the reader is likely to be. It’s also fun to see him tease Yukichi about the responsibilities of a samurai at the end, even if it continues to drive home the fact that the most distinguishing thing about the latter character is his inexperience. Those of you hoping that Yukichi would get more development to become a noteworthy character in his own right are going to be disappointed by what you see of him in this volume.
Fortunately things end strong with the title story as Usagi and Yukichi are stymied in their attempt to deliver the jade dragon to its own. However, they find out that it was part of a larger plan by one of the Rabbit Ronin’s old friends, Chizu. The former leader of the Neko Ninja has obtained a document that could be used to incriminate Lord Hikiji and she’s willing to use every trick at her disposal to ensure that it winds up in the right hands. Unfortunately for her, Usagi, and Yukichi, the Komori Ninja are just as dedicated to making sure it ends up in their hands.
“The Green Dragon” is a fun little adventure as we get to see just how much influence and resources Chizu has within her former clan. It’s been known for a while that not everyone is happy with the chunin who replaced her, and it’s interesting to see that she’s not continuing to fight against him in vain. The rest of the story is a fight against the elements, nature, and the Komori as the three try to make it to safety. It ends with a resolution that I did not see coming and has potentially larger ramifications for Usagi and Chizu’s relationship in the future.
While I’m still waiting to see what makes Yukichi a worthwhile character, “The Green Dragon” is another volume of quality “Usagi” stories from Stan Sakai. I also see no reason that will change when the series is once again published by Dark Horse. If nothing else, I do hope that they’ll retain the larger trade publication format and color that the IDW issues had. Even if the series has been published for the majority of its run with a slimmed-down trade dress in black and white, it’s been a refreshing experience to see it published in the same format as other American comics these past few years.