Usagi Yojimbo Saga Volume 1 by Stan Sakai

Celebrate Stan Sakai's beloved rabbit ronin with the Second Edition collections of the comic saga featuring brand new original cover art by Stan Sakai! Follow Miyamoto Usagi in his epic trek along the warrior's path, beginning with over 600 pages of Usagi's essential adventures. In this first volume, Usagi protects a village from a band of assassins, reluctantly engages in a duel for blood money, hunts a gangster who has stolen his swords, and more! Collects Usagi Yojimbo Volume 2 #1-#16 and Volume 3 #1-#6!

Loved this and plan to collect them all. Complex character development, fascinating storylines, and gritty portrayal of life in 17th century Japan for a traveling samurai who happens to also be a rabbit. It feels like the storylines come before the drawings, and are supported by the framing. There’s some innuendo, and violence that’s at times disturbing but not gratuitous - I think this is fine for 10+ although I don’t really consider it a kid’s series.

For whatever reason, the first book begins with the 8th comic, so this isn’t the true beginning of the series. I don’t feel that negatively impacted the story in any way (starting with Saga Book 1). There’s an introduction to primary characters at the beginning, and a note referencing the original comic when they first appear.

I appreciated the more educational elements that cover some aspect of life at that time (kelp farming). There are also explanatory pages in this edition.