DARK HORSE AND THE HUNDREDS BRAND ANNOUNCE TWO LIMITED-EDITION USAGI YOJIMBO T-SHIRTS TO BE RELEASED THIS SATURDAY

(Press Release) – Dark Horse has teamed up with the LA-based clothing label The Hundreds for the creation of two extremely limited T-shirts featuring new art from creator Stan Sakai, to be released this coming Saturday. The T-shirts, which have been produced in a limited run of only two hundred of each design, will hit retail at The Hundreds’ Los Angeles and San Francisco locations this coming weekend. Usagi creator Stan Sakai will be at the Rosewood location in LA from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. to sign copies of the latest issue of the monthly comic. In addition, the first twenty-five people through the door will receive a signed copy of the first-ever full-color Usagi Yojimbo graphic novel, Yokai.

Usagi Yojimbo is the long running comic set in 17th century Japan, with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, featuring the lovable rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, who wanders the land as a shugyosha (student warrior on a pilgramage) occasionally selling his services as a yojimbo (bodyguard). Usagi Yojimbo is one of the most celebrated ongoing comics, adored by critics and fans of all ages for the last 25 years.

“I am always excited to hear stories of the impact of Usagi on other creative individuals, especially those working outside of comics??? said Usagi Yojimbo creator, Stan Sakai. “I hope that this collaboration exposes a whole new group of people to Usagi, and comics in general. I’m grateful to have had the chance to work on this project with Bobby and everyone at The Hundreds.???

“Much of what I do today, as creative director for the Hundreds, stems from poring over Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo art as a youth,??? said The Hundreds cofounder Bobby Kim. “To this day, it was one of the most influential comic books in my life, and so it was an honor to work with Stan on two exclusive pieces of art for The Hundreds. To any fan of The Hundreds, it is important to acknowledge and appreciate Usagi Yojimbo’s inspiration to the brand.???

There’s always the danger that the Reckon Crew will show up hungover for an event. It’s just the way things seem to happen when we roll into town and it’s even worse when the event happens to be in Austin, our local stomping grounds. So it shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone who knows us that we showed up for Staple! proper hungover and running on two hours of sleep. The lack of sleep didn’t stop us from perusing the show’s considerable talent lineup, nailing some great interviews, and schmoozing with our table’s neighbors.

Pre-Party at Austin Books and Comics

The Staple! weekend officiailly launched at Austin Books and Comics at the pre-party event Friday night. In exchange for letting a strange bearded man draw marks on our hands, we were given free beer. This made us happy. Once there were three marks forming, in most cases, a smiley face, there was no more free beer to be had. This made us sad. But we pushed on despite our thirst and the Reckon Crew wandered the crowd that had assembled for the bash, snapping pictures and introducing ourselves to those who hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting us yet.

Saturday morning we showed up bleary eyed at the Monarch Convention Center to set up our table for the event proper. Once our “flag” was up and the swag was set out, the Reckon Crew began wandering the floor to see the various works of the artists who attended the event. The following is a short list of events and people who caught our notice.

Staple! at the Monarch Convention Center

We spoke to Martin Whitmore of tastyflesh.com and martinwhitmore.com. His online comic Tasty Flesh is a tale of strippers surviving a zombie apocalypse using knowledge gleaned from classic zombie movies. Honestly, he had us at “strippers”. Look for more of Sir Whitmore in coming months as his artwork and twisted humor really caught our fancy.

Danielle Corsetto of Girls with Slingshots fame was our neighbor at the event and was kind enough to sit through a second interview with me after last year’s was consumed by recorder gremlins. She was also courteous enough to draw a quick sketch of Jamie, one of the characters from her strip and my personal favorite, wearing a Busy Gamer t-shirt. Look for our interview with her in the upcoming days.

Stan Sakai of Usagi Yojimbo did a Q&A about his comic and events throughout his career. We learned that one of the reasons for his fame initially began with a toy based on his work. So no matter how old you are, you should always play with toys. At least that’s the message we’re taking with us.

Monica Gallagher of eatyourlipstick.com and Gods and Undergrads caught our eye with her artwork… and a book titled “Boobage”. Yeah, so we’re pervs. She was sold out when we went by so our perving was countered by that simple fact. Her works include the adventures of Bonnie N. Collide, a roller derby girl working a nine to five job, and the aforementioned Gods and Undergrads, an unusual tale of college kids, Greek mythos, and magic.

After Party and Art Show at Red 7

We managed to drag our tired butts out to Red 7 in downtown Austin for the after party and we’re glad we made the trip.  It was a pleasure watch many of the artists who attended Staple! strut their stuff in front of a live audience. The pieces done were donated to be sold with the majority of the proceeds benefiting local community radio station KOOP. There was live music by Terp2it, a nerdcore hip hop group that managed to keep us laughing the whole time they performed, and DJs who keep the turntables spinning while the artists did their thing.

Finally, tired and content, the Reckon Crew made their way home to sleep off the hangover and quietly plot our next event. While we’re sad to see Staple! end, we look forward to seeing everyone who attends next year. Our warmest thanks to Chris “Uncle Staple” Nicholas for inviting us and putting together Staple! five years running with no end in sight.

See you next year, Staple!

Gritskrieg – End of Line