Sketch Lottery Gets 'Hare-y' With Last Weeks Entry: Usagi Yojimbo!!!!

I have never hid my love for Stan Sakai and his wondrous contribution to the world of comics, samurai rabbit Usagi Yojimbo. I love the character, and always had a soft spot for his depiction in comics and other mediums as well. Most people know Usagi from his stint as a supporting character in TMNT, but he has a long and detailed publication history in his own books that deserves to be highlighted. Well my good friend (and fellow Usagi enthusiast) Tommy Lombardozzi decided to enter Yojimbo into the pool of entries at Sketch Lottery... and last week he was chosen as the subject! So 27 artists gave it a shot, and the results are amazing!!! I picked out my faves (after the jump), but you should click here and check out all 27. Also make sure you check back to Sketch Lottery every Friday for next weeks subject, and check back in all week as they post all the entries start pouring in. Enjoy the art, these guys did Stan Sakai proud....

Tommy Lombardozzi 

Sally Cips

Joey Armao

Lou Mazzela

Thomas Napolitano

Chris Clarke

Ant Picone

Elgin Braden

Brian Maclean

Jason Baroody

A Usagi Yojimbo Film Is On The Way... Watch The Short That Got The Filmmakers Permission From Stan Sakai To Make It!

My earliest memories of Usagi Yojimbo come from the TMNT cartoon series of the early 90s. I loved that show, and Stan Sakai's samurai bunny rabbit was always a highlight for me. He is so serious, and such an absolute badass... so when I was able to read some of the Yojimbo comic stories later in life I found them amazing! Sakai's art is also spectacular, and the stories are true samurai epics even though they feature talking animals. So when my buddy Tommy Lombardozzi (who is a huge Usagi  fan) sent me a new short film that was created in order to secure the confidence of Sakai in making a full length feature. Lintika Films presents Usagi Yojimbo: The Last Request. It is really well done, and Sakai was so blown away that he gave his blessing for them to move forward with a full length feature. Keep track of the films progress by following their Facebook page, and watch the embedded short film after the jump for a taste of things to come!!!



Poster:

Usagi Yo Jimbo vs Invincible by Ryan Ottley

For those of you who don't know who Ryan Ottley is, he is the kind of guy working in the comic industry that I adore. The reason is because he is a true self made man... dude hated his regualr job, so he began creating his own personal web comics to gain exposure. Instead of submitting samples to the comic companies and hoping they would change his life with a job offer, he published his own stuff and it was seen by the right person... Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead, and he loved it! So he offered Ottley a job penciling Invincible... and the rest is pretty much history. Ottley kills on Invincible, and also has drawn variant covers for The Walking Dead and Haunt, which was a collabo between Kirkman and Todd McFarlane. The guy is a great artist, and I really dig his whole path to success. Joe Fletch sent me a cool ass pic he had posted over on his Deviant Art page featuring one of my favorite lesser known characters, Stan Sakai's Usagi Yo Jimbo taking on Invincible himself. The piece is beautiful, but also humorous... it plays up to Yo Jimbo's fearlessness but also the impracticality of attacking Invincible with a sword. Great piece. You can see much more of Ottley's work over at his Tumblr, Deviant Art page, and Blog... and check out the awesome Man vs Rabbit piece after the jump...

  

The Comic Twart Team Takes On Usagi Yojimbo

I have always been a huge fan of Stan Sakai's rabbit samurai Usagi Yojimbo. I mean, how can you not be. The comics are always well written and well drawn, and the character itself is the picture of a true hero if there ever was one. I also always loved it when he was featured in cahoots with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Those were some wonderful adventures. Tom Fowler (one of CCD's favorite artists) and the rest of his Comic Twart brethren have all taken there artistic chances with Usagi, and frankly I think these are absolutely wonderful. You can see all of these entries after the jump...

Tom Fowler

Urban Barbarian

Evan Shaner

Mr. Hawthorne

Ron Salas

Reverend Dave Johnson