Stan Sakai
Encyclopedia
is a third-generation
Japanese American
Cartoonist
comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo
.
He began his career by lettering comic book
s (notably Groo the Wanderer
by Sergio Aragonés
and Mark Evanier
) and wrote and illustrated The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy; a comic series with a medieval setting, influenced by Sergio Aragones
's Groo the Wanderer
. The characters first appeared in Albedo
#1 in 1984, and were subsequently featured in issues of Critters
, GrimJack
, Amazing Heroes
and Furrlough.
Sakai became famous with the creation of Usagi Yojimbo
, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai
rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly sole artist (Tom Luth
serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black-and-white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paperback edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also created a futuristic spinoff series Space Usagi. His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959). The Japanese American National Museum
in Los Angeles
's Little Tokyo is presenting an exhibit entitled "Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo
from July 9 through October 30, 2011.
Sakai wrote and illustrated the story "I'm Not In Springfield Anymore!" for Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #7 and illustrated the back cover of Treehouse of Horror #6.
Sakai was the artist for Riblet, the back-up feature in the trade paperback of Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
.
From 1993 through 2005, Stan Sakai has received twenty-one Eisner Award nominations. He has also been nominated for the Comics Buyer's Guide
Award for Favorite Writer in 1999 and 2000.
is a third-generation
Japanese American
Cartoonist
comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo
.
He began his career by lettering comic book
s (notably Groo the Wanderer
by Sergio Aragonés
and Mark Evanier
) and wrote and illustrated The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy; a comic series with a medieval setting, influenced by Sergio Aragones
's Groo the Wanderer
. The characters first appeared in Albedo
#1 in 1984, and were subsequently featured in issues of Critters
, GrimJack
, Amazing Heroes
and Furrlough.
Sakai became famous with the creation of Usagi Yojimbo
, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai
rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly sole artist (Tom Luth
serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black-and-white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paperback edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also created a futuristic spinoff series Space Usagi. His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959). The Japanese American National Museum
in Los Angeles
's Little Tokyo is presenting an exhibit entitled "Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo
from July 9 through October 30, 2011.
Sakai wrote and illustrated the story "I'm Not In Springfield Anymore!" for Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #7 and illustrated the back cover of Treehouse of Horror #6.
Sakai was the artist for Riblet, the back-up feature in the trade paperback of Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
.
From 1993 through 2005, Stan Sakai has received twenty-one Eisner Award nominations. He has also been nominated for the Comics Buyer's Guide
Award for Favorite Writer in 1999 and 2000.
is a third-generation
Japanese American
Cartoonist
comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo
.
He began his career by lettering comic book
s (notably Groo the Wanderer
by Sergio Aragonés
and Mark Evanier
) and wrote and illustrated The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy; a comic series with a medieval setting, influenced by Sergio Aragones
's Groo the Wanderer
. The characters first appeared in Albedo
#1 in 1984, and were subsequently featured in issues of Critters
, GrimJack
, Amazing Heroes
and Furrlough.
Sakai became famous with the creation of Usagi Yojimbo
, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai
rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly sole artist (Tom Luth
serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black-and-white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paperback edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also created a futuristic spinoff series Space Usagi. His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959). The Japanese American National Museum
in Los Angeles
's Little Tokyo is presenting an exhibit entitled "Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo
from July 9 through October 30, 2011.
Sakai wrote and illustrated the story "I'm Not In Springfield Anymore!" for Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #7 and illustrated the back cover of Treehouse of Horror #6.
Sakai was the artist for Riblet, the back-up feature in the trade paperback of Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
.
From 1993 through 2005, Stan Sakai has received twenty-one Eisner Award nominations. He has also been nominated for the Comics Buyer's Guide
Award for Favorite Writer in 1999 and 2000.
Sansei
Sansei is a Japanese language term used in countries in South America, North America and Australia to specify the children of children born to Japanese people in the new country. The Nisei are considered the second generation, grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei and...
Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
Cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
.
Biography
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s (notably Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy comic book series written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, rewritten, coplotted and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai, and colored by Tom Luth...
by Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
and Mark Evanier
Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
) and wrote and illustrated The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy; a comic series with a medieval setting, influenced by Sergio Aragones
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
's Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy comic book series written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, rewritten, coplotted and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai, and colored by Tom Luth...
. The characters first appeared in Albedo
Albedo Anthropomorphics
Albedo Anthropomorphics, or Albedo for short, was a furry comic book anthology series which was credited with starting the furry comic book subgenre that featured sophisticated stories with funny animals primarily intended for an adult audience...
#1 in 1984, and were subsequently featured in issues of Critters
Critters
Critters was an animal anthology comic book published by Fantagraphics Books from 1985 to 1990 under the editorship of Kim Thompson.Prior to Furrlough and Genus, this was the longest running funny animal anthology comic book series. The title lasted for 50 issues...
, GrimJack
GrimJack
Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally published by First Comics. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been developing Grimjack with artist Lenin Delsol before Truman's arrival on the project...
, Amazing Heroes
Amazing Heroes
Amazing Heroes was a magazine about the comic book medium published by Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992. Unlike its companion title, The Comics Journal, Amazing Heroes was a hobbyist magazine rather than an analytical journal....
and Furrlough.
Sakai became famous with the creation of Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly sole artist (Tom Luth
Tom Luth
Tom Luth is best known for his work as the colorist for the Sergio Aragonés comic series, Groo the Wanderer. Luth's work has also appeared in a number of other comics and national periodicals, such as MAD magazine.-References:****...
serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black-and-white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paperback edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also created a futuristic spinoff series Space Usagi. His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959). The Japanese American National Museum
Japanese American National Museum
The opened its doors in 1992. The idea for the museum was originally thought up by Bruce Kaji with help from other notable Japanese American people at the time. The museum is located in the Little Tokyo an area near downtown Los Angeles, California. It is devoted to preserving the history and...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
's Little Tokyo is presenting an exhibit entitled "Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
from July 9 through October 30, 2011.
Sakai wrote and illustrated the story "I'm Not In Springfield Anymore!" for Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #7 and illustrated the back cover of Treehouse of Horror #6.
Sakai was the artist for Riblet, the back-up feature in the trade paperback of Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails: The Adventures of Big Johnson Bone, Frontier Hero is a prequel to the Eisner Award-winning comic book Bone by Jeff Smith...
.
Awards
- 1990 Parents' Choice AwardParents' Choice AwardThe Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...
for "Skillful weaving of facts and legends into his work" - 1991 Inkpot AwardInkpot AwardThe Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
from Comic-Con International: San Diego for "Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Cartooning" - 1996 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for "Best Letterer" (Groo and Usagi Yojimbo) - 1996 Eisner Award for "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 1999 Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story" (Usagi Yojimbo "Grasscutter")
- 1999 Haxtur AwardHaxtur AwardThe Haxtur Award is a Spanish award for comics published in Spain. It is awarded annually at the Salón Internacional del Cómic del Principado de Asturias ....
for "Best Short Story [in Spain]" (Usagi Yojimbo "Noodles" [Spanish Edition]) - 2000 Haxtur Award for "Best Script [in Spain]" (Usagi Yojimbo's "Grasscutter" [Spanish Edition])
- 2001 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip"
- 2002 National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division Award (Usagi yojimbo)
- 2002 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip"
- 2003 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book"
- 2003 La Plumilla de Plata (Silver Inkpen Award) in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
for his lifetime achievements and contributions to comic books. - 2004 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work" (The Art of Usagi Yojimbo) and "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 2005 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 2007 Harvey AwardHarvey AwardThe Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
for "Best Letterer" - 2011 Cultural Ambassador Award
From 1993 through 2005, Stan Sakai has received twenty-one Eisner Award nominations. He has also been nominated for the Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
Award for Favorite Writer in 1999 and 2000.
is a third-generation
Sansei
Sansei is a Japanese language term used in countries in South America, North America and Australia to specify the children of children born to Japanese people in the new country. The Nisei are considered the second generation, grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei and...
Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
Cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
.
Biography
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s (notably Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy comic book series written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, rewritten, coplotted and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai, and colored by Tom Luth...
by Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
and Mark Evanier
Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
) and wrote and illustrated The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy; a comic series with a medieval setting, influenced by Sergio Aragones
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
's Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy comic book series written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, rewritten, coplotted and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai, and colored by Tom Luth...
. The characters first appeared in Albedo
Albedo Anthropomorphics
Albedo Anthropomorphics, or Albedo for short, was a furry comic book anthology series which was credited with starting the furry comic book subgenre that featured sophisticated stories with funny animals primarily intended for an adult audience...
#1 in 1984, and were subsequently featured in issues of Critters
Critters
Critters was an animal anthology comic book published by Fantagraphics Books from 1985 to 1990 under the editorship of Kim Thompson.Prior to Furrlough and Genus, this was the longest running funny animal anthology comic book series. The title lasted for 50 issues...
, GrimJack
GrimJack
Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally published by First Comics. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been developing Grimjack with artist Lenin Delsol before Truman's arrival on the project...
, Amazing Heroes
Amazing Heroes
Amazing Heroes was a magazine about the comic book medium published by Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992. Unlike its companion title, The Comics Journal, Amazing Heroes was a hobbyist magazine rather than an analytical journal....
and Furrlough.
Sakai became famous with the creation of Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly sole artist (Tom Luth
Tom Luth
Tom Luth is best known for his work as the colorist for the Sergio Aragonés comic series, Groo the Wanderer. Luth's work has also appeared in a number of other comics and national periodicals, such as MAD magazine.-References:****...
serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black-and-white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paperback edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also created a futuristic spinoff series Space Usagi. His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959). The Japanese American National Museum
Japanese American National Museum
The opened its doors in 1992. The idea for the museum was originally thought up by Bruce Kaji with help from other notable Japanese American people at the time. The museum is located in the Little Tokyo an area near downtown Los Angeles, California. It is devoted to preserving the history and...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
's Little Tokyo is presenting an exhibit entitled "Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
from July 9 through October 30, 2011.
Sakai wrote and illustrated the story "I'm Not In Springfield Anymore!" for Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #7 and illustrated the back cover of Treehouse of Horror #6.
Sakai was the artist for Riblet, the back-up feature in the trade paperback of Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails: The Adventures of Big Johnson Bone, Frontier Hero is a prequel to the Eisner Award-winning comic book Bone by Jeff Smith...
.
Awards
- 1990 Parents' Choice AwardParents' Choice AwardThe Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...
for "Skillful weaving of facts and legends into his work" - 1991 Inkpot AwardInkpot AwardThe Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
from Comic-Con International: San Diego for "Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Cartooning" - 1996 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for "Best Letterer" (Groo and Usagi Yojimbo) - 1996 Eisner Award for "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 1999 Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story" (Usagi Yojimbo "Grasscutter")
- 1999 Haxtur AwardHaxtur AwardThe Haxtur Award is a Spanish award for comics published in Spain. It is awarded annually at the Salón Internacional del Cómic del Principado de Asturias ....
for "Best Short Story [in Spain]" (Usagi Yojimbo "Noodles" [Spanish Edition]) - 2000 Haxtur Award for "Best Script [in Spain]" (Usagi Yojimbo's "Grasscutter" [Spanish Edition])
- 2001 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip"
- 2002 National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division Award (Usagi yojimbo)
- 2002 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip"
- 2003 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book"
- 2003 La Plumilla de Plata (Silver Inkpen Award) in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
for his lifetime achievements and contributions to comic books. - 2004 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work" (The Art of Usagi Yojimbo) and "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 2005 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 2007 Harvey AwardHarvey AwardThe Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
for "Best Letterer" - 2011 Cultural Ambassador Award
From 1993 through 2005, Stan Sakai has received twenty-one Eisner Award nominations. He has also been nominated for the Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
Award for Favorite Writer in 1999 and 2000.
is a third-generation
Sansei
Sansei is a Japanese language term used in countries in South America, North America and Australia to specify the children of children born to Japanese people in the new country. The Nisei are considered the second generation, grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei and...
Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
Cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
.
Biography
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s (notably Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy comic book series written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, rewritten, coplotted and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai, and colored by Tom Luth...
by Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
and Mark Evanier
Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
) and wrote and illustrated The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy; a comic series with a medieval setting, influenced by Sergio Aragones
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
's Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer
Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy comic book series written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, rewritten, coplotted and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai, and colored by Tom Luth...
. The characters first appeared in Albedo
Albedo Anthropomorphics
Albedo Anthropomorphics, or Albedo for short, was a furry comic book anthology series which was credited with starting the furry comic book subgenre that featured sophisticated stories with funny animals primarily intended for an adult audience...
#1 in 1984, and were subsequently featured in issues of Critters
Critters
Critters was an animal anthology comic book published by Fantagraphics Books from 1985 to 1990 under the editorship of Kim Thompson.Prior to Furrlough and Genus, this was the longest running funny animal anthology comic book series. The title lasted for 50 issues...
, GrimJack
GrimJack
Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally published by First Comics. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been developing Grimjack with artist Lenin Delsol before Truman's arrival on the project...
, Amazing Heroes
Amazing Heroes
Amazing Heroes was a magazine about the comic book medium published by Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992. Unlike its companion title, The Comics Journal, Amazing Heroes was a hobbyist magazine rather than an analytical journal....
and Furrlough.
Sakai became famous with the creation of Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly sole artist (Tom Luth
Tom Luth
Tom Luth is best known for his work as the colorist for the Sergio Aragonés comic series, Groo the Wanderer. Luth's work has also appeared in a number of other comics and national periodicals, such as MAD magazine.-References:****...
serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black-and-white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paperback edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also created a futuristic spinoff series Space Usagi. His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959). The Japanese American National Museum
Japanese American National Museum
The opened its doors in 1992. The idea for the museum was originally thought up by Bruce Kaji with help from other notable Japanese American people at the time. The museum is located in the Little Tokyo an area near downtown Los Angeles, California. It is devoted to preserving the history and...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
's Little Tokyo is presenting an exhibit entitled "Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
from July 9 through October 30, 2011.
Sakai wrote and illustrated the story "I'm Not In Springfield Anymore!" for Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #7 and illustrated the back cover of Treehouse of Horror #6.
Sakai was the artist for Riblet, the back-up feature in the trade paperback of Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails
Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails: The Adventures of Big Johnson Bone, Frontier Hero is a prequel to the Eisner Award-winning comic book Bone by Jeff Smith...
.
Awards
- 1990 Parents' Choice AwardParents' Choice AwardThe Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...
for "Skillful weaving of facts and legends into his work" - 1991 Inkpot AwardInkpot AwardThe Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
from Comic-Con International: San Diego for "Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Cartooning" - 1996 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for "Best Letterer" (Groo and Usagi Yojimbo) - 1996 Eisner Award for "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 1999 Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story" (Usagi Yojimbo "Grasscutter")
- 1999 Haxtur AwardHaxtur AwardThe Haxtur Award is a Spanish award for comics published in Spain. It is awarded annually at the Salón Internacional del Cómic del Principado de Asturias ....
for "Best Short Story [in Spain]" (Usagi Yojimbo "Noodles" [Spanish Edition]) - 2000 Haxtur Award for "Best Script [in Spain]" (Usagi Yojimbo's "Grasscutter" [Spanish Edition])
- 2001 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip"
- 2002 National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division Award (Usagi yojimbo)
- 2002 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip"
- 2003 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book"
- 2003 La Plumilla de Plata (Silver Inkpen Award) in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
for his lifetime achievements and contributions to comic books. - 2004 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work" (The Art of Usagi Yojimbo) and "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 2005 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book" (Usagi Yojimbo)
- 2007 Harvey AwardHarvey AwardThe Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
for "Best Letterer" - 2011 Cultural Ambassador Award
From 1993 through 2005, Stan Sakai has received twenty-one Eisner Award nominations. He has also been nominated for the Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
Award for Favorite Writer in 1999 and 2000.