Writer, Artist & Letterer: Stan Sakai
Colorist: Hi-Fi Colour Design
Cover Artists: Stan Sakai & Emi Fujii; Jared Cullum; David Petersen
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 10, 2024
Jei wants to kill Usagi. His hungry and cold robbers dream of stealing Usagi’s gold. Keiko, his adoptive niece, loves playing her flute. Can the party find the traveling Ronin before they freeze to death in the snowy winter? Let’s charge into Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow #4 and find out!
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Story
The thieves are cold, hungry, and tired. Jei’s long ears pick up their grumbling. The thieves wonder why Jei dragged them from their warm den on a cold night to kill a wandering samurai. But Jei is on a mission. He intends to rid the world of evildoers. From his perspective, Usagi falls into that category. While others might disagree, Usagi has outlived his lord, and a samurai’s sole purpose is to serve his master. Yuki-Onna mentioned she battled Usagi and Yokichi in her hut. Keiko mused it must be cold in the Yokai’s hut. Jei, his adoptive niece, and the thieves trudge toward a pillar of smoke on the horizon in Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow #4. The wolf and the young cat hope to find the rabbits warming the home of the Lady Of The Snows.
While the Yokai killed several of Jei’s thieves, Usagi attacked Yuki-Onna before the demon could drain his cousin’s life force. Yokichi has recovered enough strength to worry about Usagi, who burned his thick coat of oiled straw amid the struggle. Yet when they hear Keiko’s flute, the samurai deduce that she and Jei are nearby. Flinging off his sleeping mat, Usagi races through the snow-covered forest, anxious to put distance between them and Jei. A frozen river impedes Usagi and Yokichi’s flight in Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow #4. Can they pass it safely and escape Jei’s judgment? Or will the bandits overwhelm them while traversing the thin ice? Jei’s certainty that he pursues a sacred mission makes him impervious to influence. His utter disregard for the thieves reveals how little he regards others. The bandits’ earlier horror at Jei killing and eating a tokage—the cute dino-lizards many keep as pets—reveals how Jei’s fanaticism has separated him from others.
Keiko’s joy in playing her flute evokes our modern fascination with cell phones and social media. Lost in another world, Keiko trusts Jei’s decisions. Nor does she flinch when he kills anyone who disagrees with him. Perhaps Jei accepts her company and provides for her needs because Keiko rarely questions his actions or mission. Yet her contentment with life amid their travels–and her love of music–appeal. The thieves occupy the lowest rung of society, yet we can relate to their frustrations with Jei in Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow #4. Their sitcom-worthy banter adds interest to their hunt for the rich Ronin and lessens Jei’s single-minded intensity. Yet when they spot Usagi and Yokichi, the robbers burst into action. What they lack in training, they make up for in numbers. Adding danger to the hunt is Usagi’s weakened state. While Yokichi recovers from the yokai’s attack, Usagi suffers from the cold. His fright shows how much he fears Jei. Their battle on the ice reveals Jei’s belief in his mission as he utters dialogue seemingly taken from Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan.
Art
The black blade protruding from Jei’s wooden spear matches his robe and perhaps his heart. While Keiko calls him Uncle, the wolf’s pupil-less eyes, sharp teeth, and long ears suggest no girl would ever mistake him for her grandmother. The robbers—dogs, bears, and perhaps cats—provide comical and quizzical expressions. Although they can summon battle lust and channel anger, both quickly give way to fright. Keiko closes her eyes when she plays her flute, even while walking. Yet the cat lowers her instrument and gazes at any developments that interest her.
Wrapped in his sleeping matt, Usagi looks thinner than Yokichi in his thick straw coat. When his cousin expresses concern, Usagi’s eyes swell as he smiles and shrugs off adversity. When they realize Jei is in the neighborhood, Usagi’s eyes narrow, his long ears fall behind him, and he summons long strides through the snow-covered trees. The battle on the frozen river evokes Thorin and the dwarves’ final battle in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The rabbits may not battle Orcs, yet Yokichi’s fight with the thieves and Usagi’s clash with Jei provide ample spectacle.
Hi-Fi Colour Design’s vibrant colors imbue Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow #4 with interest. The appealing choices provide excellent contrast. Highlighting and shading add depth and command the reader’s interest, just as Yuki-Onna summoned Usagi to her hut. The lettering in Stan Sakai’s hand-drawn balloons remains the largest in the industry. Jei’s balloons resemble the cloudy ones Keiko’s music produces. Can you hear the wolf’s musical (or hypnotic) voice? Sound effects are often less noticeable than shouts, yet an eye-catching “Sploosh” announces that a thief has just fallen through the thin ice of the frozen river.
Final Thoughts
After surviving an attacking winter demon, Usagi and Yokichi flee a fanatical fiend and his band of thieves who want Usagi’s head on his spear in Usagi Yojimbo: Ice & Snow #4.