Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I look at the exciting upcoming volume of one of my favourite comic book series with Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow by the legendary Stan Sakai.

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Anyone familiar with my blog will know I am a huge, huge fan of the outstanding Usagi Yojimbo comic series.  Set in an alternate version of Feudal Japan populated by anthropomorphic animals the Usagi Yojimbo series follows rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi, as he travels the wilds, encountering all manner of trouble.  Written and drawn by the highly acclaimed Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo features some exceptionally beautiful artwork, clever stories, and unique Japanese cultural and mythological elements that help to produce an incredible comic.

I have been a fan of this series for years, and I currently own every single volume which I constantly re-read.  I have also had an amazing time reviewing this series ever since I started my blog, starting back in 2018 when I reviewed the 32^nd volume Mysteries.  This led to me reviewing every subsequent volume that came out after 2018, and I have also been working my way through the prior volumes as part of my Throwback Thursday range.  I have been particularly enjoying some of the more recent volumes, especially as publisher IDW released them in colour, including Bunraku and Other Stories (one of my favourite books of 2020), Homecoming (one of my favourite books of 2021), Tengu War! and Crossroads (both of which were among my favourite books of 2022) and The Green Dragon (one of my favourite books of 2023).

Due to how much of a fan I am of this series, I am always excited when I see that a new comic is coming out, and we are getting a very interesting sounding addition to the series in 2024 with the 39^th volume, Ice and Snow.  Set for release in September 2024, Ice and Snow will see the Usagi Yojimbo series return to Dark Horse comics, who previously published the series for 22 years (from volume 8: Shades of Death to Volume 33: The Hidden).  It will be interesting to see how the series changes when it returns to Dark Horse, and I am already very keen for this upcoming volume, especially as it has an amazing sounding plot behind it.

Plot Synopsis:

Following the events of “The Green Dragon,” Usagi and Yukichi are still in the snowy mountaintops of Northern Japan.

Collects Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow #1–#5.

There is a lot to love about this intriguing upcoming volume.  Not only does it look like Ice and Snow is only going to feature one story, a reliable indicator of an epic Usagi Yojimbo volume, but the plot sounds extremely intense.  There have been some great Usagi Yojimbo adventures lately, and Ice and Snow will probably be a particularly deadly one as it builds on some fantastic story elements from the last few entries  I love that Usagi is still accompanied by his cousin, Yukichi, as the two have made for an interesting duo, and I look forward to seeing more of Sakai’s amazing artwork of the snowy mountain tops of Northern Japan.  However, the main reason why I think that Ice and Snow is going to be great, is that it features the return of the series’ best villain, Jei.

Since his introduction in the third volume, The Wanderer’s Road, Jei has been a particularly deadly and memorable foe.  Portrayed as a dark warrior obsessed with lethal justice and guided by divine voices, the character of Jei appears to live on the borders between the natural and the supernatural.  Thanks to his obsession with Usagi, the two have crossed paths multiple times, and Jei is routinely the only foe that terrifies Usagi, especially as he keeps coming back from the dead, much like the character he is based on (Jei is an homage to Jason from the Friday the 13^th franchise).  Pretty much any story that has a version of Jei in it is amazing, and you have to love how creepy Sakai makes him, especially as he now travels around with an innocent little girl.  It has been quite a while since Usagi and Jei faced off, with their last major battle occurring in the 12^th volume Grasscutter, although Usagi did encounter a version of Jei possessing one of his friends in Volume 24, Return of the Dark Soul.  As such, this is a showdown long in the making, and the constant hints about Jei in recent volumes have only heightened anticipation.  I cannot wait to see Usagi and Jei come together again, especially as the protagonist will likely be emotionally and physically damaged by the encounter.

I think my fanboy ramblings above make it clear that I am very excited for the next Usagi Yojimbo volume.  Ice and Snow has a ton of potential in my opinion, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.  Not only is this going to feature Sakai’s usual amazing art, characters and story, but the dark, emotionally charged confrontations that are bound to occur should be extremely amazing.  As such, Ice and Snow is a must-read for me, and I have no doubt it will be one of my favourite things I read in 2024.