Book Review: Usagi Yojimbo Book 18 by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Book 18: Travels with Jotaro by Stan Sakai

More adventures, now with Usagi's son, Jotaro (though Jotaro does not know it)...

Out of the Shadows--Usagi and Jotaro start their travels, the typical wandering through random towns routine. They run across Chizu, the disgraced leader of a ninja clan. She is on the run because she disagreed with the clan's ambitions. Her life is hard now. Things get harder the next night when Usagi and Jotaro run into some assassins from the clan looking for Chizu. Jotaro is slowly being introduced to Usagi's world and the many characters and narratives going on.

Ghost Warriors--Usagi and Jotaro visit some peasants who are oppressed by their local village leader. The leader was a foot soldier who betrayed his army years ago, so naturally he avoids the woods where his doomed compatriots died. Usagi uses this superstition to end the oppression but one of the leader's lieutenants is suspicious of what is going on. The story is good and a deliberate reminder of a previous story.

Komainu--Usagi and son have a run-in with Kitsume, a female friend of Usagi who is a street entertainer and also a petty thief. Her petty thievery, as usual, causes a little trouble for Usagi but not too much. Kitsume is also traveling with a young protege who has taken a liking to Jotaro. It's a fun little tale.

Tamago--Usagi and son are joined by an egg-headed priest who happens to be traveling in the same direction. They spot a small entourage that is attacked by assassins. The heroes beat the villains and find that the merchant is headed to a nearby town to report on a local gangster shaking down his home town. They decide to escort him the rest of the way, though things do not turn out as expected. Another fine tale crafted by Sakai.

Usagi and the Tengu--Usagi tells Jotaro a story from his brash and undisciplined childhood when he challenged a forest demon called a Tengu to fight. Luckily, Usagi's master was able to intervene, having previously fought the same Tengu. The story is an exciting tale and another example of Usagi having learned a good lesson when he was young and foolish (a situation his son Jotaro is living out now).

Sumi-E--Usagi and Jotaro have several encounters with fantastic beasts. The source of the problem is an evil ink set that allows an artist to create monsters. The evil artist wielding the ink set has kidnapped local children because he is running out of ink and he needs innocent blood to replenish his supply. The story is exciting and has some kaiju in it, making it more fun.

This is another fine round of entertaining stories.

Recommended.