Usagi Yojimbo Volume 29: Two Hundred Jizo by Stan Sakai
More adventures from the rabbit ronin!
The Artist--Usagi teams up with an artist who has studied outside of Japan. The artist is a wanted man (in the bad way) for bringing different styles to the Japanese art world. He plans to travel to the new capital in Edo to make his case. Usagi goes along to keep him safe, but can he? The story is less interesting than this tidbit of historical Japanese isolationism.
Buntori--Usagi has visions of a previous combat and discovers the discarded skull of a warrior. This story seems more like filler than any plot advancement or character development. I enjoyed it but it was not as good as other Usagi stories.
Murder at the Inn--Inspector Ishida is escorting a prisoner to the city when he's attacked by the prisoner's gang. Usagi comes to the rescue and travels with Ishida as protection. They take shelter from a storm in a wayside inn. Other guests are there. Late in the night, one guest is killed and suspicion goes all around. Ishida is on the case and does a good job resolving the situation. The story is well-plotted and unfolds naturally.
Two Hundred Jizo--A local artisan is making two hundred statues of the god Jizo to protect his village from bandits who are terrorizing them. He had a dream where Jizo told him to do it. Usagi is skeptical but sticks around to help with the bandits. The story plays out as faithful readers would expect, so a good read.
Ice Runners--Usagi runs into an unusual summer sight--a group is racing through the forrest carrying something obviously valuable in a covered litter. The group is attacked and Usagi leaps to the rescue. In the aftermath, he discovers they are rushing a piece of ice from the mountains to the city as a gift for a visiting dignitary. Getting that ice into town before next morning is their highest priority, even above burying their fallen comrades. Usagi goes along as security, leading to another predictable but interesting ending.
Shoyu--Usagi gets involved in a rivalry between two soy sauce (the titular Shoyu) makers. He wanders into town late at night and discovers a group setting fire to a factory. Usagi raises the alarm and helps put out the fire. The local cop is corrupt and lazy, doing nothing other than threatening Usagi as an outsider who has no real evidence of a crime. On the other hand, Usagi is thanked by the factory owner who shows him around the next day (with a full explanation of how soy sauce is made) and the adventures continue. The ending is classic Usagi storytelling.
Afterward--Stan Sakai presents a tale he couldn't work into the regular series. It was inspired by another comic artist asking why there weren't any skunks in the Usagi world. So Stan made up a typical story with a fun payoff at the end.
Recommended, highly for Usagi fans.