All throughout July we’re crowdsourcing an Extra Eisners Reading List from comics journalists and critics. Most weekdays throughout the entire month, we’ll post a new pick we would have liked to have seen nominated for an Eisner. There are so many great comics right now, we’d love to see the Eisners expanded to honor that and diversify the pool of work honored by the industry. Also, as critics and journalists, we don’t get to vote — so this is the next best thing.

Today’s pick comes from Brad Gullickson of the Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast…enjoy!

We must stop taking Usagi Yojimbo for granted.

After 36 years of Stan Sakai's rabbit ronin chopping it up with various bandits and honorless ne'er-do-wells, the series has constructed an intense fanbase, while new readers deprive themselves due to the ever-growing, intimidating back-catalog of stories. For the last 25 of those 36 years, Dark Horse Comics proudly displayed the title as one of their staples, occasionally shifting their marketing to encourage new eyes, but rarely achieving fresh celebration. While Sakai's talent never strayed, attention was sporadic.

IDW Publishing may offer a fresh coat of paint and a new number one for Usagi Yojimbo, but Sakai remains as diligent and vibrant as ever. Bunraku contains all the hallmarks of a classic Miyamoto Usagi tale, meticulously paying tribute to Japanese tradition and history while also delivering a thrilling adventure saga complete with swordplay, demonic spirits, and a compelling cast of heroes and miscreants - or hero miscreants!

Once upon a time, I would read a new Usagi Yojimbo comic and wonder if this were the moment I would witness Sakai falter. Foolish. I may have my favorites, but Sakai has never been better, and with IDW ponying the cash to publish each issue complete with Tom Luth's colors, Usagi Yojimbo has never looked more attractive. If, for whatever reason, you have never bothered with the series in the past, here is your opportunity to hop aboard. Bunraku is a wonder and a gateway to decades of samurai comics waiting to be devoured. -Brad Gullickson

Brad Gullickson is part of a number of pop culture podcasts, including the Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast.

Usagi Yojimbo: Bunraku and Other Stories
Writer/Artist: Stan Sakai
Colorist: Tom Luth
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Follow these all-new full-color adventures of rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi as he wanders Edo period Japan on his warrior’s journey. This first volume of all-new material continues the saga of Usagi Yojimbo with the three-part “Bunraku,” as Usagi becomes embroiled in a puppet drama where the players are not quite what they seem! Will the aid of a supernatural ally be enough for Usagi to prevent more death? Then, Usagi goes back to his roots as a yojimbo (bodyguard) when he is hired by Lady Mura, a famous writer, to keep her safe on her perilous journey to her father’s home.

Visit the full Extra Eisners Reading List!

Buy It Digitally: Usagi Yojimbo: Bunraku

Check out the actual Eisner Nominations for 2020.