Drawn from the heart
By Wilma Jandoc and Jason S. Yadao, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
To celebrate the milestone,
But there's another, grander purpose behind "
The 61-year-old Sakai was born in
As an adult he met many of his childhood idols, including
On his own, though, Sakai found his greatest fame with "Usagi Yojimbo," which is loosely based on the life of 17th-century samurai Miyamoto Musashi. In an interview with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 2006, he said he found inspiration for rabbit samurai Miyamoto Usagi in the classic "chambara" movies he watched at the Kapahulu Theater. ("Usagi" means "rabbit" in Japanese.)
To date, Usagi's adventures have spanned more than 200 issues collected into 28 graphic novels -- the first eight with original publisher Fantagraphics, the other 20 by Dark Horse. One of those books, "Grasscutter," was used as a history textbook by the
His stature was affirmed through numerous honors from the
The series has also spawned an art book, a "Space Usagi" spinoff comic, a full-color miniature graphic novel, a tabletop role-playing game, a video game and collectible figurines.
Usagi has gone on adventures with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The books have been translated into multiple languages, giving Sakai the opportunity to travel around the world to appear at comic conventions and meet fans. Those fans, as well as his peers, have called him one of the most approachable people in the industry.
"He's one of the nicest, most generous comic pros I have ever met, always meets you with a hello and a smile. ... And Sharon is the same way. Sweethearts both!" said
Freelance
"Stan was awesome enough to contribute a page to the 'Gordon Rider' five-year anniversary tribute book despite his deadlines. ... Stan and Sharon are great people -- humble, fun and caring," Murakami said.
BEHIND THE SCENES,
Radiation seemed to keep the tumor in check until 2011, when it returned aggressively, paralyzing her left side, including her throat and vocal cords. The side effects of treatment have included diabetes, high blood pressure, loss of hearing and sight, and an inability to eat solid food.
Sakai is now convalescing at home in
He took to posting on Facebook about his wife, and although he was hesitant to talk about it at first, Sakai said the support he found on social media was overwhelming. The social network also helped when the family suffered a second tragedy in December when their 20-month-old grandson Leo died in his sleep. Among those offering support was Rodriguez, who said Sakai's Facebook musings struck a personal chord.
"My mother suffered a stroke some years back and it was my father who handled her care afterward. But I saw (my father) every day, so I didn't notice how the daily care and worry affected him," he said in an email. "But at our monthly (
The idea of a charity auction got the blessing of the group's board members and Sakai's friends and colleagues. But when it reached Sakai, "He said politely, 'No, we're fine, thank you,'" Rodriguez said.
He agreed to the auction after some persuasion.
"What changed my mind was Tone's plan to ask artist friends to do artwork of Usagi for sale on
An open call went out for contributions and items from the comic industry and fan community flooded in.
"We thought we would get maybe 25 drawings, but more than 400 came in, many from artists I had never met but knew only through reputation," Sakai said.
What was originally expected to be a "little" auction on
"It seemed to be the same over and over again: These artists and fans gave without a second thought because this was going to help the Sakais," Rodriguez said. "It's a real testament to how beloved these two are."
A NUMBER of professional artists and industry veterans contributed to the auction effort, including Aragones, Eastman,
Several
"With the obstacles the Sakai family has to face, having hope is the best thing to give you comfort, self-esteem, and the strength to keep moving on no matter what the situation is," she said in an email. "I'm grateful for being able to submit my own artwork to help out Stan. I've always felt when someone inspired you a lot, it's good to help them out as well as a way of saying thank you."
Local artist
"Although I have never met Sharon or
THE IDEA for "
Selecting the pieces for the book -- originally planned for 100 pages but later expanded to 160 due to the volume of submissions -- was no easy task. Cost limited the number of pieces that could be featured. According to
"Finally, we wanted to include some of what we called the 'love contributions' -- those pieces which were maybe not the most polished but which were so heartfelt in their execution that the emotion behind them flowed off the page," Stradley said in an email.
Furuichi said she didn't learn about her piece's inclusion until a few days before the book's release.
"I'm super thrilled and a little bit surprised," she said via email. "I was going to pick up the book anyway since there are quite a few pieces I was interested in seeing and I was certain a bunch of my comic peers would be included. ... There were so many spectacular pieces!"
Sakai said the outpouring of love that has come from the project has been humbling.
"We are both overwhelmed with the show of support from all around the world, even from countries, such as
All money donated is going into an account that is used solely to pay for her care, Sakai said.
In the meantime the couple continues to celebrate the little victories.
"She has good days and bad," he often writes in his Facebook posts.
As impressive as a 30-year run in comics is, the Sakais marked their 37th anniversary this month. As he posted on Facebook that day, "Sharon wrote this on my iPad: 'I'm so lucky that I married you. I The post, to date, has garnered 1,342 "likes." Fitting, perhaps, for one of the most "liked" couples in comics. ___ (c)2014 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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