How long will the new stories be in Usagis own comic book?
Sakai: I’ve mostly done 10 page stories and now I’ll be doing 20 page stories, plus an eight page backup. The first four issues will be a continuous story and will deal with a flashback from his early life. WW: What advice do you have for an artist interested in the comic book art form? Sakai: I think if you do a lot of research, that’s what makes the stories unique. There’s been a lot of the stories recently with ninjas, etc. but those stories often don’t have the spirit. If you do the research, especially on the background, that’s what makes the story different from the rest. WW: There seems to be a flood of samurai and ninja comic books on the market. Does your audience notice the difference in your work? Sakai: yes. I’ve been getting a lot of letters from people telling me that they really appreciate the extra time I spend. People even write to me with their own ideas from Japanese mythology. There’s been lots of positive response on the books. I’ve also been selling a lot of origi
