Move over Miami Vice, here comes Usagi Yojimbo: Kaitō ’84. The new five-issue series from Dark Horse Comics takes Stan Sakai’s rabbit ronin back to the 1980s for a neon-infused adventure from a new creative team.
Written by Zack Rosenberg, with full watercolor art and hand-lettering by Jared Cullum, the new series will also feature covers by Cullum, and variants by Sakai, Jim Rugg, Kevin Eastman, David Petersen, Kim Hu and Daniel Warren Johnson.
“I had pitched a series of Usagi stories spotlighting descendants of the original Usagi,” said Sakai via press release. “Space Usagi was the first of these. Now to have a limited series with Kaitō, a 20th century descendant, in Osaka is exciting. This is a wonderful story by Zack Rosenberg featuring characters new though familiar, and beautiful watercolor art by National Cartoonists Society award winner Jared Cullum. This is something to look forward to!”
Added Rosenberg, “The world Stan Sakai created is one of the most beloved in comics. Our goal with Kaitō ’84 was to honor that incredible legacy while delivering a high-stakes, action-packed adventure that feels distinctly new. We are truly excited for readers to meet Kaitō and join him on his journey.”
“I spent much of the early 1990s, as a kid, carrying around a tattered Usagi Yojimbo action figure in my pocket and filling countless notebooks with poorly drawn bunny-eared and bandana-clad stick-figure comics,” said Cullum. “To say Kaitō ’84 was a childhood dream project wouldn’t be correct because I never even fathomed this as a possibility. It’s such a deep, humbling honor to play in this sandbox. I wake everyday hoping to improve my craft and focus enough to rise to a modicum of our ambition for the stories. It’s only by the grace, generosity and kindness of Stan, Julie, and his family, and the erudition of Zack and Justin, I’m able to continue going about my life, filling notebooks with these little pictures.”
Usagi Yojimbo: Kaitō ’84 #1 hits stores on March 11, 2026. Check out the synopsis and covers below.
In 1984 Osaka, the bloodline of Miyamoto Usagi lives on through Kaitō, a cunning rabbit thief with a rebellious spirit. He embodies his ancestor’s legacy in a way the stoic samurai we know and love never could. A daring new heist for a legendary spear sets Kaitō down a perilous path, forever altering his destiny and placing the fate of Osaka, and perhaps the world, on his shoulders.
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