Stan Sakai

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Stan Sakai in 2006

Stan Sakai (Japanese: 坂井スタンSakai Sutan; born May 25, 1953) is a third-generation Japanese American who became known as an Eisner Award-winning comic book creator.

Born in Kyoto, Japan, Sakai grew up in Hawaii and studied fine arts at the University of Hawaii. He later attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He and his wife, Sharon, presently reside and work in Pasadena.

He began his career by lettering comic books (notably Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier) and became famous with the creation of Usagi Yojimbo, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly-sole artist. He also created a futuristic spinoff series Space Usagi. His favorite samurai movie is Seven Samurai^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Other Work

Before Usagi Yojimbo, Sakai wrote and illustrated a comic series entitled The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy. The characters first appeared in Albedo #1 in 1984.

Sakai wrote and illustrated the story "I'm Not In Springfield Anymore!" for Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #7 and illustrated the back cover of Treehouse of Horror #6.

Sakai was the artist for the back-up feature in the trade paperback of Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails.

[edit] Awards

Cover of Usagi Yojimbo, book 11

1990 Parents' Choice Award for "Skillful weaving of facts and legends into his work"
1991 Inkpot Award from Comic-Con International: San Diego for "Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Cartooning"
1996 Eisner Award for "Best Letterer" (Groo and Usagi Yojimbo)
1996 Eisner Award for "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" (Usagi Yojimbo)
1999 Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story" (Usagi Yojimbo "Grasscutter")
1999 Haxtur Award for "Best Short Story [in Spain]" (Usagi Yojimbo "Noodles" [Spanish Edition])
2000 Haxtur Award for "Best Script [in Spain]" (Usagi Yojimbo's "Grasscutter" [Spanish Edition])
2001 Ursa Major Award for “Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip”
2002 National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division Award (Usagi yojimbo)
2002 Ursa Major Award for “Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip”
2003 Ursa Major Award for “Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book”
2003 La Plumilla de Plata (Silver Inkpen Award) in Mexico for his lifetime achievements and contributions to comic books.
2007 Harvey Award for "Best Letterer"

From 1993 through 2005, Stan Sakai has received twenty-one Eisner Award nominations. He has also been nominated for the Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer in 1999 and 2000.