Ontario’s Comic Con Revolution awarded celebrated comics creator Stan Sakai the first-ever Joe Kubert Distinguished Storyteller Award. The award honors Sakai’s 30-plus-year contribution to the comic book medium, for which he is most famous for creating the character Usagi Yojimbo.
Sakai started out in comics in the early-’80s as a letterer, contributing to several independent comic book series, including Groo the Wanderer by cartoonist Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier.
Sakai started professionally writing and drawing his own characters in the inaugural issue of Albedo, chronicling The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy; the next issue would feature his most famous creation, Usagi Yojimbo. The character would go on to appear across various media, famously crossing over with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on their animated series.
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In addition to Usagi Yojimbo, Sakai has worked on such series as 47 Ronin, Critters and Dark Horse Presents.
The Kubert School and Atomic Crush Events created the Joe Kubert Distinguished Storyteller Award as a tribute to the work of Kubert, whose contribution to comics was immense over the course of decades.
Dark Horse Comics’ latest installment of Usagi Yojimbo hit stands last week; the next issue releases on June 20.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)