Stan Sakai’s original series starring the rabbit ronin is available online for the first time as part of Dark Horse’s complete digital presentation of Usagi Yojimbo!

In one of his most celebrated tales, “A Kite Story,” Sakai instills a village kite festival with danger and drama in a Rashomon-like approach to the day’s proceedings, told from the points of view of a kite maker, a gambler, and a (rabbit) ronin. Alongside tense clashes between Usagi and a crooked gambling ring, Sakai creates a lesson in traditional Japanese kite making, and both plots intersect in the unpredictable climax!

“It’s the quality of Stan’s scripting and artwork that really impresses me the most. In his writing, with an economy of dialogue, he manages to capture subtle and dramatic emotions as well to convey the sense of honor and tradition embodied in the centuries-old code of the Samurai.”

—Stan Lee