Stan Lee once drew Usagi Yojimbo in a Spider-Man costume as a gift for Stan Sakai
Who doesn't love Spider-Man? Who doesn't love Usagi Yojimbo?
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Have you ever wanted to see a Usagi Yojimbo and Spider-Man crossover? Well, it’s happened. Not officially, of course, but it did come from a fairly official-ish source, even if it was fanart.
At Emerald City Comic Con’s Stan Sakai 40 years of Usagi Yojimbo panel, Stan Sakai shared some fun facts about his long career. One fun fact was that he lettered the weekly Spider-Man newspaper strip, which put him in regular contact with Stan Lee. Sakai mentioned that he was surprised that Stan Lee always had the energy you expected from him, even on a simple phone call. “That’s not an act he puts on for the camera,” Sakai shared.
But Sakai mentioned that one interesting thing Stan Lee would do was send him drawings that he made, sometimes a Spider-Man head in profile, once a piece of paper covered in a new smiley face stamp Lee had procured, and once, at the 25th anniversary of the book, a drawing of Usagi Yojimbo wearing a Spider-Man costume.
“He sent me all these letters and things, and one year - this was for the Usagi 25th anniversary. He did a great Usagi dressed as Spider-Man drawing, full figure, and he said, 'Now you see why I write rather than draw.'”
While Sakai didn't share the image in the panel, he did tweet it a few years ago (you can see the image on the right). It's pretty cool.
Get fully immersed in ECCC 2024 with Popverse's coverage of the event. From main stage panel livestreams to backstage interviews, on-the-floor coverage, news, cosplay galleries, and all the major panels we'll be m ocderating! We also have a list of the ECCC 2024 artist alley and the big booths to expect. We've even got you covered on where to eat near the convention center.
