Stan Sakai was born in Kyoto, Japan, and grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. He began his comic book career by lettering Sergio Aragonés' Groo the Wanderer. He also worked with Stan Lee, lettering the Spider-Man Sunday newspaper strips for 25 years.
Sakai is most famous for his original creation, Usagi Yojimbo, an epic graphic novel saga that began in 1984 and now spans more than 38 volumes. It features Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in early-seventeenth-century Japan.
Usagi has been published in eighteen languages and Sakai has been honored with a number of awards, including twelve Eisner Awards, two Harvey Awards including one for Best Cartoonist, the Japanese American National Museum's Cultural Ambassador Award, a Parent's Choice Award, two National Cartoonists Society Silver Reubens, three Ringo Awards and an American Library Association Award. Skillful weaving of history, folklore, and Japanese culture into his work has made Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo a favorite among educators as a curriculum tool.
Usagi has also been a part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in their TV series, comic book crossovers, and toy lines. In partnership with Gaumont Studios, Sakai, James Wan’s Atomic Monster, and Dark Horse Entertainment created Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles for Netflix. Stan is married to artist Julie Fujii-Sakai with whom he collaborated on the Eisner Award winning Chibi Usagi and the Attack of the Heebie Chibis. In 2021 Sakai was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame.
