Critters #7
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeCritters #7 marks the debut of Zato-Ino, the Blind Swordspig — one of the most enduring supporting characters in Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo universe and a richly conceived homage to the Japanese Zatoichi film tradition. The story 'Blind Swords-Pig!' establishes the tense, morally complex dynamic between Usagi and Zato-Ino that would fuel multiple story arcs across the Fantagraphics run and beyond, demonstrating Sakai's gift for grounding anthropomorphic action in genuine cultural depth. As part of the broader Critters anthology — Fantagraphics' flagship funny-animal showcase — this issue also represents a key chapter in Usagi's pre-solo-series build-up, the anthology appearances that convinced Fantagraphics to give the ronin rabbit his own ongoing title later in 1987.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Critters was a 50-issue anthropomorphic anthology published by Fantagraphics Books from 1985 to 1990 under editor Kim Thompson, who championed Sakai's work and famously gave him near-total creative autonomy — Sakai has noted that Thompson's hands-off approach set the template for every editorial relationship he has had since. Usagi had migrated to Fantagraphics from the small-press Albedo Anthropomorphics, and Thompson's anthology became the proving ground where Sakai expanded his cast before Fantagraphics green-lit the solo series in mid-1987. Critters #7 was published with a cover date of December 1986 (January 1987 on-sale), squarely in the independent black-and-white boom triggered by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a period when Fantagraphics reported Critters as its best-selling black-and-white title.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Zato-Ino ('the Blind Swordspig'), an anthropomorphic blind pig swordsman — one of the most significant recurring characters in the Usagi Yojimbo series.
- The debut story is titled 'Blind Swords-Pig!' (also rendered 'Blind Swordspig'), written and drawn entirely by Stan Sakai.
- Zato-Ino is a deliberate homage to Zatoichi, the blind masseuse-swordsman from a long-running Japanese film franchise; his name combines 'zato' (blind masseur) and 'Ino' (wild boar), and he navigates the world via a highly developed sense of smell.
- The issue appeared in Critters, Fantagraphics's flagship anthropomorphic anthology edited by Kim Thompson, which ran 50 issues from 1985 to 1990.
- Cover date: December 1986; on-sale January 1987 — predating the launch of Usagi Yojimbo's own Fantagraphics solo series by roughly six months.
- The story from this issue was later collected in Usagi Yojimbo Book 1: The Ronin (Fantagraphics, 1987) and reprinted again as part of the IDW Usagi Yojimbo Color Classics Volume 1: Samurai (2021), where stories from Critters #6 and #7 were colorized for the first time.
- Zato-Ino went on to appear across the entire Fantagraphics run of Usagi Yojimbo (Vol. 1), including a major role in the 'Dragon Bellow Conspiracy' arc; his final appearance came in 'The Last Ino Story,' collected in Usagi Yojimbo Book 7: Gen's Story.
- Critters #7 also featured art from Sam Kieth alongside other anthology contributors, reflecting editor Kim Thompson's policy of platforming both new and established talents in the mid-1980s independent comics scene.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Usagi Yojimbo #1 (1987), I before E #2 (1992), Usagi Yojimbo #2 (1996), Usagi Yojimbo #[1] (2000), Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition #1 (2010), Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition #1 (2015), Usagi Yojimbo: La Colección Fantagraphics #1 (2017), Usagi Yojimbo #1 (2017), Nuft and the Last Dragons #2 (2022)
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