The Black Samurai is Back

After several years in hiding, the Black Samurai is back! Originally started as a side story overlapping with the classic Fried Chicken and Sushi comics ten years ago HERE. He helped villages in Japan by fighting monsters with Tanuki by his side. Drawing each one was a fun change of pace and art style. I ended it when I switched over to Little FC&S.

Well, conversations with my friend Jason, the real J in the comic, gave us the idea to make Karl and J bring the Black Samurai back as a character in one of the comic books they’re working on. I was hoping to add more information to his background, and in recent years, more stories about, Yasuke, a real samurai in Japan 400 years ago, kept getting shared online. I had to learn more!

I picked up the book “African Samurai” by Thomas Lockley and Geoffrey Girard and couldn’t put it down. Lockley is an amazing historian who spent nine years researching Yasuke. His novelist partner, Girard, pulled it all together into an adventure that reads like Game of Thrones but with a Black man as the hero. Not to mention it’s all based on truth! That settled it; the real Yasuke would have to be our Black Samurai in Little FC&S.

Stay tuned for when Yasuke returns with more monster-hunting adventures in future FC&S strips. I want to keep a similar feel as the original Black Samurai by connecting what he goes through to something Karl and J are experiencing in real life. Similar to Space Man Spiff in the Calvin and Hobbes comic strips.

Thanks for reading and supporting my comics!