Usagi Yojimbo #146

Usagi finds his hands busy in the middle issue of "The Thief and the Kunoichi" dealing with an army of ninja and keeping Chizu from taking her aggression out on Kitsune all over the botched robbery of a worthless scroll that holds a secret tied to an old enemy of the rabbit ronin.

The reveal that the scroll leads back to Hijiki, whose actions led to the death of Usagi's Lord and his fall from samurai to ronin, make this latest adventure hit close to home for the wandering warrior. As Usagi and Chizu attempt to keep the small group alive Kitsune tries to cash in on the situation by blackmailing Inouye and once again raising the ire of Chizu.

It seems Usagi's thankless (but very enjoyable) job to keep the two women from killing each other is far from over heading into the final issue of the storyline. Usagi Yojimbo #146 is filled with the type of action and comedy Stan Sakai's creation is known to deliver, I can't wait to see how the story ends. Must-read.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]