The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumpher Review: Can’t Get Enough Sakai

Stan Sakai seems to love rabbits. Chances are, you do too. After reading “The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumpher,” you’ll love them even more than you did before.

Sakai’s most famous creation, Miyamoto Usagi, has made him into a very famous man. Before Usagi came about, Sakai made Nilson Groundthumpher. Dark Horse’s now released “The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumpher” features eleven stories and truly lives up to what we expect from Sakai.

The story is easy to jump right into. After some thought, Nilson decides to become a sword for hire. But first he needs to wash his hands in the Well of Ancients to make him the best swordsman. While looking for it he meets Hermy, a guinea pig that’s short on brains who becomes Hermy’s cohort. Nilson does find the well-and Hermy drinks all the water. That forces Nilson to wash his hands in the water the hard way. What follows is their many adventures of trying to be swords for hire. They take on an evil wizard, an evil witch and get lost in a lost city. There’s even a story that’s about the characters’ descendants in “Nilson 2199.”

These stories have Sakai’s wonderful blend of excellent storytelling and humor. They may be simple stories, but the characterization ascends these stories higher than what they actually are.

Of course, there are some things that do make this scream “kiddy comic.” Nilson stepping into droppings is one as well as the identity of the two-headed god in “Lost in a Lost City.” These things are minor in grand scheme of things because Sakai does not go overboard with them

The art is Sakai’s signature cartoonish style that made “Usagi Yojimbo” popular. Or course, since this is his earlier work, you can see how far Sakai has improved over the years. The art doesn’t look as smooth as his current art and there are some places that look like basic drawings. The art does improve in the later stories where Sakai’s talent everyone knows does shine through.

“The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumpher” is an excellent collection of Stan Sakai’s first major series before “Usagi Yojimbo.” Sakai’s brilliant storytelling, humor and art are all here even if it’s not 100% like his current work. Any Sakai fan should check this out to see what else Sakai has done.