NYCC 2026: Usagi Yojimbo Panel & Show Exclusives

Wow, New York Comic Con 2026 was a whirlwind of activity! I spent five days in the Javits Center, checking out Retailer Day on Wednesday (it was as chaotic as The Beat described it), then was pretty much nonstop from Thursday through Sunday, chipping in around Stan and Julie Sakai’s tables in Artist Alley, helping Stan navigate the show to get to panels and signings for IDW and Dark Horse, assisting with our Walmart related activation and co-moderating the Usagi Yojimbo panel on Saturday, plus surviving the torrential rains on Sunday. Let’s take a look at some highlights!

A big focus of Dogu Publishing’s NYCC efforts was our second “annual” activation with Walmart, this year featuring a new 16-page Prelude Ashcan for our upcoming series The Last Yojimbo. With a special 7-page story that sets up this new world of Usagi, fans had three cover options to choose from. This is the main cover that Walmart was giving away on Saturday.

Here’s a shot of the cool setup in the Walmart booth, where Stan Sakai, Ben Bishop, and Tom Waltz are signing ashcans and other items for eager fans. This is the first real look at The Last Yojimbo anyone has gotten!

Another product I’d been working on was this exclusive Chainsaw Man metal trading card set that we premiered at NYCC in conjunction with CrunchyRoll and PSA. Each card was sold individually packaged and in a blind bag, with just 40 cards signed by the American Voice Cast actors. So there was a chase for real scarcity!

Here’s a look at the CSM cards in the top left “first” spot on the PSA item menu that all fans used to determine their purchases at the PSA booth. The cards sold out early on Saturday! Our first foray into collectibles was a success.

While accompanying Stan to one of his signings at IDW for the upcoming TMNT The First Ronin I noticed the They Called Us Enemy graphic on the table banner. So yeah, I was represented properly the whole show!

This post started with a shot of the team after our panel, so we’ll bring it back there: the panel went great! After a night of team building exercises (eating and drinking) the group was primed and locked in for a great conversation. We followed most of what we covered at San Diego with a few updates, sharing the news and comradely with our East Coast fans. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show and I was approached by several people after the panel expressing their appreciation and asking follow up questions.

Bonus event was meeting briefly in person with my agent, Dara Hyde, and talking about pending projects — along with prioritizing my creative goals for 2027. A good and insightful conversation!

Anyway, with so much to see and do, NYCC proved once again that it’s the center of the comics and entertainment universe. I can’t wait to go back.