Samurai Jack Ends With Issue #20 – Thoughts and Thanks

Okay, so here’s the news and it’s better if I just get this out of the way up front:

SAMURAI JACK the comic series will be ending with issue #20, arriving in May.

Yeah, I’m sad too.

It’s hard for me to explain how wonderful it’s been to create a new official “season” of Samurai Jack, working with the unbelievably skilled art team of artist Andy Suriano, colorist Josh Burcham, and letterer Shawn Lee, along with a host of other amazing guest artists including Brittney Williams, Ethen Beavers, Andy Kuhn, Sergio Quijada, and Christine Larsen.

Working on Jack has been a project that felt just as creative and expansive as any creator-owned work I’ve done. Almost every single idea we pitched was enthusiastically approved by IDW and Cartoon Network. We told the stories we wanted to tell the way we wanted to tell them and, from everything I’ve seen and the people I’ve met, the fans thoroughly enjoyed them too. That’s a rare and wonderful thing and I won’t take it for granted.

We launched pretty strong, strong enough that our five issue mini-series was almost immediately bumped up to “ongoing” status, but we’ve hit a point in the natural single issue sales attrition cycle where IDW isn’t guaranteed to see profitability on #21-25 so they decided to end it at #20 and make sure we weren’t cut off midway through a story line. I absolutely respect that and appreciate the heads up so we could make our last issue extra special.

Speaking of which, I have to admit I got wistful when I read the recent Comics Alliance article heaping high praise on the work we’ve done with Jack. Chris Sims had no way of knowing it, but I was putting the finishing touches on the final script the day that article went up. It gave me an extra burst of energy to carry me over the finish line.

If “The Quest of the Broken Blade” story we did in issues #11-15 was our epic battle of mind, body, and soul, then Samurai Jack #20 is as final a spiritual statement as I can put on the Jack legacy.

In the third season of Samurai Jack there’s an episode called “Jack and Travelling Creatures” where, after trials and tribulations aplenty, we catch a glimpse of a possible future for our wandering hero; we see Jack as an older Warrior-King, a veteran of an untold number of conflicts. We’re embracing that awesome vision of Jack in a very heartfelt done-in-one story called “Mako the Scribe”.

JackTheWarrior-King2JackTheWarrior-King1

I don’t have any definitive information on whether there will be more Samurai Jack animation down the road but, if there isn’t, I wanted to make sure this story gave at least some sense of closure to the many, many fans of the series. I would never say that I speak for Genndy or the rest of the Jack animation team. This is just my own small addendum to the top notch art and storytelling they put together. (Oh yeah and Genndy, feel free to animate any of our comic stories if you want. I’m 100% A-Okay with that 🙂 )

That said, I don’t want us to just slip away quietly into the night with this one. If you haven’t read Samurai Jack the comic and experienced our “fifth season”, I’d be thrilled if you considered ordering the trades or buying the digital issues to give it a shot.

If you have read the comics and enjoyed what we put together, I’d deeply appreciate if you let IDW and Cartoon Network know what you thought of it and if you pre-order issue #20 to let retailers know that we’re going out strong.

SamuraiJack20-cvr

Thank you to Carlos Guzman, our editor at IDW, for tirelessly sheparding these new stories through art and production. Your enthusiasm for our work has been a real booster.

Thank you again to Andy Suriano for being such a passionate and creative collaborator. You rock, buddy, and I’m so proud to have worked with you on this.

Thank you to IDW Publishing and Cartoon Network for your confidence in bringing me aboard to write the series. It’s been a blast.

Thank you to Genndy Tartakovsky, Phil Lamarr, and the whole Jack team for trailblazing such a wonderful series in the first place.

I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to tell these stories. Thank you for your support.


SAMURAI JACK #20
Jim Zub (w)
Andy Suriano (a & c)

FINAL ISSUE.

A scribe named Mako has heard many strange stories of the great hero known only as “Jack.” Mako’s journey to record the truth of the samurai reveals a fascinating look at his legacy and possible future: Jack the King. Jack the General. Jack the Legend.

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

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10 Comments.

  1. Thank you, Jim, for writing stories that brought Jack to life again. While we can only hope that Genndy gets to finish what he started, it’s been great to have Jack back, thanks to you and all of the incredible artists who’ve contributed. I’m sad, but I enjoyed it while it lasted 🙂

  2. Thanks for the work you, Suriano, and the rest of the crew have done with this.

  3. Hello Jim Zub,

    This is something I wrote about three weeks ago. I’m a huge fan of Samurai Jack, and thought I would never see the light of day where Jack’s journey would end. But now it looks as if you are giving the ending fans have been wanting for years now. Thank you for answering my story’s question, and thank you for writing such great comics.

  4. I’m very sad. Very, very sad. I love samurai jack and loved the work the Jack team at IDW had put out.The animated series is one of my favorite fictitious pieces of art/entertainment and having loved the universe and its characters for so long, I was sad to see the show end without a proper final confrontation between Jack and Aku.

    The comic had come and managed to properly satisfy that itch from Samurai Jack withdrawal that had been nagging at the fan base for years and because of the fine work you guys put out that I really hope to see animated as an official season 5 of the show, I want to say thank you for bringing back the same sense of wonder, adventure, heart, and emotion this series was so good at conveying.

    We love Samurai Jack and we love you guys for doing a damn fine job with such a damn fine IP.

    Now if only Genndy can get us the movie. 🙂

  5. 😥 😥 😥 😥 😥 😥 😥 😥

    Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

    Now I must buy all the trades and send them to IDW one panel at a time.

    HE HAS TO GET BACK TO THE PAST DAMMIT!

  6. Fleen: Try Our Thick, Creamy Shakes » Goodbye And Hello - pingback on February 3, 2015 at 1:34 pm
  7. Sad to hear Samurai Jack will be ending. I have been reviewing the books since the series started (first in print then in YT video) and it’s consistently been a favorite of mine. I wish you the best in the future and thank you for keeping a favorite franchise of mine alive. I’d love to do an interview with you in the future, but regardless, hope to see more of your work.

  8. great job!

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