The Incredible Stan Sakai Joins CGC for an Exclusive In-House Private Signing

CGC Signature Series is thrilled to announce that we will be hosting an exclusive Private Signing with Stan Sakai, best known for his award winning series Usagi Yojimbo. In addition to signing, he will be offering Remarques as well as Bust Sketch and Quick Sketch options. See pricing and details below. 

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Sakai was born in Kyoto, Japan, and grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. He began his comic book career by lettering Sergio Aragonés' Groo the Wanderer. He also worked with Stan Lee, lettering the Spider-Man Sunday newspaper strips for 25 years. Sakai is most famous for his original creation, Usagi Yojimbo, an epic graphic novel saga that began in 1984 and now spans more than 38 volumes. It features Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in early-seventeenth-century Japan. Usagi has been published in eighteen languages and Sakai has been honored with a number of awards, including twelve Eisner Awards, two Harvey Awards including one for Best Cartoonist, the Japanese American National Museum's Cultural Ambassador Award, a Parent's Choice Award, two National Cartoonists Society Silver Reubens, three Ringo Awards and an American Library Association Award. Skillful weaving of history, folklore, and Japanese culture into his work has made Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo a favorite among educators as a curriculum tool. Usagi has also been a part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in their TV series, comic book crossovers, and toy lines. In partnership with Gaumont Studios, Sakai, James Wan’s Atomic Monster, and Dark Horse Entertainment created Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles for Netflix. Stan is married to artist Julie Fujii-Sakai with whom he collaborated on the Eisner Award winning Chibi Usagi and the Attack of the Heebie Chibis. In 2021 Sakai was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame.

For this exclusive signing, ALL CGC members, including free CGC members, can submit books directly to CGC headquarters in Sarasota, Florida. CGC must receive all submissions for this event by Friday August 23, 2024.

If the In-House Private Signing needs to be rescheduled, CGC will securely store all submissions in its vault until the event can be rescheduled. 

After Sakai signs the submitted books, CGC will grade and encapsulate them with an estimated turnaround time of six weeks. If CGC pressing is also requested, the turnaround time is estimated at eight weeks. After grading and encapsulation, the collectibles will be shipped back to their owners. 

The CGC Private Signing fee for Stan Sakai is $90 per item and includes: 

• Stan Sakai’s signature 
• Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading 
• Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing)  
• Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label  

The CGC Private Signing fee for a Stan Sakai Remarque is $150 per item and includes:

• Stan Sakai’s illustrated Remarque. Submitters may request the desired Remarque. Important: The final design and subject matter of the Remarque is at the artist’s discretion. CGC cannot guarantee Remarque requests.
• Stan Sakai’s signature
• Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading
• Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing)
• Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label 

The CGC Private Signing fee for a Stan Sakai Bust Sketch is $255 per item and includes:

• Stan Sakai’s illustrated Bust Sketch. Important: The final design and subject matter of the sketch is at the artists’ discretion. CGC cannot guarantee sketch requests. Submissions must be a blank sketch cover. 
• Stan Sakai’s signature
• Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading
• Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing)
• Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label

The CGC Private Signing fee for a Stan Sakai Quick Sketch is $405 per item and includes:

• Stan Sakai’s illustrated Quick Sketch. Important: The final design and subject matter of the sketch is at the artists’ discretion. CGC cannot guarantee sketch requests. Submissions must be a blank sketch cover. 
• Stan Sakai’s signature
• Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading
• Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing)
• Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label

Submission Instructions 

For this CGC Private Signing event, you can ship submissions directly to CGC with a FREE membership. Paid memberships are also available and include additional benefits. For more information and to join, visit CGCcomics.com/join. 

To submit books for the signing: 

• Log onto your account or sign up for an account HERE.
• Click Submit in the CGC website navigation and select Submission Forms. 
• Next to Comics / Magazines, select Online Form.
• Select Comic or Magazine from the drop-down menu, then select Private Signing and one of the following from the dropdown menu section:
  STAN SAKAI, SIGNATURE; STAN SAKAI, REMARQUE; STAN SAKAI, BUST SKETCH; STAN SAKAI, QUICK SKETCH.
• Under Services, select Grading and, if you would like it, Pressing. Then hit Next in the top right section of the form.
• Enter the information requested for your comic, and make sure to check the box next to STAN SAKAI under Private Signing Details.
• On the next screen, you can add one of CGC’s custom Marvel labels to your submission for qualifying books.
• Select Add to Cart, and then repeat if there are additional books in your submission. If there are no additional books in your submission, click on the cart icon and proceed to checkout.
• Note: If you want to submit magazines, please group them together on their own private signing form separate from comic submissions. The same rule applies for any custom labels. Please group them together on their own private signing form separate from non-custom labels. To see the available labels, click HERE.
• Put ALL ungraded books in window bags or they will not be accepted. You can purchase window bags HERE.
• Books that are already certified by CGC, including CGC Signature Series books, can be submitted for this event. CGC will remove a CGC-certified book from its holder for an additional $5 fee.
• Carefully package books in a box for shipment. 
• IMPORTANT: Please write SS on all sides of the outside of the box. You must initial outside of the box or we will not be able to honor the submission for this signing. 
• Books will be received into the CGC system when they arrive and will be safely stored by CGC until the event. (Please note: Payments are processed as they normally are at the time of the collectibles’ arrival at CGC.)
• Once books are signed, they will start an expedited CGC grading process. 

PLEASE NOTE:

All submissions must be received by CGC no later than Friday, August 23, 2024, to qualify for this private signing event. No change requests will be accepted after Friday, August 23, 2024.

*Cannot be combined with other CGC Private Signing events.

**If you submit a CGC-graded collectible that needs to be removed from its original holder by CGC, the collectible will need to go through the certification and encapsulation process again, and there is no guarantee that it will receive the same grade.

***Paid membership discounts do not apply to In-House Private Signings.

****Marker color requests are welcome, but not guaranteed. Marker color choice and signature placement is at the final discretion of the signer.