McDuck Enterprises

4 minutes ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

I have also wondered for weeks about where the Space Usagi info was mentioned as I haven't seen it anywhere...

It really wasn’t. I presume the series heated up because the news release for Mr. Sakai’s show indicates it is not based off of the original storyline of Miyamoto Usagi in feudal Japan but of a distant relative of his in the future......there is nothing mentioned about ‘space’ but the story arc of SU follows a distant relative of UY in the future, so.....I guess that’s where people are making the connection.

#1 volume 1 is a really great issue (and obviously a handsome front cover,) but I would lean to Mirage TMNT 46 or 47 as being a true first appearance. Yes, as Ryan points out, #46 (April 1992,) is a promo type design spread for not only Space Usagi but the ships and other characters in the story arc and it does use four whole pages to show 'coming in June 1992.' TMNT issue 47 (May 1992,) has Space Usagi in an actual paneled story one month before SU #1 (June 1992.) I suppose it will be for collectors to determine which counts the most. 

Mirage TMNT 47 has a backup story 'Hare Today, Hare Tomorrow' with Space Usagi plus the Space Usagi #1 cover is featured on the entire back cover of #47 which also predates Space Usagi 1, volume 1. In saying this, copies of TMNT 46 and 47 are drying up online in the last 2 weeks as well! 

The recent heat up of Space Usagi 1 volume 1 is very puzzling to a lot of diehard Usagi collectors though. The publicly released show premise to date mentions nothing about taking place in actual 'space' and to go further, this book is not even the first appearance of Space Usagi. That would be Mirage TMNT #46.