Stan's creation, Usagi Yojimbo, first appeared in the comic book Albedo Anthropomorphics #2 in 1984. Since then, Usagi has been on television as a guest of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and has been made into toys, seen on clothing, and his stories have been collected in more than three dozen graphic novels and translated into 16 languages.

Stan is the recipient of a Parents' Choice Award, an Inkpot Award, an American Library Association Award, two Harvey Awards, five Spanish Haxturs, eight Will Eisner Awards and two National Cartoonists Society Silver Reubens. In 2011 Stan received the Cultural Ambassador Award from the Japanese American National Museum for spreading Japanese history and culture through his stories. Stan was awarded the inaugural Joe Kubert Excellence in Storytelling Award in 2018 and was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2020. Stan, in partnership with Gaumont USA, is currently developing an Usagi animated series for Netflix.