THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING OUR VERY FIRST SHI INDIEGOGO: THE RETURN OF THE WARRIOR SUCH A ROUSING SUCCESS!
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SHI: RETURN OF THE WARRIOR INDEMAND "SHIROI" EXCLUSIVE EDITION!
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Original Art!!!
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Indiegogo Exclusive Shi: Return of the Warrior SunFire Edition!
STRETCH GOALS!!! (For all physically shipping pledges!)*
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*Some stretch goals rewards might vary if backer pledged after August 1, 2020
BILLY TUCCI'S ORIGINAL COVER "SHI'S BACK!" COVER ARTWORK!
SHI’s BACK! Cover by Billy Tucci
There I was…
Armed with a portfolio holding the very pages in this book and storming the floor of the 1993 Comic Con International in San Diego…
I was anxious. I knew no one, but even though my heart was pounding through my chest at this “one shot” at comic book fame, I held a strong conviction that I could somehow scratch out a living in this fantastically creative industry. Like many a budding cartoonist at this biggest of all conventions, I stood in long lines and when it was my turn to show my wares, opened my book hoping the bored and hung-over editor would awake from his stupor and look up at me wide-eyed like he’d just made a great discovery… And offer me a job.
STRETCH GOALS!!!! (Distributed per Backer)
Problem was, that aside from Lady Death creator, Brian Pulido (who graciously offered me a pin up), no one was interested. From the “Big Two” all the way down to the smallest of publishers, all turned me down -- every single one of them. To say I was heartbroken would be a callous understatement, but I was undeterred. I remember thinking to myself, on that long flight back home to New York, about a life of illustrating licensing products, or even going back to designing children’s wear. Perhaps I could go back to the National Guard. Either way, I had to do something as I was incredibly broke and way behind in my rent.
I put on my Sony “discman” (remember those?) and removed the portfolio from the aircraft’s overhead storage bin. Listening to Kitaro’s Kojiki, (which was the soundtrack I crafted up the “Way of the Warrior” story arc) I began thumbing through the book, critiquing each and every panel and determining which pages were good and which had to be redone. My mindset was one of defiance as my train of thought was “I’m not going to forget these pages and come back in six months with new material” like I had been instructed by the editors. I will keep them, improve upon them and move forward with “my story”… the story of Ana Ishikawa and her monogatari titled, “Shi.” I was going to self-publish comic books.
Billy Tucci - Creator
And that, pretty much, is how it all started. Of course the next six months were utterly painful, but so exciting, as I delved into researching - just how in the hell does one “self-publish?” This was before the internet, so I hit every library, read every book andbothered every retailer who would speak to me, trying to figure out just how to do this. All the while, I worked freelance design by day and sharpened the Shi pages by night. I “employed” two great friends, co-writer Peter Gutierrez and designer Barry Orkin, with my ever-suffering wife (then ever-suffering girlfriend), Deborah to refine the script and define the artwork. There was much aggravation, missteps, late hours and fear – at one point I almost sold half the creation to a pair of predatory business “partners”, but that’s a story for a different day. There were also triumphs -- none so gratifying as March 23, 1994 – the day, “Shi – The Way of the Warrior #1” shipped to comic shops across North America and Europe, making the anxious drama that seemed to daunt its creation every step of the way all well worth it.
As they say, from that day forward, things have never been the same. And it’s all because of my friends, family, retailers and most of all, you – the reader. Especially those of you who, for some reason or another, chose my book among hundreds that day in 1994, and for that I am forever grateful.
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SHI: Way of the Warrior #1, 1994
So join us for the first new Shi graphic novel in 15 years ... A story in which a comic book character has grown up in real time. .. A story that is literally 25 years in the making and one we hope you will love reading as much as we have loved making.
Thank you… #SHISBACK!
Billy Tucci
SHI’S BACK!!!!
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Billy Tucci’s SHI: Amazing Spider-Man #301 Homage Cover
Crusade Comics is so excited to bring you the debut crowdfunding campaign for our all new 48-page graphic novel Shi: Return of the Warrior!
Nigen-Sei Cover by Billy Tucci
In this story over a quarter century in the making we now find our heroine Ana Ishikawa 15 years removed from when she last graced the pages of a comic book. Ana is divorced from her husband, disgraced NYPD detective Peter DeNyse and now lives a peaceful, quiet exitance raising their teenage daughter Hotaru.
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Most importantly, her warrior days far behind her…
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SHI: Return of the Warrior, Interior
But that all changes when Dr. YOU (a character that will be named after one of our backers via a special pledge level) brings the terrifying news that Masahiro Arashi has escaped from a New York City Mental Institution. Her former antagonist, now suffering from dementia has regressed back to his younger more violent self and is vengefully obsessed with the one person responsible for his incarcerated existence… Ana Ishikawa!
SHI: Return of the Warrior, Interior page
Manhattan is once again gripped in fear as a series of gruesome copycat Shi Killings resurface – with the order of victims proving ever closer to Ana. A desperate Ana must now, alongside Dr. You, seek out and stop Arashi before he can fulfill his murderous destiny… a destiny whose road ends with her own daughter Hotaru.
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Dr. "You" (to be named after one of our backers!)
As Doctor You and Ana get ever closer, he confesses to her of Arashi’s twisted and dangerous obsession with the young Ana’s secret warrior persona, SHI, the living embodiment of death.
Worse still, the maddened Arashi is convinced that everyone: nurses, orderlies, janitors and especially the man treating him is in love with the lithe mistress of the underworld (Yomi).
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The "Maddened" Masahiro Arashi!
Ana is mortified that the doctor is fully aware that she is indeed a murderess and knows that if ever exposed would rightly be the end of her world. But You assures her secret is safe and even though his own life is in danger, he promises to take it (due to both professional and personal reasons) “to the grave.”
SHI: Return of the Warrior, Interior
But the grave just might be waiting for them all. For Ana will realize that measured acumen only goes so far in protecting those you love and, once again, the lioness within Ana will resurface to take up her trusted naginata, transform the hunted into the hunter, and unsheathe… The Return of the Warrior.![]()
SHI: Return of the Warrior, Interior
In Return of the Warrior, Shi creator Billy Tucci is joined by co-writer Steven Peros, co-artist Ricardo Silva, colorist Brian Miller, designer Mindy Lopkin and superstar cover artists Amanda Conner, Paul Mounts, Wes Hartman, Conny Valentina and Mike Renzine.
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Our Troops
Special Guest Cover Artists!
Cover by Amanda Conner
And as a very special bonus the legendary George Perez (colored by Wes Hartman) has gracefully come out of retirement to provide one last and unforgettably beautiful Shi cover.
Cover by George Perez
With tons of fun reward levels for you to become the hero!!!!!
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Cover by Conny Valentina
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Challenge Coins!
SHI-Shirt
Cover by Mike Renzine
Risks and challenges
We are so grateful to the OUTSTANDING fans Shi has had these last 25 years and are so very appreciative of how patiently you all waited for the next chapter in the saga. Because of YOU, this graphic novel is already in production! But we need you to help us see it to completion! Please share, tweet, and recommend SHI to new readers and collectors, so she can be bigger and better than ever! Thank you in advance for your generosity, loyalty, and dedication!!!!