Shi - Way of the Warrior

Collected Editions (Trade Paperbacks)

Book One - Issues 1-4

T5Y009

Book One - Revised Edition T5Y032

Book Two -
Issues 5-8 T5Y046

This is a poster that shipped as a centerfold in the WOTW 1 Fan Appreciation issues

Billy Tucci; Pencils
Jimmy Palmiotti; Inker

"Yes, this is the infamous "Six Finger" cover. I still can't believe I did it. When I stated that when I handed the artwork over to Jimmy Palmiotti to ink that "she didn't have six fingers on her right hand", Jimmy replied that there were "actually 9 fingers and she was holding a hamburger!" I actually made one error on purpose but no one seemed to notice it -- I have Ana's left hand near the suba on the sword where it should be below the right. Oh well serves me for trying to be funny!"

Cover by Julie Bell

Book 3 -

Shi Tomoe, 9-12

T5Y078

Revised Edition

Cover Painting by Ray Lago; back cover is from Way of the Warrior 12

Missing some of the interesting artwork from the original edition - somewhat sloppily put together

See also the German Trade Paperbacks

Shi - The Beginning
Trade Paperback # 1 has a few pages at the back which look at the evolution of Shi.
For further illustrations, see the Razor page and the WOTW 2 Ashcan

"1991: The second interpretation of 'Katana' 1991. Notice the red circle over her eye that accompanied the geisha style make-up. Unfortunately with moves and all the first drawings made in 1988-90 have been lost, but the real changes from the original were the colors of her costume. For aesthetic reasons I finally opted for a traditional choice of red as opposed to the cliched rising sun design the Japanese Imperial Navy." "1992: brought us 'Kitara', a lot of skin and just as many shivers from my girlfriend."

"1993: We're getting closer. This time 'Ran' made it all the way to the 'Razor Annual' from London Night Studios. Fearful of being compared to the Akira Kirosawa film of the same name, and halfway through the story I finally dropped the damn circle and went looking for a more fitting name. One summer afternoon my friend Audrey Oike and I labored over dozens of books and dictionaries, when I asked her "isn't 'Shi' Japanese for death?"

Text above from Shi, The Way of the Warrior, Trade Paperback, Book One, 1995.

Trade Paperback #2 has a fascinating display of how the artist proceeds from rough sketches through to the finished production.

1) The breakdown 2) The pencils. Tucci notes that more attention is paid to the less familiar demon figure - he can depend on Michael Bair to fill in the details of the Shi figure. 3) Inking - not just tracing the lines, but trying to insure that the inked product shows what the pencil drawing was trying to present. Finished Product - WOTW5

The images shown here are Copyright ©William Tucci and Crusade Comics,
unless otherwise indicated.

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"1991: The second interpretation of 'Katana' 1991. Notice the red circle over her eye that accompanied the geisha style make-up. Unfortunately with moves and all the first drawings made in 1988-90 have been lost, but the real changes from the original were the colors of her costume. For aesthetic reasons I finally opted for a traditional choice of red as opposed to the cliched rising sun design the Japanese Imperial Navy."	"1992: brought us 'Kitara', a lot of skin and just as many shivers from my girlfriend."	"1993: We're getting closer. This time 'Ran' made it all the way to the 'Razor Annual' from London Night Studios. Fearful of being compared to the Akira Kirosawa film of the same name, and halfway through the story I finally dropped the damn circle and went looking for a more fitting name. One summer afternoon my friend Audrey Oike and I labored over dozens of books and dictionaries, when I asked her "isn't 'Shi' Japanese for death?"


1) The breakdown	2) The pencils. Tucci notes that more attention is paid to the less familiar demon figure - he can depend on Michael Bair to fill in the details of the Shi figure.	3) Inking - not just tracing the lines, but trying to insure that the inked product shows what the pencil drawing was trying to present.	Finished Product - WOTW5