Shi's the One With the Dynamic & Comic Touch
Creator Tucci's successful Crusade

by Hand Bordowitz
Courtesy of the New York Daily News

"I never really liked comic books growing up," says Billy Tucci. These days, however, comics are Tucci's life.

The 29-year-old Long Island resident is the artist behind Shi, one of the hottest books in the indie comics market. Tucci's company, Crusade Comics, has sold nearly 1.5 million copies of six all-Shi issues and five Shi-related comics.

Tucci will be one of hundreds of comics creators at the New York Comic Book Spectacular at the New York Coliseum, which runs from 1 to 7 p.m. tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Shi is about revenge and the clash of Japanese and American cultures in modern-day Manhattan, as heroine Ana Ishikawa seeks justice for the murders of her brother and father. The comic sometimes uses colors reminiscent of classic Japanese prints for its complicated story.

"It's a story that's been with me for 10 years," says Tucci.

"It kept evolving until 1994, when I put the first comic out. It came out of a love of martial arts, Akira Kurosawa films and Sir Thomas Malory's 'Le Morte d'Arthur'.

"The character was originally a man, but evolved into a woman. With the complexities of the story and the cultural repression of women in Japan, the character became that much more interesting - an independent, strong-willed woman, as opposed to the cliched samurai. Besides, comics [and films] are male dominated. It was a refreshing take on action heroes."

Before Tucci sprang Shi on a comic-buying public hungry for smart, strong, sexy and dangerous women characters, he spent years trying to break into the business by the traditional methods. He graduated from Manhattan's Fashion Institute of Technology, where he first discovered the joy of comics. After a brief stint with the National Guard, Tucci made the rounds of the major comic companies, like Marvel and DC. They turned him away.

"My style didn't fit their style," he says.

"They would either want me to draw like an artist who was already there, or they would give me lines like, 'That doesn't look like a Marvel face.' "

After working at Macy's as a designer and fashion illustrator for about three years, Tucci decided two years ago to form Crusade, which operates out of an unassuming row-house in Rego Park. The company is expanding rapidly - from 10 issues last year to upwards of 40 this year.

Recently, Tucci threw a party aboard the Intrepid to launch Atomik Angels, which will hit comic stores in May. In June, Crusade will start publishing four monthly titles by other artists. Crusade's expansion does not mean that Tucci is losing touch with the indie-comic scene.

"We're not doing it for the money," he insists.

"We're not doing it for sales. We don't direct what happens in our issues toward the demographics. None of this ' Lois Lane breaks up with Superman,' just so they can try to resurrect the title. People are not going to fall for that. People want a good story, something that's going to entertain them. We're going to keep on doing the best things that we can do."

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