Shi (Ana Ishikawa) is a fictional comic book character created by writer/illustrator

William Tucci William Tucci is an illustrator, writer, and filmmaker best known for his creator-owned title and character, '' Shi''. Career Tucci founded Crusade Comics in Bayport, New York Its flagship title, '' Shi'', debuted in March 1994. Publisher To ...

. She first appeared in ''Razor Annual'' #1 (1993) and has appeared in numerous books by various publishers ever since, most notably Tucci's own

Crusade Comics William Tucci is an illustrator, writer, and filmmaker best known for his creator-owned title and character, '' Shi''. Career Tucci founded Crusade Comics in Bayport, New York Its flagship title, '' Shi'', debuted in March 1994. Publisher To ...

and the

Image Universe The Image Universe (IU) is a fictional universe in which some stories published by Image Comics take place. It was introduced in the early years of the publisher, shared by the various creators who formed the Image partnership. The independent, ...

. Shi is a young woman of Japanese and American descent trained as a '' sohei'' warrior monk, who struggles to reconcile her Japanese grandfather's martial training with her American mother's

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

teachings. Japanese culture and spiritual themes are prominent, recurring motifs in storylines featuring her, especially as they pertain to this conflict. The word ''shi'' literally translates to death (死) in Japanese, and Shi's

signature weapon A signature weapon (or trademark weapon or weapon of choice) is one commonly identified with a certain group or, in the case of literature, epic poems, comics, and film, where it is a popular ''trope,'' for both heroes and villains to be associate ...

is the ''

naginata The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ( ...

''.

Fictional character biography

Ana's father, Shiro, was a Japanese warrior; her mother, Catherine, is an American

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

. As a child, Ana witnessed the brutal murder of her father and brother at the hands of Masahiro Arashi, an upstart

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

thug. Following this horrifying incident, Ana was consequently spirited away and raised by her grandfather, Yoshitora, amongst the sacred temples of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. Yoshitora secretly trained Ana in the ways of the '' sohei'' (warrior monks of feudal Japan), so that she could seek out Arashi and avenge the deaths of her father and brother. Arashi wanted to impress the leaders of the Osaka crime syndicate and left a calling card with every murder he committed—a simple coin engraved with the ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' for death; ''shi''. Whilst holding onto the coins left with the bodies of her father and brother, Ana developed a vengeful obsession, as she completely gave herself to shi, becoming the living embodiment of Death. Ana swore revenge on the Yakuza and set out to become one of the deadliest assassins in the world. In order to disguise herself, Ana painted her face white to resemble Tora No Shi (also known as Tiger of Death), a legendary female warrior of medieval Japan. Ana acquired the name Shi because of her ferocity and ruthlessness. However, Ana was deeply affected by her mother's

teachings; she soon faced a dilemma between her programmed mission of revenge and the Christian faith she secretly harbored. Once her parents' killer, Arashi, was sent to prison, Ana renounced killing and became the manager of an art gallery in New York. From time to time, she still takes on her Shi personality if necessary. Even with the duality that rages in Ana's

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, she will not allow herself to succumb to the death demon that terrorizes her. In the end, it is Ana's faith and the ethereal visions of her sohei ancestors that shepherd her along the way of the warrior.

Powers and abilities

Ana was trained by her grandfather in the ways of the sohei. As such, she is a skilled martial artist and swordswoman, the ''naginata'' being her weapon of choice.

Merchandise

Through William Tucci's Crusade Fine Arts, ''Shi'' has been printed in four languages. A series of limited edition 1/6 scale figures was released by Executive Replicas in 2017.

Tora no Shi

In the first series ''Shi: the Way of the Warrior'', Ana based her look on "Tora no Shi", Yuri Ishikawa, a famous female ancestor of hers from feudal Japan, who wore a similar outfit. That character starred in her own miniseries ''Shi: Tora no Shi'' and

Avatar Press Avatar Press is an independent American comic book publisher founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois. Avatar Press is most notable for publishing Bad girl art, bad girl comics, such as ''Faust (Avatar Press), Fau ...

' ''Shi: Poisoned Paradise''. The first series depicted her conflict with

Musashi Miyamoto , also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and rōnin, who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship a ...

, and the second centered upon her battle with

Ieyasu Tokugawa was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

during Yuri's time with the Japanese Christian resistance.

Shi:Return of the Warrior, ''Shi: Haikyo and Shi:Sakura''

In January 2021, Tucci began a crowdfunding campaign on

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

in order to produce ''Shi: Haikyo'', a 64-page sequel to ''Shi: Return of the Warrior'' that sees Ana forced to ally herself with her archenemy, Masahiro Arashi, in order to save her teenage daughter Hotaru, who has been kidnapped by a "Shi" copycat killer. Another sequel features Ana traveling to Japan to find her biological mother.

Film adaptation

In 1997, there were plans to make a motion picture based on Shi, with

Tia Carrere Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo (born January 2, 1967), known professionally as Tia Carrere (), is an American actress, singer and former model who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''. Carrere played C ...

as Shi/Ana Ishikawa and Tucci writing the script. In 2002, the movie was optioned by producer Mimi Polk Gitlin with Tucci still on the script but with Kevin Bernhardt co-writing it and with no lead role defined.

Publications

Primary

*''Shi: The Way of the Warrior'' #1–12 (1994–1997) *''Shi vs. Tomoe'' **''Tomoe'' #1–3 (drawn by

Amanda Conner Amanda Conner is an American comics artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' '' Soulsearchers and Company'' and Ha ...

) *''Shi: Tora No Shi'' #1–3 *''Shi: Senryaku'' #1-3 (1995) *''Shi: Kaidan'' (1996) *''Manga Shi 2000'' #1-3 (1997) *''Shi: East Wind Rain'' (1997) *''Shi: The Series'' #1-13 (1997-1998) *''Shi: Heaven & Earth'' #1–4 (1997) *''Shi: Rekishi'' #1-2 (1997) *''Shi: Nightstalkers'' (1997) *''Shi: Black, White and Red'' #1-2 (1998) *''Shi: 5th Anniversary Special'' (1999) *''Shi: Zero'' (2000) *''Shi: Year of the Dragon'' #0-3 (2000) *''Shi: Akai'' (2001) *''Shi: Through the Ashes'' (2001, special issue made after

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

) *''Shi: Poisoned Paradise'' #0–2 (with

Karl Waller Karl Waller is an American artist whose work has appeared in comic books and roleplaying game, roleplaying and collectible card games. Early life and education He graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Pennsylvania School of Ar ...

, 2002) *''Shi: The Illustrated Warrior'' #1-7 (2002-2003) *''Shi: Sempo'' (4-issue miniseries, 2003, Avatar Press) *''Shi: Ju-Nen'' (4-issue miniseries, 2004–2005; 104 page trade paperback,

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

, 2006, ) *''Definitive Shi: The Essential Warrior'' Vol. 1 (576 pages, Crusade Fine Arts, 2006) *''Shi: Return of the Warrior'' (graphic novel, 2020) *''Shi: Haikyo'' (graphic novel, 2021)

Crossover

*''

Avengelyne Avengelyne h-van'-jah-leenis a fictional Image Universe comic book character created by Rob Liefeld and Cathy Christian. Avengelyne is an angel who fights the forces of evil and often finds herself face-to-face with demons and monsters. Publica ...

/Shi'' *''

Image comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

/GEN 13 - Number 13C'' *''Cyblade/Shi'' and ''Shi/Cyblade'' (''The Battle for Independents'') (1995) *'' Daredevil/Shi'' and ''Shi/Daredevil'' (1997) *''

Fallen Angel In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said R ...

(IDW)/Shi'' (''Fallen Angel'' Vol. 2 Nos. 17–19) *''

Grifter A grifter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Grifters (band), a 1990s American indie rock band * ''The Grifters'' (novel), a 1963 American novel by Jim Thompson * ''The Grifters'' (film), a 1990 American adaptation of the novel * Grifter (ch ...

/Shi: Final Rites'' #1–2 (1996) *''Razor & Shi Special'' (1994) *''Lethargic Comics'' #12 (1994) *''Shi/

Vampirella Vampirella () is a fictional vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of ''Creepy'' ...

'' *''Vampirella/Shi'' *''Vampirella'' #7–9 *''

Lady Death Lady Death is a fictional goddess appearing in American comic books published by Coffin Comics. Created by Brian Pulido, Lady Death first appeared in ''Evil Ernie'' #1 in December 1991. Lady Death then reappeared in the ''Evil Ernie: The Resur ...

/Shi'' #0–2 *''

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...

/Shi: Dark Night of Judgment'' (2000) *'' Tenth Muse/Shi: Bluewater One Shot'' (2007) *'' Jetta/Shi: Arrow Of Destiny'' (2008)

References

Reviews

''Year of the Dragon'' #1
an

an

External links

Shi in Avatar Press

Shi in Comic Vine

Shi in Comic Book DB

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shi (Comics) Avatar Press titles Comic martial artists Comics characters introduced in 1993 Dark Horse Comics titles Female characters in comics Fictional Japanese American people Fictional kenjutsuka Fictional female martial artists Fictional polearm and spearfighters Fictional women soldiers and warriors