Shi (character)

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Shi (comics)
)
Shi
William Tucci
In-story information
Alter egoAna Ishikawa
AbilitiesSkilled martial artist

Shi (Ana Ishikawa) is a

sohei warrior monk, who struggles to reconcile her Japanese grandfather's martial training with her American mother's Christian
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 is the naginata.

Fictional character biography

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

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 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

Catholic
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, 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

Ieyasu Tokugawa
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 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.[1][2] Another sequel features Ana traveling to Japan to find her biological mother.[3]

Film adaptation

In 1997, there were plans to make a motion picture based on Shi, with Tia Carrere 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.[4]

Publications

Primary

Crossover

  • Avengelyne/Shi
  • Image comics
    /GEN 13 - Number 13C
  • Cyblade/Shi and Shi/Cyblade (The Battle for Independents) (1995)
  • Daredevil/Shi and Shi/Daredevil (1997)
  • Fallen Angel (IDW)/Shi (Fallen Angel Vol. 2 Nos. 17–19)
  • Grifter
    /Shi: Final Rites     #1–2 (1996)
  • Razor & Shi Special (1994)
  • Lethargic Comics #12 (1994)
  • Shi/Vampirella
  • Vampirella/Shi
  • Vampirella #7–9
  • Lady Death/Shi #0–2
  • Wolverine/Shi: Dark Night of Judgment (2000)
  • Tenth Muse/Shi: Bluewater One Shot (2007)
  • Jetta/Shi: Arrow Of Destiny (2008)

References

  1. CBR.com. Archived from the original
    on November 17, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  2. ^ Boom, Richard (January 12, 2021). "Shi: Haikyo, the 64-page sequel to Return of the Warrior is on FIRE!!". Comics for Sinners. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Newsdesk (2022-04-21). "SHI: SAKURA INDIEGOGO EXCLUSIVE IS NOW LIVE". The Fanboy Factor. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  4. ^ "TMe: SHI movie set for Spring 2000 release". Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  5. ^ "Shi: Poisoned Paradise (Volume)". Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  6. ^ "Shi: Ju-Nen TPB". Dark Horse Comics. 2006-01-18. Retrieved 2016-10-03.

Further reading

Reviews

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shi_(character)&oldid=1210090031"