CONTRIBUTES ORIGINAL ART FOR CHARITY TO CELEBRATE 40 YEAR’S OF BEN EDLUND’S SATIRICAL SUPERHERO AND THE HERO INITIATIVE
Shi-creator Billy Tucci joins hundreds of comic stars and thousands of fans at the Baltimore convention for the Baltimore Comic Con.
Tucci alongside dozens of other professionals have contributed original artwork for the con’s annual charity yearbook. This year’s yearbook theme is none other than cartoonist, screenwriter and producer, Ben Edlund’s rascally hero, “The Tick.”
“Ben is truly one of the great talents in comics.” Stated Tucci. “It is a privilege to depict Shi alongside his amazing character that has brought so much joy to comic fans for forty-years. I’d also like to congratulation Mark and Shelley Nathan as they celebrate the 25th Anniversary of on the greatest comic cons in the world.”
Tucci’s original Shi/Tick artwork will be auctioned off during the convention on Saturday. For more information on the charity yearbook and the Baltimore Comic Con can be found at https://baltimorecomiccon.com.
SHI TO THE RESCUE TO BENEFIT THE HERO INITIATIVE!
Tucci will also be contributing another piece of original Shi art to benefit the Hero Initiative. The artwork will find its place alongside other one-of-a-kind pieces donated by some of comics’ brightest stars during the Initiative’s charity auction taking place Saturday, September 21st.
The Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit creators with more than $1 million worth of much-needed aid, fueled by contributions from comic book fans the world over. “It’s an honor to contribute to such a worthy cause that benefits the very best of us.” Tucci continued. “As the Hero Initiative’s moniker states, ‘It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.’
| More information on the Hero Initiative can be found here: https://www.heroinitiative.org Rocketeer: Pavlichenko Special Art Edition Continues To Soar With Added Shi Specials! Newly Launched Kickstarter Campaign Can Be Found Here: |
Momentum continues for Rocketeer: Pavlichenkoon both Kickstarter and Indiegogo crowdfunded platforms in its first full week! Due to requests from fans, Crusade has also supplemented the campaigns with several limited Shi perks from their past campaigns.
“Deborah (Tucci, Executive Director of Crusade Comics) and I are both so appreciative of all who pledged for both Rocketeer: Pavlichenko and our new Shi items.” Stated writer/artist Billy Tucci. “Just 17 days remain on this short campaign as fulfillment beings in November. Once we know our final numbers we’ll go to press and get all our perks and rewards out to all our backers.”
Rocketeer: Pavlichenko Special Art Edition! features Tucci’s the original story that appeared the Eisner Award winning in Comics For Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, plus pages of never-before published concept artwork, including rough layouts, pencils, inks, and script.
In Rocketeer: Pavlichenko, our hero, Cliff Secord, encounters the real-life, Ukrainian sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko in the Crimean Mountains during World War II. Lyudmila was credited with over 300 kills during World War II, making her the most successful female sniper in recorded history and as you’ll find out, she is going to have to put all those skills to the test to save our hero.
The 32-page full-color art special also explores just who this extraordinary young Ukrainian woman was and pays tribute the Rocketeer’s legendary creator, Dave Stevens.
| Rocketeer: Pavlichenko Special Art EditionRocketeer: Pavlichenko Special Art Edition is also currently LIVE on Indiegogo and can be found here: |
About Billy Tucci
Inkpot Award recipient Billy Tucci is a cartoonist best known for his modern-day samurai saga Shi. Through his company, Crusade Fine Arts, Shi has been printed in five languages and sold more than 3 million comic books. The graduate of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology contributed to the Eisner Award Winning, Comics For Ukraine: Sun Flower Seeds and Love Is Love. Billy has also earned the prestigious Diamond Comics Gem Award and his DC Comics’ graphic novel, Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion, was awarded the Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal. The Lost Battalion featured the real-life 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was comprised of Japanese American soldiers. His earnest retelling of the Christmas story in A Child Is Born has quietly turned into an international blockbuster, winning the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award. Billy’s critically acclaimed Miss Fury: Joy Division saw the return of the Golden Age Icon for Dynamite Comics. His Crusade Comics has recently released a series of new Shi graphic novels, Return of the Warrior, Haikyo, and Sakura. Crusade as also released the collected editions, Shi: Omnibus Vol. Senryaku Omnibus, Shi: Way of the Warrior Original Art Edition via Kickstarter and Indiegogo uniting backers from over fifty countries and bringing Crusade Comics’ crowdfunding campaign totals to over $1,500,000.00.