Billy Tucci

Billy Tucci
Tucci at the 2012 New York Comic Con
BornWilliam Tucci
New York, New York, U.S.
NationalityItalian American
Area(s)Writer, penciller
Founder of Crusade Fine Arts, Ltd.
Notable works
Shi
Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion
AwardsMWSA Gold Medal
Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award
Ambassador, de la Region de Bruyeres
Inkpot Award (2019)[1]

William Tucci (/ˈtuːtʃi/) is an American comics creator. He is best known for his creator-owned title and character Shi.

Career

Tucci founded Crusade Comics in Bayport, New York[2] Its flagship title, Shi, debuted in March 1994. Publisher Top Cow's character Witchblade and David W. Mack's character Kabuki debuted in Shi before going on to their own titles. Tucci operated Crusade Comics until 2002, publishing a number of other titles besides Shi. Brian David-Marshall worked as an editor at Crusade in the 1990s.

In 2006 Tucci began penciling Marvel Comics' Heroes for Hire, and DC's VS cards, and later on the DC series Jonah Hex, Birds of Prey, Flash Vs. Superman and Harley Quinn. He also released the 576-page Definitive Shi, the Illustrated Warrior.

In 2007, Shi also had a crossover with Brian Pulido's Lady Death/Shi through Avatar Press, and with Peter David's Fallen Angel through IDW Publishing. Dark Horse Comics produced a 200-page hardbound Art of Shi coffee table book showcasing several artists' take on the character. Other Shi projects include a full color Zombie-sama! TPB with John Broglia and Definitive Shi Vol. 2.

Tucci produced a six-part miniseries for DC, Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion, which premiered November 2008.[3] In researching the series, Tucci spent time with a World War II reenactment in Pennsylvania, portraying a war correspondent,[4] and during his research in France, officials gave him the title of "Ambassador, de la region de Bruyeres".[5][6] The Lost Battalion received the 2011 "Artistic/Graphical" Gold Medal in the Fiction-Thriller category from the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA).[7][8]

In 2011, Tucci's "Batman: A Trick for the Scarecrow", which appeared in the DCU Halloween Special 2010, was nominated for the Eisner Award for Best Short Story.[9]

As partner of Apostle Arts LLC, Tucci created Billy Tucci's A Child is Born, a 32-page graphic novella for Christmas 2011, adapted from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.[10] The book won a Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award in 2013.[11]

Tucci wrote and illustrated Shi: Return of the Warrior (2021)[12] and wrote Zombie-Sama!, a comedy graphic novel with illustrator John Broglia, both published by Crusade Fine Arts via funding from Indiegogo and KickStarter.[13]

References

  1. ^ Inkpot Awards
  2. ^ "THE OFFICIAL HOME OF BILLY TUCCI & CRUSADE COMICS". CrusadeFineArts.com. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  3. ^ AsianWeek Staff (October 3, 2008). "Heroic Japanese Americans in New Comic Series". AsianWeek. Archived from the original on 2016-01-22.
  4. ^ Tucci, Billy (August 27, 2008). "Tour of Duty: Covering Sgt. Rock with Billy Tucci". Newsarama. Imaginova.
  5. ^ Maida, Jerome (February 23, 2009). "At last, 'Sgt. Rock and the Lost Battalion'". Philadelphia Daily News – via The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  6. ^ Wakatake, Kay, ed. (2009). "Nisei veterans enjoy 65 years of goodwill with Vosges Region" (PDF). JAVA Advocate. Vol. XVII, no. 3. Japanese American Veterans Association (published October 2009). p. 5. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  7. ^ "Military Writers Society of America Announces the 2011 book awards and Korean War Book Finalists". PRWeb. Cision. August 2, 2011. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011.
  8. ^ "2011 Season". Military Writers Society of America. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  9. ^ "2011 Eisner Award Nominees Announced". Newsarama. April 7, 2011. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  10. ^ Rogers, Vaneta (September 16, 2011). "BILLY TUCCI Re-Tells the Birth of Jesus in New Graphic Novel". Newsarama. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  11. ^ "2013 Winners: Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year". Christian Indie Awards. 7 May 2013.
  12. ^ Noah, Dominguez (November 16, 2019). "Billy Tucci Returns to Shi For New Graphic Novel". Comic Book Resources.
  13. ^ Destito, Deanna (Sep 11, 2019). "INTERVIEW: BILLY TUCCI chats about SHI's return, crowdfunding, and teaming up with VAMPIRELLA". The Beat.
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