Tripwire Talks Shi: Gatecrasher Campaign

Crashing Each Other’s Party

Tripwire’s contributing writer Scott Braden talks to JC Vaughn and Billy Tucci about Shi: Gatecrasher currently on Kickstarter and Indiegogo…

I’m talking about Shi: Gatecrasher, and it’s got everything that those who love the four-color medium want in a book.  Both a stunning and striking comic book heroine?  Check.  Amazing script?  Check.  Gorgeous art?  Got it.

Multiversal sub-plot.

Multiversal sub-plot?

That’s right. This is not your average “bad grrrl” book.  Shi: Gatecrasher picks up after a long tradition of multiversal mayhem — from DC Comics’ infinite parallels cut down to a multiversity of 52, to Michael Moorcock’s 15 realms of the Eternal Champion.

There is also Marvel (Alan Moore’s implementation from Captain Britain) and Image Comics (as begun in Shattered Image).  Grant Morrison & Steve Yeowell played with a multiverse in Fleetway’s Zenith.

AHOY Comics then had its “Dragonfly Multiverse” in The Wrong Earth, and even my Kent Menace for Brilliant Enterprise LLC has every port along our “mysterious mariner’s” Pangean Sea set in an alternate timeline where heroes and villains of all shapes and sizes wait to be discovered by readers like you.

But Shi, Tucci’s lovely and lethal Sohei warrior, gets a history of all of comicdom, and an examination of ageless comic characters, genres, and tropes that we have not seen since Moore gave us all a Comic Book 101 history lesson in Awesome Entertainment’s Judgment Day for Rob Liefeld.

And the exciting thing about that is thanks to co-writer (along with Billy Tucci) and co-plotter (along with Billy & Deborah Tucci, as well as Steven Peros) J.C. Vaughn, it takes the fun and all-out action that was had by a precursor like that and expands on it.  To that end, TRIPWIRE had the opportunity to discuss the project with Vaughn & Tucci and get some feedback on what about this SHI special event fans can look forward to the most.

Note: Both the Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns are still available for late pledges:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shiomniv1/shi-gatecrasher-kickstarter-exclusive

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shi-gatecrasher-original-graphic-novel#/

TRIPWIRE: How did you meet? 

J C VAUGHN: I had him sign my Shi poster at San Diego in 1994 not too long after Shi: Way of the Warrior debuted. We really got to know each other, though, after I joined the Gemstone staff. Billy’s San Diego variant for Overstreet’s FAN #3 was the first cover I ever commissioned. We’ve been friends since the 1995 Chicago Comicon.

BILLY TUCCI: Pretty much, yes!

TW: Who first conceived the idea for Shi: Gatecrasher?

JCV: Billy definitely had the first idea, though we’ve been kicking things around for about three years now.

BT: I’ve always wanted to explore an alternative storyline to Shi and have her “break the fourth wall” and we played a little with the concept 30-years ago, with the Shi/Cyblade: Battle For Independents crossover. J.C. and I have been working on the idea for “Gatecrasher” for years. One of the great perks of publishing creator-owned comics is the freedom to create any fantastically fun adventure you want.

I love comics history so why not take advantage of that freedom and bring the reader along for an adventure that travels through comics decades and trend? As a fan, it’s one of those stories I’ve always wanted to read myself, and now to bring my original concept for the Shi character (in “Ran”), is truly a blessing.

TW: You use a wide array of heroes from the Golden Age to Modern Age, as well as play with comic book tropes that span the history of the medium. How did you choose which characters to use?

JCV: We knew from the outset we wanted to use Miss Fury, a character Billy had illustrated previously, and we just started talking from there. Given that I’m an Overstreet guy, when he came up with a character I’d never heard of, Bozo the Robot, that certainly captured my attention. Beyond that, we wanted characters that would represent eras, genres, and trends, as well as those who transcended those categories. Billy and Lady Death creator Brian Pulido have had a long, mutually encouraging relationship, so we really wanted to have Lady Death play a pivotal role.

BT: We chose the characters that propelled the story and belong into specific scenes. There were characters that we wanted to desperately use (mostly because I wanted to draw them), but some had to be cut because, no matter how much fun it would be to include them, they were nothing more than very cool eye-candy and not integral parts of the story.

With some notable visual differences in costume and make-up, the new character Ran appeared to be a doppelganger for Shi. What’s the story behind her?

JCV: I think this is one Billy should answer.

BT: I created Ran back in 1990. I was in my senior year of college (studying illustration) and one of my professors suggested I should make comics a career. I had been away from comic books for years, and even though I love the mainstream, always tended to march to the beat of my own drum and started doodling around with a concept that became Ran. If you look at her though, you can see just how influenced she is by late 1980’s early 90’s Marvel/DC and Image Comics. I was following the set creative “trends” of the day, and the more research I did into Japanese history and mythology, the more the character changed into Shi that debuted in 1994.

TW: At what point in the Shi mythos does this story occur?

JCV: If you’ve checked out either the crowdfunded or the direct market versions of Shi: Return of the Warrior, you know that Ana Ishikawa has aged in what basically amounts to real time. She’s no longer the deadly 20-something she was in the original series. Instead, she’s now a 40-something single mother of a teenager. The story takes place after that’s established.

The Kickstarter for this forthcoming release has done very well so far. How did that come about?

JCV: Well, simply because the fans have been great! Both the Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns have done extremely well (and both of them are still open for late pledges at this time). Billy has a long history of “No Fan Left Behind” campaigns offered on both platforms. Billy’s wife, Deborah, has done a fantastic job of taking care of the backers for many campaigns now, and that’s brought about a wonderful level of loyalty from those readers.

BT: Like, JC said, it’s all because of the fans! I had been kicking around the idea of Gatecrasher for years and Deborah and I set up a small focus group to pitch it. This was a special roundtable made up of long-time Shi fans who have been with us from the beginning and it was their enthusiasm that convinced that we were onto something.

Also, I’m very fortunate to work alongside JC who brings his own dynamic style of storytelling and vast knowledge of comics history into the fold, makes for a fresh, thought-provoking graphic novel that explores comics’ past, while also adding, a touch of “what if” by including Ran.

TW: What are your favourite moments from this story?

JCV: The entire story is overflowing with fun ideas we would have trimmed out of the story most of the time, but they’re strung together in a manner so as to tell what we hope is a very meaningful tale with a strong underlying message (which sounds like either a preposterous or way-too-highbrow thing to say, but that’s actually the goal once we get beyond having a thoroughly fun read).

BT: I agree with JC. and to also draw the creations of two of my comic book heroes – Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo and Brian Pulido’s Lady Death – is a real honor. Both characters play crucial roles in the story and to a greater extent, Shi’s own existence.

I’m also feeling quite nostalgic by revisiting Ran. This was the character that was a huge part of my plan to break into comics for two years before she eventually evolved into Ana Ishikawa (Shi). Working with J.C. and story editor, Steven Peros really gave a renewed life and meaning to a character that at least to comics’ lore, never existed (aside from scattered sketch book pages and notes of a then-unknown cartoonist).

I have to tell you that I’m also super excited about Gatecrasher’s variant cover artists. Again, Stan Sakai is one of my comic book heroes and to have him illustrate a Shi cover (with Usagi Yojimbo!) is nothing short of an honor. It is also just wonderful to have artists and creators that I admire greatly in Art Thibert and Irene Strychalski to beautifully cover Shi. All this and then to add the cherry on top and have superstar Rob Liefeld draw a special variant cover edition?! No comic book creator could ever want for more.

TW: Are you setting up more stories for Ran?   Will there be a sequel?

JCV: That’s entirely Billy’s call, but I called him about a month ago and told him that I definitely have more ideas. I think he’ll make that determination when he sees the finished product. That said, I do know he’s really thinking about at least one thing, right, Billy?

BT: Deborah and I were just talking about that. I’ve really re-fallen in love with her. Again, for almost the entire time I was trying to break into comics, this was “my” character and J.C. and I do leave an opening for a very, very cool sequel.

That said, Crusade has a very detailed publishing plan that goes well into 2026, but the fan reaction to her – the cover that features Shi and Ran is the campaign’s top-seller – has us thinking that maybe Ran should see a crowdfunding campaign later this year.