Shi: Ju-Nen

(Dark Horse, 2004-2005)
™ and © Dark Horse Comics, Inc.

Shi returns in a new limited series, as she recovers from the fallout of the last one. According to the text intro, she accidentally killed the wandering monks who once called her family and she’s hiding out, as the story opens.

A little more restraint in the graphic design would have been wise. Billy Tucci has mastery over figure work and action, but he breaks panel borders so many times that panels are almost nonexistent, making the action confusing. Word balloons travel north, south, east, and west across the page, abandoning the traditional left-to-right reading style used by the majority of Shi’s readers. This is never more apparent then on Page 5, where the balloons travel in a circle. It takes three or four tries to figure out the order of events. The lettering is also pretty awful, featuring a bad font and multiple typos, though it’s not unreadable.

Still, the art is pretty, the cover especially stands out, and Shi’s a compelling enough character. But this is one creator-owned series that desperately needs an editor.

— Steve Horton

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