SHI: SEMPO #2

Cover shows sharp corners and clean, glossy artwork with no visible spine stress, creases, or color breaking. Edges appear crisp with no chipping visible, and the surface looks bright with strong ink saturation. Book appears to be in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of edge wear; back cover and interior pages were not examined.

Shi: Sempo #2 continues the Sempo miniseries published by Avatar Press in 2000, one of several revivals and spin-off arcs that kept William Tucci's signature creation in print through the late 1990s and early 2000s. Tucci, who created, wrote, and illustrated the original Shi in 1994 for Crusade Comics, remained closely involved with the character across her many publishers and imprints, and Sempo represents part of that ongoing effort to sustain the Shi franchise under the Avatar Press banner after the character's ownership passed through several hands.

As an issue, Sempo #2 sits well outside the character's foundational appearances; it is a mid-run chapter in a secondary miniseries rather than an origin or landmark issue, and the market treats it accordingly as a low-demand independent comic with no tracked resale premium. Most copies changed hands near cover price on release and continue to do so today, turning up in dollar bins and online lots aimed at completionist Shi collectors rather than speculative buyers.

Interest in this issue is narrow and specific: readers assembling a full run of Tucci's Shi material, Avatar Press specialists, or fans drawn to the striking pin-up-style covers common to the imprint's output from this period. Raw copies trade cheaply and grade-sensitive premiums are minimal below the top end, where a small population of certified 9.8 copies can command modest prices purely on eye-appeal and scarcity in high grade rather than any narrative significance.