Comic Book Veterans Meet Real Veterans at Comicon '08

Press Release | July 28, 2008

Sgt. Rock meets members of 442nd Regimental Combat Team at San Diego International Comic Convention 2008.

San Diego International Comic Convention, the world renown comic book and animation convention, made its annual presence known in San Diego this past Thursday, July 24 as it opened to a record-breaking 125,000 attendees and selling-out passes for all four days. This is a stark contrast to the first Comicon in 1970 that gathered 140 attendees.

This year, Comicon entertained some new attendees. World War II 442nd veterans included Medal of Honor recipient George “Joe” Sakato (E Company), David Katagiri (F Company) and Jim Yamashita (I Company) along with their escorts, Leslie Sakato (daughter of Joe Sakato), JA Living Legacy’s Susan Uyemura and Judge Bryan Yagi. Yagi, who is an avid Comicon alumnus, commented that this was truly a special experience citing, he felt like a “little kid” around these men. Yagi’s uncle, the late Tom Yagi, was a medic assigned to the second platoon of L Company, 442nd RCT. For Yagi, Comicon was a chance to combine his two passions: comic books and his new found admiration of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

William “Billy” Tucci invited the veterans. Tucci is in the process of revising the famous comic book character, Sgt. Rock. Beginning Veterans Day 2008, Tucci will unveil a six-month series dedicated to “The Rescue of the Lost Battalion.” It is speculated that Sgt. Rock will be one of the 141st Texas division. This series will depict the historic battle in which the 442nd rescues them. At Tucci’s booth, Sakato and Yamashita were greeted by fans who wanted to meet these real-life heroes. One man immediately noticed the Medal of Honor around George Sakato’s neck and was awestruck that a World War II Medal of Honor recipient was an attendee. Yamashita said he had never experienced anything similar to Comicon and felt this was a great opportunity to expose a new and different group of people to the 442nd history.

Tucci has spent the past year researching the 141st Division and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He traveled to France to meet with French historian Gerome Villain. Tucci was determined to portray history accurately and has interviewed many of the 442nd veterans as well as the Texas Lost Battalion survivors. A veteran and former paratrooper himself, Tucci stated that he never knew what they endured for our country and feels Sgt. Rock can educate the public on the experiences of these special men.

Tucci is the creator of “Shi.” Shi is an industry superstar that has additionally produced many blockbuster cross-over projects with some of the most well know Marvel and independent characters including Daredevil, Witchblade, and Wolverine of X-Men fame. After the mega-success of Shi, Tucci has used his artwork to teach society about our history. One of his most important works of art is titled, “Through the Ashes,” a 32 page comic dedicated to heroes and victims of 9/11.

Scheduled to debut at Comicon 2008, in Baltimore Maryland, “Sgt. Rock and the Rescue of the Lost Battalion” six months series will run from Veterans Day 2008 to April 2009. For more information on William Tucci, please visit his website: http://www.williamtucci.com/

Currently, Tucci resides in New York with his wife, Deborah and son William Alexander.