Asian Avenue Interview

What inspired you to draw SAM?
Mostly it was to give myself a creative outlet. I was working as an inker for a comic book called The Tick from New England Comics for a couple of years. It was great touring around and meeting fans and pros, but I started to yearn to do something that was all mine. It really made me sit down and think what it was that I thought I had to say—what I could talk about that I thought was important to me. That’s when Secret Asian Man was born.

It started mostly with angst and resentment towards things I had noticed about the Asian American experience from typical stereotyping to inter-Asian relations. As the years went on the strip (and I) started to mature a bit and I began broadening the scope of the topics I wrote about.

What does the title of your strip mean?
That Johnny Rivers song “Secret Agent Man” had a lot to do with it. The name has come to mean things but initially I didn’t use it for any specific purpose. I always took the “secret” part as acknowledging the under-representation of Asians in the media.

What was Shovel Magazine all about? What drew you to it, and what happened?
Shovel Magazine was created out of a drunken, mind-altered night when my (now) wife and I met up with this guy named Jeff at a friend’s party. Totally random. Jeff started talking about wanting to start a magazine dedicated to creative, progressive culture and a few weeks later, Shovel Magazine was assembled. It was a monthly collection of writing, illustration, fiction, photography, poetry, kung-fu movie reviews … etc. Very free-wheeling and creative.

I was drawn to the concept of having a monthly outlet (I was the main illustrator) to get my illustrations published and distributed all over town. We had a circulation of about 5000. At that time I was heavy into freelance illustration and figured it would also be a good public resume. My wife wrote poetry and articles for Shovel, and a lot of our friends contributed so it was all in the family. There was also an excitement in the air of meeting new creative people during the hype of the dot-com era. It was a very positive, indestructible pre-9/11 atmosphere.

The drawback was that it cost money to produce and local businesses liked the magazine a lot but didn’t think it was the kind of publication that they would advertise in. A couple years of publishing Shovel went by, and Jeff had the idea to rally the contributors and create a new weekly paper to compete with the local alt-news weekly in Boston, the very established Boston Phoenix. Classic David vs. Goliath, but it has been 5 years this fall and we’ve been growing every year.

How do you think SAM is received by different audiences? Do people “get it” on the whole?
I am constantly surprised by the wide range of readers out there that pick up the strip. Across all races and up and down the ages. It’s funny that a good portion of them feel the need to describe themselves somewhere in the letter. “As a black lesbian in a wheelchair I find your strip comforting.”

I like to think most people get it. I get a lot of positive feedback and support. On the other hand I get a very fair share of hate mail. I’ve been called a racist, a hater, anti-semitic, had physical violence threatened towards me … you name it. After a while you get used to it, and realize that some people are going to get it and some just won’t.

Do you ever feel the need to pull your punches after an initial draft?
Not really. If anything, I try and make it more over the top.

What does it take to make a successful comic strip?
A day job and an understanding and supportive wife.

Can you think of your most memorable or favorite strip, one that incited a lot of debate or one that you feel was most successful?
I recently did a 3-part series on the phenomenon of black people mocking white people. I used that crappy movie White Chicks as the catalyst but basically posed the question, “Do white people mind being mocked by black people?” Tons of responses came in. The second strip asked, “Is it time for black people to move on and stop with the white jokes already?” More responses. Finally I stated where I stand on the whole issue. That there’s nothing I love more than a brotherly racial ribbing and that I wouldn’t want to live in a world where we are not allowed to do so.

What would you say is your editorial viewpoint in these comics? What are some of the issues that are closest to your heart?
I can only write on subject through my own personal viewpoint. I don’t have all the answers nor do I try and pose that I do. All I can do is throw things out there that I personally feel and brace myself for the firestorm. I especially enjoy strips that reflect my real-life experiences. It’s almost like public therapy and the reader feedback on those strips tend to also be more personal and thoughtful.

You described yourself once as a “confused” artist. Can you explain?
I’m a Japanese American who was born and raised in NYC’s Chinatown, went to schools for the first several years of my life with a 99% Chinese student population, love rap, love heavy metal, married a white girl, and can barely speak the language that the rest of my family speaks. It’s a strange place to be. At the same time it all makes sense to me.

You have SAM comic and SAM merchandise. What’s the next step? Are there any other characters brewing in your mind?
Characters? No, for now I want to focus on SAM. I was thinking of giving him a steady cast to play with but I always change my mind at the last minute.

What other illustrators, writers and comic artists do you draw your inspiration from the most? Why?
I grew up reading manga by Akira Toriyama and Tezuka Osamu but also read tons of Marvel superhero comics. What I love about Japanese manga is that even the most skilled artists will sometimes throw in a completely cartoonish character or expression in a story and it just gives the whole thing an innocence.

For American comics artists I love Sam Kieth, Frank Miller, Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Frazetta, Vaughn Bode … the list goes on and on.

All of these artists, besides being incredibly talented, always had a story to tell to go along with their art. They are very close to their work and I think they would find it hard to draw someone else’s characters just for a paycheck. They inspire me with their love for what they do.

Do your parents read your comics?
Every week. Some they get, some they don’t get. The rest they probably don’t want to get.

Do you think your kids will grow up in a more enlightened society?
I certainly hope so. I just get the nagging feeling that certain people will be enlightened to new and progressive ways of being racist as well.

What’s the most mind-numbingly stupid remark you’ve received in response to one of your strips?
I’ve received a couple that I couldn’t even tell what the hell they were trying to say. Some people have so much venom they want to unleash, that when it comes time to sit and type it out, it makes no sense.

An Asian person who threatened to come down and “beat my ass” was pretty stupid. He said he was from some Asian community organization. What kind of show of community is that? Then there was the guy who kept repeating the word HATE in all caps throughout the e-mail. He said I was supporting HATE in my HATEful comic and that I should stop the HATE.

What’s your favorite cartoon (animated) from your childhood?
As a little kid Tom and Jerry was the shit. Herculoids, Space Ghost, Thundarr the Barbarian were all cool. Later on I thought Thunder Cats was pretty slick.

Favorite snack treat?
I’m a sucker for ice cream.

Do you collect anything?
I used to collect American comics. I had more than 20 boxes of them at one point but after a while it just got too expensive to buy them. $4 for a 32-page comic? No thanks.

What achievement would you like to see an Asian athlete pull off next?
Winning an NBA slam dunk contest or NASCAR. I’m dying to see thousands of rednecks forced to cheer for an Asian racecar driver.