We're Official...

Check out our page at The New Press!

Right now, you can't pre-order directly from TNP's website, but you can log on to Amazon and find us there, too.

Also, keep checking this page for updates. There might be some surprises lurking in the wings...

The Secret Identities Interview: Greg LaRocque

From his start at Marvel in the early 80s on books such as Web of Spider-Man and Power Man & Iron Fist to his legendary runs on two of DC Comics’ most iconic titles—Legion of Super-Heroes with Paul Levitz and The Flash with Mark Waid—Greg LaRocque’s art is synonymous with some of the most iconic stories in modern comics. Since the mid-1990s, when he formed Exiled Studio, Greg has been steadily churning out critically acclaimed series such as The Exiled and Cry Baby. His latest, The Dreaming, will be out in February.

Having been partly responsible for one of DC’s most prominent Asian American characters—Wally West’s love interest, Linda Park, it was a no-brainer to have Greg join the SIUniverse. For SECRET IDENTITIES, the legendary artist contributed a story called “TRINITY,” about three super-powered individuals that share a mysterious connection, and features LaRocque’s first Filipino superheroine.

We recently sat down with Greg to talk about his participation in the book and to share his thoughts on being an Asian American creator in the comics biz.

More...

SECRET IDENTITIES: So, how does it feel to be a part of the book?
GREG LAROCQUE: I was excited about creating my own character. I can’t recall to my memory any Filipino characters in mainstream American comic books. I’ve traveled to the Philippines quite a few times and know of the long tradition of comics over there. The background behind “Trinity” really started with me wanting to do a story about the great injustice during WWII when Filipino guerrillas who had fought alongside American soldiers were promised [but denied] U.S. citizenship.

What does it mean to be an Asian American creator in the comics industry?
You know, I can’t say there’s been anything that I could attribute to that feeling. Being a creator is such an individual thing. It’s not like I necessarily draw on Filipino culture in my stories. It’s strange, though, that if you go back to some of my work—like Legion, Flash and Fighting American, all three had a female co-star that was Asian.

Why do you think there’s such a struggle to have Asian American representation in other forms of media, if not necessarily in comics?
I remember the days when the series Kung Fu was on television. It starred David Carradine, but it was created by and for Bruce Lee. They would not do the series with him because of his Chinese blood. So, I think the money people [in movies and TV] look for the person that has the “broadest” appeal. Of course we have Asians in entertainment, but who’s at the top? Jackie Chan? There isn’t that much opportunity for Asian actors to make a dent in the industry. With comic books, you can hide behind your work. I compare comics to the music or sports industry. As long as you can produce, [you’ll have a job.]

There are plenty of minorities in the business, but yet there’s still a lack of any significant comic book heroes of color. Why is that?
The bottom line is money. It’s the same reason why it’s so hard to push a female superheroine. [The mainstream comic companies] are making business decisions to “play it safe.” When the independent scene exploded, though, there are [a lot more chances] for creators to be given opportunites that weren’t available to them years ago.

That said, you were the artist that first drew Linda Park, who’s arguably one of the more prominent Asian American characters in mainstream comics.
I can only guess at this point since I never talked about it with Mark [Waid], but I think the trend at the time was to just be more diverse. I think story tellers nowadays have progressed as much as our culture has progressed. If you look back at the stereotypical cartoons of Asians in the past, these moves were made to bring more diversity to the books. And comics, going back to Marvel and Stan Lee, have always had that history of introducing ideas we’d never seen before. It was just the next step forward.

And Linda was a byproduct of that progress?
Yeah. I can give you a little trivia on Linda. The look of Linda Park was based on my wife, who’s Filipina [unlike Linda who is Korean American]. Though Mark had created her personality seperately, it was like he knew my wife! Here’s the thing about Filipina women. They take a backseat to no one. They are the heads of the family. I mean, who else has elected two women presidents?

***

For more of our interview with Greg LaRocque, be sure to pick up a copy of SECRET IDENTITIES: THE ASIAN AMERICAN SUPERHERO ANTHOLOGY, in stores April 2009 from The New Press!

The Lineup!

Here it is, your official peek at the SECRET IDENTITIES roster! Below you will find a table of contents of the main features of the book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

IN THE BEGINNING (PREFACE): Story by Jeff Yang; art by Jef Castro

--DRIVING STEEL: Story by Jeff Yang; art by Benton Jew
--SAM MEETS LARRY HAMA by Tak Toyoshima

SECTION ONE: WAR & REMEMBRANCE
--INTERSTITIAL by Parry Shen; art by Alex Tarampi

--9066: Story by Jonathan Tsuei; art by Jerry Ma
--HEROES WITHOUT A COUNTRY: Story by Daniel Jai Lee; art by Vince Sunico
--GAMAN: Story by Jamie Ford; art by Alex Tarampi
--THE HIBAKUSHA: Story by Parry Shen; art by Glenn Urieta

--REDIRECTING COMICS: GREG PAK by Keith Chow; art by A.L. Baroza
--THE CITIZEN: Story by Greg Pak; art by Bernard Chang
--SIDEKICKS: YANG + KANG by Keith Chow; art by A.L. Baroza
--THE BLUE SCORPION & CHUNG: Story by Gene Yang; art by Sonny Liew
--JAMES: Story by Michael Kang; art by Erwin Haya

SECTION TWO: MANY MASKS
--INTERSTITIAL by Jason Sperber; art by Chi-Yun Lau

GALLERY: 8 FULL COLOR PAGES
--FEATURING: AGENT ORANGE by Dustin Nguyen & Dustin Nguyen; JIA by Kelly Hu & Cliff Chiang; GAZE by Sung Kang, Billy Tan, & Walden Wong; FLIGHT by Ian Kim; CATACLYSM by Yul Kwon & Deodato Pangandoyon; SHINE by Leonardo Nam & Anthony Tan; GO by Kazu Kibuishi; and PARALLEL PENNY by Anthony Wu

SECTION THREE: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
--INTERSTITIAL by Keith Chow; art by Chi-Yun Lau

--NOW THERE'S SOMETHING: GREG LAROCQUE by Keith Chow; art by Alexander Shen
--TRINITY: Story and art by Greg LaRocque
--NO EXIT: Story by Naeem Mohaiemen; art by Glenn Urieta
--THE WALLPASSER: Story by Clarence Coo; art by Jerry Ma
--TWILIGHT: Story by Ted Chung & Anuj Shrestha; art by Anuj Shrestha
--S.O.S.: Story by Tanuj Chopra; art by Alex Joon Kim

SECTION FOUR: GIRL POWER
--INTERSTITIAL by Kripa Joshi

--YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT: Story by Lynn Chen; art by Paul Wei
--SAMPLER: Story by Jimmy Aquino; art by Erwin Haya
--LEARN TO SHARE: Story by Keiko Agena; art by Ming Doyle
--A DAY AT COSTUMECO: Story by Jeff Yang; art by A.L. Baroza
--SUPERGRRL by Hellen Jo

SECTION FIVE: ORDINARY HEROES
--INTERSTITIAL by Raymond Sohn

--DAVID KIM: Story by John Kuramoto; art by Christine Norrie
--MEET JOE: Story by Koji Steven Sakai; art by John Franzese
--ON THE THIRD DAY: Story and art by Johann Choi
--LONG, THE DRAGON BOY: Story and art by Martin Hsu
--JUSTIFIED: Story by Ken Wong; art by Tiffanie Hwang
--JUST ORDINARY: Story by Nick Huang; art by Alexander Shen

SECTION SIX: FROM HEADLINE TO HERO
--INTERSTITIAL by Parry Shen; art by Jeremy Arambulo

--16 MILES: Story by Parry Shen; art by Sarah Sapang
--TAKING BACK TROY: Story by Jeff Yang; art by Francis Tsai
--PERIL: Story by Keith Chow; art by Jef Castro

SI BOOK TOUR 2009

September 29, 2008 – SECRET IDENTITIES: The Asian American Superhero Anthology to be published by The New Press in April 2009 -- has begun seeking opportunities at universities/colleges to host a book event during Asian American Heritage Month from April to May 2009.

Possible programming includes:

- Showcasing a traveling gallery of original artwork from celebrity contributors (James Kyson Lee, Sung Kang, Kelly Hu, Aaron Yoo, Beau Sia, Yul Kwon) that will be auctioned off for Cartoonists Across America - a literacy program.

- A 30 min documentary, highlighting a sampling of the stories as animated films.

- Discussion on the stories inspired by actual events/people (internment camps, Atomic bombs, Vincent Chin, Wen Ho Lee, Transcontinental Railroad, Vietnam Airlifts).

- An interactive workshop where participants "audition" for roles portrayed by AA’s on film/tv to demonstrate the need for projects, like SI -- to create strong, 3-dimensional heroes and role-models.

- Q&A panel with editors/local contributors and book signing.

Interested parties may fill out a request form under the “THE TOUR” at http://www.secretidentities.org/ or inquire at info@secretidentities.org. An interactive tourmap is also available there for organizations to view existing events to minimize travel expenses.

About SECRET IDENTITIES:

SECRET IDENTITIES uses the conventions of the superhero comic book to expose the real face of the Asian American experience, usually hidden behind the mask of misperception and stereotype.

This groundbreaking anthology brings together top Asian American creators in the comics industry—including Gene Yang (American Born Chinese), Bernard Chang (Wonder Woman), Greg Pak (The Hulk), Sonny Liew (Liquid City), Greg LaRocque (The Flash), Christine Norrie (Black Canary Wedding Special), and Francis Tsai (Heroes for Hire)—as well as new and established creators from film (Mike Kang), television (Keiko Agena) and literature (Jamie Ford), to craft original graphical short stories set in a compelling "shadow history" of our country: from the building of the railroads, to the Japanese American internment, atomic bombings, the Vietnam airlift, the murder of Vincent Chin and the groundless incarceration of Dr. Wen Ho Lee.

For more info: http://secretidentities.org/preview.pdf or http://secretidentitiesbook.blogspot.com/

"SECRET IDENTITIES" CURRENT TOURMAP
CommunityWalk Map - SECRET IDENTITIES BOOK TOUR

Who We Are

For those of you who might be interested in who we are, you can learn more about the book and us editors here.

If you're too lazy to click on the link, peep the mini-bios below:

Jeff Yang
Editor-in-Chief
Age First Began Reading Comics: 9 (“Yo Joe!”)
Maximum Size of Collection: 800 (and counting)
If I Had a Power It Would Be…: Instant adaptation (ability to rapidly evolve into the ideal form for any environment or occasion, from a boring lecture to the center of the sun)
Complete Bio

Keith Chow
Editor-at-Large;
Outreach & Education Director
Age First Began Reading Comics: “infancy” (“Captain Carrot”)
Maximum Size of Collection: never counted (nine longboxes)
If I Had a Power It Would Be…: flight or time travel
Complete Bio

Parry Shen
Managing Editor
Age First Began Reading Comics: 7 (“Richie Rich: Poor Little Rich Boy”)
Maximum Size of Collection: 800 (and counting)
If I Had a Power It Would Be…: Molecular moisture projection and conversion (e.g., Iceman’s powers)
Complete Bio


Jerry Ma
Art Director
Age First Began Reading Comics: 6 (“Dial H for Hero”)
Maximum Size of Collection: unsure (but has all of “Power Man and Iron Fist”)
If I Had a Power It Would Be…: Mind control
Complete Bio

Jef Castro
Senior Artist
Age First Began Reading Comics: 6 (“Disney’s Unca Scrooge”)
Maximum Size of Collection: 350(lame compared to brother, who has 2000)
If I Had a Power It Would Be…: Probability twisting, a la Longshot
Complete Bio

Welcome to the SI Blog!

Hard to believe, but it's been over a year since we first announced Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology to the world. In that time, release dates have changed (on shelves April 2009!), babies have been born (shout out to Skylar), and much awesome has been created. This blog is a chance for those of us behind the scenes to let you all in on some of our secrets. We'll keep you up to date on the progress of the book, let you hear from some of the folks writing and drawing some really incredible stories, and offer a sneak peek or two at some of the stories and art you'll find gracing the pages of the anthology (like that gem of a panel from the story "Peril" by the illustrious Jef Castro below). We're looking forward to hearing your feedback, so feel free to leave comments and let us know how we're doing!



Excelsior... or something... (Can we even use that as a sign-off?)



-- posted by Keith