|
On the 10th anniversary of his popular comic strip, Tak Toyoshima talks about the future of S.A.M.
By Pacific Citizen Staff
Published October 2, 2009
It’s hard to believe the bushy-eyebrowed Japanese American guy is a decade old this year. We mean the very cartoony Osamu “Sam” Takahashi, star of the “Secret Asian Man” comic strip — not its creator Tak Toyoshima, of course. Sam has spent the better part of his existence gracing Asian Pacific American newspapers (including this one!) and making you laugh/sigh in empathy/clench your fist. Love Sam (and his friends) or hate him, there’s no arguing he’s helped to shape APA identity in the 21st century. Now Toyoshima, a 38-year-old Shin Nisei, takes a pause from celebrating a milestone and a transition (after three years of daily syndication, United Features pulled the plug on S.A.M. Sept. 19) to answer our questions from his Boston home.
So let’s do as the artist suggested on his Web site to celebrate Sam’s birthday: “raise a glass, bake a (yellow) cake and celebrate.”
How has Sam adjusted to the return to a weekly strip?
Tak Toyoshima: The last panel of the final daily announced Marie is pregnant so surely things are going to get a lot more hectic for Sam! In real life I’m already spinning a couple of projects that I have been waiting to jump on but was not able to do (or was delayed in doing) because of contractual factors with United Features.
Has the transition to a weekly affected your 10-year anniversary celebration?
TT: To be honest the 10th year snuck up on me. If there’s any deep meaning associated with the daily back to weekly format it’s all in hindsight. I’ve always tried to focus on the project at hand or that week’s/day’s strip. Regardless, I plan on producing the strip for as long as it interests me and for now I can’t imagine NOT working on it. Sam will have a long life for sure.
Do you look back on the first S.A.M. strip like a proud father?
TT: The very first strip is very important to me. It was a single full-page comic about the stereotypes seen on TV and movies. Really basic Asian American angst 101. But at the time it was the kind of thing I never saw. That’s why I did it. I needed to prove to myself that someone could produce material like that, that someone would print it and that people will read it and respond. I do remember that strip fondly. I gave the original art to my parents.
The newer strips are a lot more nuanced and involve so much more than just Asian American issues. I’ve been told that I’m straying too far from AA topics, but the truth is if that’s all I talked about I would run out of things to say pretty quickly, especially in a daily format. I don’t think I’d want to read a strip that was too narrowly focused. But it’s a lot of fun applying that kind of critical eye to the many different groups that we all find ourselves identifying with.
Speaking of being a proud papa, you’ve just become one for the second time. How’s it going this time around?
TT: [Our] second son was born 9/3/09. It’s been great. He lets us sleep a lot more than our first son ... so far. Since the final strip just announced that Marie is pregnant, we’re still a good few months away from a baby showing up in the strip. I like to time some major events in my life about a year off from real time. That way I can look back and reflect on the experiences instead of reacting purely in the present.
What are some ideas knocking around in your head right now for a weekly strip?
TT: This return to weekly strips will be interesting for a couple reasons. While I do have to be more selective and have less of an ability to string along a story arc, I’ve learned how to set up an idea, build it up and deliver an ending pretty effectively.
The other thing I’ll have to get used to is timing. When I was originally doing weekly strips, I could draw a strip about something I saw on the news that night, send it out to the weekly papers and it would be on the streets the next day or two. With Sundays, I usually have to work about a month out. Since this time around I’ll still be producing for Sundays, I have to maintain that timing distance from current events.
I’ll also be returning to a weekly with a cast of characters I didn’t have before syndication, so I really look forward to developing those characters more and exploring new characters.
Which is your favorite character? Which is the most controversial?
TT: I really have come to love them all. They are all bits and pieces of friends, family and myself so I guess that would make sense. I love Charlie’s entrepreneurial nature. To me it’s so American. Simon is the bitter Asian guy I used to be (and still fall back into from time to time), so he’s great for getting out my aggressions. Richie always has the best intentions and I’m grateful for all the wonderful things he does, but his quest for extreme political correctness makes my stomach turn. I’m not sure who the most controversial character is, but no doubt Simon has the most extreme views (like supporting how Asian American gunmen on college campuses are helping to change AA men’s weak and passive image).
We’ve been hearing some bad news about APA newspapers shutting down. Where do you see the industry going?
TT: My day job is working as a creative director for a weekly newspaper. I feel the squeeze on both sides of the business. As an artist it’s hard to convince a paper to a.) change what they are doing by picking up a new strip and b.) convince them to pay for content. I’ve always heard that ethnic media have been growing while mainstream papers have been shrinking. But from what I see everyone is hurting. The big question is: Is there a future for print news in general? I don’t foresee print media completely disappearing in the next five years, but 10 years? 20 years? Who knows.
I think the nature of news has changed, and so has the consumer of news. Once upon a time, people watched and listened to the news. Now they listen to the commentary that they agree with. Once upon a time, there was a thing called journalism that took time and research. Now we have up to the second tweets from whoever happens to be there at the time. I predict a split in the class of news consumers. Those who are willing to pay for well-researched information and those who will consume anything put in front of them.
In an ideal world, who would Sam hang out with?
TT: Sam would have liked to been at the beer summit at the White House, go to a museum with Bjork and then gorge himself at any of Iron Chef Morimoto’s restaurants. I always imaged Sam walking into a ‘Peanuts’ strip and wondering what those kids’ reactions would be to him.
What will Sam tackle in the next 10 years?
TT: Nanotechnology, environmental disasters, the concept of the United States dividing into two separate countries, Millennials, his son learning to drive and — if Charlie gets his calculations right — an early form of teleportation.
And you?
TT: With daily syndication over, the field is waaaay open. Without giving away too much, I’ll be expanding Sam beyond the comic strip medium and I’ll also be working on some other non-S.A.M. related projects that I’ve been putting off for years. Stay tuned!
On the Web:
www.secretasianman.com
|