"Secret Asian Man," by Tak Toyoshima syndicated by United Feature Syndicate

Go Tak go!

I’ve obviously known about this for a while, but it’s still nice to have it be all official with the press releases and all…

Press release action:

“Secret Asian Man,” by Tak Toyoshima, is the First-Ever Nationally
Syndicated Comic Strip Featuring an Asian American Leading Character

NEW YORK, June 11, 2007 – Secret Asian Man by Tak Toyoshima brings a
new face to the newspaper comics page. Osamu “SAM” Takahashi is a
struggling comic strip artist who dreams of hitting the big time. A second
generation Japanese American who grew up in a big city surrounded by people
from all walks of life, SAM is fascinated by what makes us the same as well as
different. SAM is a laid-back guy who has a wife and young son. Although secure
with his identity, he is a member of a frequently marginalized group and is
therefore reminded by the world around him of the many unresolved issues
regarding race, gender and orientation. SAM navigates through this cultural
minefield with wit and humor and through it all remains an optimistic dreamer.
Secret Asian Man starts in newspapers worldwide and on the Web at
www.comics.com on July 16, 2007.

“Asian Americans have been an integral part of American society for centuries
but have only recently begun making inroads into our popular culture,” said Ted
Rall, Acquisitions and Development Editor for United Feature Syndicate. “What
Margaret Cho did for stand-up comedy and ‘Harold and Kumar Go To White
Castle’ did for the movies, Secret Asian Man—the first Asian-themed strip—
does for the comics page. A brilliant artist and wonderfully succinct writer, Tak
Toyoshima opens a window on topics that the comics have ignored until now.
Most importantly, you don’t have to be Asian to love Secret Asian Man!”
“You’d think the audience for Secret Asian Man wouldn’t extend much beyond
the Asian American community but nothing could be further from the truth,” says
SAM creator Tak Toyoshima. “Over the years I’ve developed an audience that is
diverse, intelligent, boisterous and active. Of particular importance are the
college-aged readers. I do a good deal of public speaking at college conferences
and get students excited about newspaper comics again. I think it’s vital to get
that crowd back into reading newspapers.”

Secret Asian Man is loosely based on the life of its creator, Japanese American
freelance illustrator and cartoonist Tak Toyoshima. Toyoshima was born and
raised in the TriBeCa section of New York City, which borders SoHo, Chinatown,
and Little Italy. This breeding ground for creativity and multicultural experiences
provided a solid foundation for Toyoshima’s personal, thoughtful and humorous
reflections on the experiences of Asian Americans in the United States. Since its
first appearance in 1998, Secret Asian Man has gone from a monthly two-page
comic in a Boston arts magazine with a circulation of about 5,000 to a weekly
comic strip published across the country with a total circulation of over a quarter
of a million, to the first-ever nationally syndicated comic strip featuring an Asian
American leading character. An illustrator trapped in a designer’s body,
Toyoshima graduated from Boston University with a degree in advertising. He
lives in Dorchester, MA with his wife and son and is the art director for Boston’s
Weekly Dig.