Tak Toyoshima publishes “Secret Asian Man” comic strips in new book, “The Daily Days”

Secret Asian Man: The Daily Days by Tak Toyoshima

Tak Toyoshima is a pioneer. He’s been publishing “Secret Asian Man,” a smart, funny Asian American comic strip, since 1999 in various Asian American and Japanese American newspapers and websites. He’s a visual AAPI blogger, tackling issues of the day, racial stereotypes, friendships, the foibles of family life and of course, Asian American Pacific Islander identity.

SAM is an autobiographical reflection of Toyoshima. In fact, the main character, Sam, is, according to the cast of characters rundown in the book,”an aspiring cartoonist who works as an art director at his local alternative newsweekly. He is an incurable dreamer who is fascinated by what makes us all tick.”

The Boston-based artist has been the art director of a alternative newspaper, the Weekly Dig, the whole time that he’s been building a following for SAM. A couple of years ago, SAM was picked by by United Media, which syndicated the strip in mainstream newspapers across the country. That was great for Tak, because he was able to reach a much wider, mainstream audience with his witty, observant social jabs.

Earlier this fall, though, Toyoshima parted ways with United Media to concentrate on promoting SAM once again through AAPI channels and with a new, full-color comic every Sunday on his own website.

And now, he’s collected every strip syndicated by United Media into his first book, “Secret Asian Man: The Daily Days,” which is available now for pre-order from Amazon.com. I ordered my copy — be the first one on your block to have a copy! Continue reading

Laura Ling, Euna Lee & Kim Jong Il through the eyes of Tak Toyoshima, Secret Asian Man

Illustration 
by cartoonist Tak Toyoshima of Laura Ling and Euna Lee with Kim Jong Il looming over them.

I had to post this, although I haven’t had time to blog about the Asian American Journalists Association convention last week in Boston. This illustration was in the organization’s silent auction and I had to have it.

Cartoonist Tak Toyoshima, who draws the syndicated comic “Secret Asian Man,” drew this the day before the start of the convention, specially for the auction.

Since the recent release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee was so fresh in everyone’s minds, and the topic of “Journalists in Jeopardy,” including Ling and Lee but also Roxana Saberi, was the plenary session that kicked off the convention, the drawing seemed the perfect symbol of the spirit of the convention, and of the AAJA.