joshualunacreations: For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I had hoped to announce the release
joshualunacreations: For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I had hoped to announce the release date of AMERICANIZASIAN, a book collecting my online comic strips about Filipino American and Asian American identity and experiences, but since my publisher Image Comics doesn’t seem comfortable publishing it, I need your help. When I pitched AMERICANIZASIAN, a Partner compared it to a female cartoonist’s collection of political cartoons—many of which are anti-Trump—and described both of our books as “angry” and with “no story for people to relate to,” implying her book was a mistake and mine would be too. The Partner, a white man, said my work should be “more positive” and implied that my Asian American experience would be more relatable if it was like PEN15, a show that reminds his half-Japanese wife of her childhood (the show’s protagonist is half-white, half-Japanese—I’m neither, I’m Filipino). He showed my strips to Asian Americans he knew, including one on his staff, to co-sign his belief that my book wouldn’t sell. He used their opinions to justify ignoring my online following and every fan who’s explicitly told me they want to buy this book (most are Asian/POC and educators). He begrudgingly greenlit the book, even though it was clear he didn’t want to, and I submitted my cover a month later. I was immediately told it could not be used due to legal concerns over its parodying of trademarked characters. No suggestions were offered to make it usable. I asked for more details, as my strips also parody/criticize trademarked characters. Image insisted the interiors were fine because—unlike a cover—they’re not used to promote the book. I offered to modify the cover (the version you see here) but they ignored me and got a lawyer. They then said the interiors were a problem because my criticism of Marvel’s anti-Asian narratives was “so negative” within the book’s overall context. Our exchange got heated, as I said I felt they wanted to reject the book all along & were using a legal angle to justify it. Two days later, I was informed that my bestselling comic previously published through Image would be removed from Comixology, and any remaining copies burned. Burning books to reduce inventory costs is normal, but I’ve never been told it would put an end to digital sales. Concerned they were going to erase all my books, I tried again to work with them. I gave them a detailed list of all of my strips with potential legal risks and offered to modify them based on their recommendations, but they haven’t been forthcoming with answers or guidance. One cover change the Partner did suggest, though, was to exclude “other characters & focus on you.” As a light-skinned Fil-Am, it’s important to me to uplift dark-skinned Filipinos, yet he was implying I should erase two characters that are my own IP—that’s not a legal issue. It’s hard not to believe Image’s behavior is discriminatory, especially when there’s a double standard. When Howard Chaykin’s comic was criticized for being harmful towards trans women and Pakistani men, Image defended and celebrated him for making people “angry” and “uncomfortable.” (https://www.polygon.com/2017/7/18/15960690/howard-chaykin-divided-states-of-hysteria-image-comic) Yet when a marginalized person speaks truth to power, speaks about the harm of anti-Asian narratives, it’s condemned as unpublishable for being “angry” and “negative?” Suddenly Image’s credo of publishing comics “no other publisher would dare take a risk on” no longer applies? I was inspired to join Image years ago because two of its co-founders, Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio, are Asian. I wanted to pay that forward and use AMERICANIZASIAN to invite other creators of color to tell their story, but how can I invite anyone when my own story isn’t wanted? I still intend to publish AMERICANIZASIAN, but I need a publisher who is POC-friendly and supports the book’s message and tone. In the meantime, I need your support. I’ve been putting out these strips for free for 3 years, and was counting on book sales as a source of income. Speaking out about this is risky and terrifying, but silence would only add to the pain this has caused. So if you’ve enjoyed my comics, please pledge to my Patreon and/or donate via PayPal so that I can continue making them. https://www.patreon.com/joshualunahttps://www.paypal.me/JoshuaLunaComics It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I was told speaking honestly about Asian American experiences isn’t the “right way” and lost my publisher. COVID-19 has exposed so much anti-Asian racism, proving how important it is to not censor these topics and Asians who voice them.The conversation about how creators of color (in comics, Hollywood, etc.) get severe institutional pushback for holding our ground against racism is now picking up, but still needs more than just talk—we need action too. The harm we experience needs to be rectified and reversed.So although this year has been a tough one, I’m still working on AMERICANIZASIAN and finding a way to get it into your hands. Thank you to everyone who’s supported me with donations, pledges, and kind words. You help keep me going even in the face of so many obstacles and setbacks. -- source link