Monday, October 10, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Transformers...Dark of Casting-a-Supermodel-in-a-Movie
I haven't created a new comic in ages. I blame it on my crazy world-load which has resulted in being burnt like toast. But, I'm back! And, I'm also playing around with color *gasp* and the format. I know, I know, I've said before that I'm not a fan of color in comics, but I'm now taking it back...or rather, amending what I previously stated. I now don't like loud punches of color in comics -- something that's more subtle works in limited doses. :)
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Go Black & Gold!
The Dad: Last time they won was before I came to the US...
holy moly :O
It was about time they won then -- 40 long years. Anyhow, it's awesome being from Boston right now.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Up Close and Personal with Cartoon Artist Lillian Chan
Recently, I did a Q&A with JadeLuck Club, Celebrating Asian American Creativity.
1) Tell me about yourself. How old are you? What are you currently doing? Do you live in Boston? In Boston’s Chinatown?
Well, I was born and raised in Boston — primarily Jamaica Plain. Ever since I could remember I loved drawing and playing with words & images together. But, it wasn’t until much later — after graduating from UMass Amherst and working in the web development field — that I decided to actively pursue art. Currently, I’m the design director at Mimoco (www.mimoco.com), best known for the MIMOBOT designer USB flash drives. And during my off days — if I have much time left — I work on my comic Empty Bamboo Girl (www.emptybamboogirl.com)
2) Tell me about your childhood. How much does Ah Lin! reflect your family? Does your family own a Chinese restaurant, for example?
I grew up in a pretty typical Chinese immigrant family household. My dad worked as a cook in a Chinese restaurant out in the suburbs (and which he still does to this very day) and my mother started off as a seamstress back when the Leather District in Chinatown was bustling with fabric manufacturing. They worked hard so that my brother and I could have opportunities that they never had.
3) How did you get into cartooning? How did your parents feel about it?
I didn’t seriously get into it until I started working at the Sampan Newspaper, a small local newspaper in English and Chinese based out of Boston. I was writing for them at the time — putting my journalism degree to good use. But then the editor at the time and I started talking and he suggested putting together a comic for the newspaper. I liked drawing (he knew it) + writing so I thought I’d take a stab at it. I’ve been working on the comic ever since.
But as far as I can remember I’ve always been doodling.
4) What career did your parents want you to pursue? What did you decide to pursue?
Of course, my parents wanted me to study something that would give me a financially secure future — so something in the science or medical or accounting fields. My older brother studied biology and went into the biotech industry. But, I wasn’t science-minded whatsoever. So, while at UMass Amherst, I studied journalism since that was the only major that interested me. Studying art seemed to be out of the question. My parents weren’t enthusiastic about it and I didn’t have enough in me at the time to go for it.
So, I graduated and got a job at a publishing house doing something I was slightly interested in. It wasn’t until a few years later that I decided it was time to pursue art. I wasn’t happy so I applied to MassArt and was floored when I got accepted. My parents weren’t too happy, but by then I was old enough and determined enough.
5) Would you describe your mother as a “Tiger Mom?” And if yes, how so?
My mom is an old school “Tiger Mom.” No sleepovers (although my friends could come over). There were violin lessons but that came out of my own initial interest during grade school where our music classes were subsidized. She and many mothers of her generation had to be “Tiger Mothers.” Coming from poor circumstances with little education and immigrating to a country they knew nothing about meant that they had to make sure their children would have a better future than they did. I don’t think it’s simply about going to Harvard for the name (well, maybe), but moreso I don’t want you to have to struggle working in a restaurant 10+ hours a day or sewing non-stop. But, it can become intense — the amount of pressure that’s placed to succeed. As a kid, you don’t understand…and for some, they’re able to understand as they get older while others can’t step back from it and it can get to them.
I’ve chosen to step back and find the humor — if possible.
6) What’s next for you? What do you hope to accomplish with your cartoon strip?
What’s next for the comic strip is developing it into a graphic novel. So, I’m going back to old comic pieces I’ve done and writing to make that happen — hopefully it’ll be finished by the end of the year.
7) Is there significance for your comic strip title, Empty Bamboo Girl? What do you intend for it to convey?Read the Q&A here. Much thanks to Mia who runs the site!
The term “empty bamboo” or “hollow bamboo” is a cantonese term (jook sing) for American Born Chinese folk — it’s a bit derogatory because it means that you look Chinese on the outside but you don’t possess anything authentically Chinese on the inside…you’re hollow like a bamboo. But, for me, I want to take back that term and embrace it. So, what if I am? Does that make me any less Chinese? No. I’m Chinese American…Asian American…and this is my experience.
I just hope that there are those who can identify with the comic strip and not feel alone in their situation — to find the humor in it all. Or, maybe I just need to find some company in my misery
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Shouted Out!
I found Lillian Chan on Twitter. She claims that no one knows about her cartoon, Ah-Lin!, but I hope to change that! I hope she doesn’t mind that I am posting her cartoon on an imaginary encounter with her parents on Facebook. For more of her cartoons, click here. She turns her upbringing by a Tiger Mom into a cute, appealing, and funny cartoon strip. Check her out!
Thanks JadeLuckClub, Celebrating Asian American Creativity!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
A Real Tiger Mother
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Here's my indirect response to the whole Amy Chua/Tiger Mom broo-ha-ha. I don't see what the big deal is actually other than the title of the article.
Ultimately, she's made sure that she hasn't raise spoiled brats who feel entitled to everything and anything. She wanted them to grow up into responsible and hard-working adults. What's so bad about that?
Seriously.
No sleepovers? Ok...I went through that, but was it the end of the world? No. Violin lessons that took up my weekends? Well, it gave me something to do (altho I'm glad my mom never made me practice for two hours at a time with no bathroom breaks). Did she call me garbage? No, but she always told me that she found me in the garbage dumpster.
She ruled with fear and authority and I'm glad she did.
The thing about growing up with poor, immigrant parents is that, for the most part, you understand how much was sacrificed for you. So then, you do all you can to make them proud to make it all worth it -- well, that and you best be supporting them financially when they get all old. :P
But, I give props to Amy Chua since no one else is cuz everyone seems to be horrified by her.
And sorry, but her mothering technique is tame compared to what I went through with MaMa Chan.
Anyhow, to each his/her own.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Why Chinese Mothers are Superior
So this article in the Wall Street Journal has been making the rounds on the innanet lately. There's been a bit of controversy regarding Amy Chua's parenting techniques.
Some are really upset, but I myself find it hilarious. Hey, if she wants to impart some craziness to her children then that's her thing. Also, calling your kid garbage in English vs Chinese loses its effect -- it's more harsh in Chinese (I think).
The only thing I take offense to is the title of the piece. Chinese mothers are superior? Ummm...they're more like bat-shiyat crazy...like ALL mothers.
I could address it in my comic, but I have my own crazy mother character to portray.
:)
[found via Angry Asian Man]
Chinese parents can get away with things that Western parents can't. Once when I was young—maybe more than once—when I was extremely disrespectful to my mother, my father angrily called me "garbage" in our native Hokkien dialect. It worked really well. I felt terrible and deeply ashamed of what I had done. But it didn't damage my self-esteem or anything like that. I knew exactly how highly he thought of me. I didn't actually think I was worthless or feel like a piece of garbage.
As an adult, I once did the same thing to Sophia, calling her garbage in English when she acted extremely disrespectfully toward me. When I mentioned that I had done this at a dinner party, I was immediately ostracized. One guest named Marcy got so upset she broke down in tears and had to leave early. My friend Susan, the host, tried to rehabilitate me with the remaining guests.
Some are really upset, but I myself find it hilarious. Hey, if she wants to impart some craziness to her children then that's her thing. Also, calling your kid garbage in English vs Chinese loses its effect -- it's more harsh in Chinese (I think).
The only thing I take offense to is the title of the piece. Chinese mothers are superior? Ummm...they're more like bat-shiyat crazy...like ALL mothers.
I could address it in my comic, but I have my own crazy mother character to portray.
:)
[found via Angry Asian Man]
Monday, January 10, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
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Saturday, January 1, 2011
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