The Relevance of Asian American Webcomics

 

The Appearance of Asian American Webcomics

Amidst the multiple Asian American webcomics on the Internet, no single artist has the claim of being the first Asian American webcomic creator. Regardless of superficial distinctions, Asian American webcomics collectively present another medium that highlights a variety of issues pertinent to individual Asian Americans and the greater community. Despite the fact that not every Asian American webcomic artist or webcomic strip is solely devoted to highlighting Asian American issues, an overwhelming majority of existing Asian American webcomics focus on issues of ethnicity, race, stereotypes and a host of other problems Asian Americans face in daily life. Some webcomics, such as Secret Asian Man by Tak Toyoshima, tend to devote a large percentage of their webcomic strips to issues facing Asian Americans, while others prefer a more subtle approach.

 

Asian American Webcomics and Asian American Discourse

Aside from the personal preferences of the cartoonists, the dynamics of Asian American webcomics can be discussed within the context of the Asian American discourse. For instance, questions can be raised concerning the anonymity and nameless Asian American protagonist in Jorge Cham’s PhD Comics. Different interpretations exist regarding the nameless Asian American character: Did the artist choose to leave the character nameless in order to allow university graduate students to relate to the character or is it a subtle hint at the emasculation of the Asian American male? The open-ended webcomic in this capacity thus serves as a prompt that can promote discussion and debate of Asian American issues to a diverse audience consisting of Asian Americans, Asians and non-Asians. The need to appeal to a mass audience also explains why certain webcomics with Asian American creators sometimes attempt to stray from centering their webcomics specifically around Asian American issues. Readership and fan support is essential for the survival of Asian American webcomics (and webcomics in general), and many times small niche audiences cannot always sustain a webcomic.

In spite of the need to retain a large and diverse readership, many Asian American webcomics have nevertheless pressed onward in presenting Asian American viewpoints and thereby engaging in the discussion of Asian American issues. Some comics that repeatedly discuss topics of Asian American stereotypes and racism, such as Secret Asian Man, have succeeded in receiving newspaper syndication, a feat highly unusual since the reverse is true for most online comics; the general trend is to have a successfully syndicated comic strip move to the Internet.

The newness and budding popularity of the Asian American genre in the webcomic community underlies the apparent lack of references regarding this subject. However, an analysis of several webcomic strips reveals a deep understanding of the pervasive issues affecting Asian Americans and that these webcomic authors are relatively successful in utilizing the comical webcomic format to promote awareness about the various issues challenging Asian Americans.

Page Sources:

1. Secret Asian Man: http://www.secretasianman.com/home.htm

2. PhD Comics: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php