Television has found situational comedy in some of the strangest of places. Take, for instance, the 1970s classic Taxi, which revolved around a bunch of Taxi drivers, which should be boring but is still one of the funniest shows ever. Then there is the modern take on the nerd genre, The Big Bang Theory, which became a pop culture phenomenon. Life itself can be made fun of, as in the classic show about nothing, Seinfeld.

Then there is the classic workplace comedy, The Office which enjoyed a British run and more known American run, which has given inspiration to a slew of sitcoms. The only thing about both iterations is that the characters of color often played the background. As it would have been entertaining to see life through Oscar’s eyes or even Stanley’s, on a greater frequency. In Jamie Noguchi’s brilliant Back To The Grind : A Yellow Peril Collection, we get a  workplace comedy where race and class intersect on a daily basis.

In” Dress For Success”, Kane gets ridiculed by his best friend, Bodie, because of his normal work attire. In “Powers Of Hotness”, a new attractive coworker tempers any digressions Kane may have had for his workplace. In “The Secret OF MSG”,Kane and Bodie go to a local Chinese restaurant where the owner, Julie plays on Bodie’s fears of MSG hoax. In “The Boss Code”, Kane has a meeting with a company executive where they go over the politics of billable hours. In “its Good To be The Boss”, Bodie finally finds the guts to ask out Julie and she gets to be her real self. In “Shining Armor”, Kane and Bodie solve a problem with a project just by working together. In “Locked Knees”, Bodie has his first date Julie, where a cook for her, giving al types of nervous fits. In “One The List”, Kane’s cousin, Lance comes to visit and helps him try to win his work crush in the process. In “Not So Many Words”, Julie reveals all the subtle hints she had been dropping for Bodie all those months to let him know she likes him. In “ Kung Fu Masterpiece Theater Interrupted”, Kane reminisces of watching badly dubbed kung fu movies with his Dad.

Overall, an engaging book that gives a set of characters everyone can relate to. The stories by Jamie Noguchi is funny and relevant. The art by Noguchi is remarkable. Altogether, an excellent take on the workplace comedy genre.

Story: Jamie Noguchi Art: Jamie Noguchi
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.4 Recommendation: Buy