George Takei, Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger ISBN 9781603095747 | $29.99 (US) Full-color | HC | 6.5” x 9” | 336 pages | For young adults and up (13+)
A new full-color graphic memoir from the team behind George Takei’s award-winning bestseller They Called Us Enemy, telling the untold story of George’s journey from closeted actor to international gay icon. It Rhymes With Takei offers an unprecedented view into the heart of this beloved star and a celebration of the warp-speed changes he has witnessed in one lifetime.
Top Shelf Productions has announced It Rhymes With Takei — a new full-color graphic memoir from the team behind George Takei’s award-winning bestseller They Called Us Enemy, telling the untold story of his journey from closeted actor to international gay icon. Scheduled for publication in June 2025, It Rhymes With Takei will offer an unprecedented view into the heart of this beloved star and a celebration of the warp-speed changes he has witnessed in one lifetime.
George Takei has shown the world many faces: actor, author, outspoken activist, helmsman of the starship Enterprise, living witness to the internment of Japanese Americans, and king of social media. But until October 27, 2005, there was always one piece missing — one face he did not show the world. There was one very intimate fact about George that he never shared… and it rhymes with Takei.
Now, for the first time ever, George Takei shares the full story of his life in the closet, his decision to come out as gay at the age of 68, and the way that moment transformed everything. Following the phenomenal success of his first graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, Takei reunites with the team of Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger, now joined by the award-winning colorist José Villarrubia, for a jaw-dropping new testament. From his earliest childhood crushes and youthful experiments in the rigidly conformist 1950s, to global fame as an actor and the paralyzing fear of exposure, to the watershed moment of speaking his truth and becoming one of the most high-profile gay men on the planet, It Rhymes With Takei presents a sweeping portrait of one iconic American navigating the tides of LGBTQ+ history.
Combining historical context with intimate subjectivity, It Rhymes With Takei shows how the personal and the political have always been intertwined. Its richly emotional words and images depict the terror of entrapment even in gay community spaces, the anguish of speaking up for so many issues while remaining silent on his most personal issue, the grief of losing friends to AIDS, the joy of finding true love with Brad Altman, and the determination to declare that love openly — and legally — before the whole world.
Looking back on his astonishing life on both sides of the closet, George Takei now presents a charismatic and candid witness to how far America has come…and how precious that progress is.
Marvel’s Hit-Monkey has gotten its first teaser video and a release date! The new Marvel animated series will debut on Hulu on November 17.
The series features the voices of Olivia Munn, Jason Sudeikis, and George Takei and the title really says it all. It’s about a monkey that’s a hitman. There’s more to it but that’s the concept in a nutshell.
(W) George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steve Scott (A/CA) Harmony Becker In Shops: Aug 26, 2020 SRP: $29.99
The New York Times bestselling graphic memoir from actor/author/activist George Takei returns in a deluxe HARDCOVER edition for the first time with 16 pages of bonus material! Experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself — in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.
George Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his magnetic performances, sharp wit, and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father’s — and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future.
In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten “relocation centers,” hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard.
They Called Us Enemy is Takei’s firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the terrors and small joys of childhood in the shadow of legalized racism, his mother’s hard choices, his father’s tested faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.
What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide? George Takei joins cowriters Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker for the journey of a lifetime.
They Called Us Enemy Spanish Edition/Nos Llamaron Enemigo
(W) George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steve Scott (A/CA) Harmony Becker In Shops: Jun 24, 2020 SRP: $19.99
The New York Times Bestseller, now in Spanish!
En estas impactantes memorias en formato de novela gráfica, el actor/autor/activista George Takei rememora sucesos imborrables de su infancia en los campos de concentraci n en América.
En 1942, bajo rdenes del presidente Franklin D. Roosevelt, cada persona de ascendencia japonesa en la costa oeste fue capturada y enviada a uno de diez “centros de reubicaci n”, a cientos o miles de millas de sus hogares, donde permanecer an durante años bajo vigilancia armada.
Nos llamaron Enemigo es la historia en primera persona de Takei sobre esos años detrás de una alambrada de p as.
Qué significa ser americano? Quién puede determinarlo? Cuando el mundo está en tu contra, qué puede hacer un solo individuo? Para contestar a estas preguntas, George Takei se une a los escritores Justin Eisinger y Steven Scott y a la artista Harmony Becker en el recorrido de toda una vida.
Since the July release of They Called Us Enemy by actor, author, and activist George Takei, this heartfelt graphic memoir has been met with outstanding success and acclaim: spending over 10 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list; placing on numerous “Best of 2019” lists from Amazon, Forbes, NPR, and Publishers Weekly; winning the 2019 OWL Book Award for Biography; and much more!
Looking ahead to 2020, They Called Us Enemy has also been chosen to reignite the popular community reading program Long Beach Reads One Book, welcoming Takei as a special guest on March 19th. They Called Us Enemy will also be available to Spanish-speaking readers in June with the debut of IDW’s Spanish language program. It will be the first comprehensive in-house Spanish language program from a major U.S. graphic novel publisher, bringing a wave of translated graphic novels to Spanish-speaking communities.
A deluxe hardcover edition of They Called Us Enemy, expanded for the first time with 16 pages of bonus material, will also be available in June 2020.
Written by Takei with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott, drawn by Harmony Becker, and published by IDW’s Top Shelf Productions imprint,They Called Us Enemy is Takei’s firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother’s hard choices, his father’s faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.
To assist classroom use of They Called Us Enemy, IDW offers a 12-page teacher’s guide developed by the Education Department at the Japanese American National Museum, available at http://idw.pub/TCUEguide.
During a keynote presentation at yesterday’s NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) opening ceremony, author, actor and activist George Takei announced that his New York Times bestselling graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy will be published in Spanish in North America as part of a new Spanish language initiative from IDW Publishing.
They Called Us Enemy will join SEGA ‘s popular Sonic The Hedgehog and Red Panda & Moon Bear by Cuban American cartoonist Jarod Roselló as the debut wave of translated graphic novel titles, slated for release in June 2020. The first comprehensive in-house Spanish language program from a major American graphic novel publisher, this initiative is especially fitting for IDW Publishing, a company headquartered in San Diego, CA, just miles from the U.S.-Mexico border—a crossroads of nations, languages and cultures.
Nos llamaron Enemigo (978-1-60309-483-2), the Spanish language translation of They Called Us Enemy, is Takei’s stunning graphic memoir, co-written with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott and illustrated by Harmony Becker. Revisiting Takei’s haunting childhood as one of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II, this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love is “a thought-provoking, critical look at the history of racism in American policies and culture” (Booklist). Nos llamaron Enemigo will be released on June 2, 2020. Nos llamaron EnemigoNos llamaron Enemigo (978-1-60309-483-2), the Spanish language translation of They Called Us Enemy, is Takei’s stunning graphic memoir, co-written with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott and illustrated by Harmony Becker. Revisiting Takei’s haunting childhood as one of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II, this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love is “a thought-provoking, critical look at the history of racism in American policies and culture” (Booklist). Nos llamaron Enemigo will be released on June 2, 2020.
Sonic the Hedgehog Volumen 1: ¡Consecuencias! (978-1-68405-749-8) is the Spanish language adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog Vol. 1: Fallout, the first volume in IDW’s wildly popular series based on SEGA’s global video game phenomenon. Sonic the Hedgehog has long been a favorite in Spanish-speaking communities worldwide, so the debut of the ¡Consecuencias! storyline, written by Ian Flynn and illustrated by Tracy Yardley, Adam Bryce Thomas, Jennifer Hernandez, and Evan Stanley, promises to satisfy an eager Spanish-speaking audience in North America, arriving in stores on June 9, 2020.
Panda Roja y Oso Lunar (978-1-60309-484-9), by Cuban American writer/artist and educational researcher Jarod Roselló, is the Spanish translation of Red Panda & Moon Bear, a whimsical and tender-hearted adventure of two brave siblings who battle supernatural threats to their vibrant Latinx neighborhood with the powers of science, magic, and some very special hoodies. Slated for release on June 16, 2020, Panda Roja y Oso Lunar will be an instant favorite for young readers, packed with Saturday-morning action and practically glowing with Caribbean sunshine.
IDW Publishing’s Spanish language editions will be released in June 2020 and are now available for pre-order via booksellers and comic book specialty retailers.
George Takei, Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott (w) • Harmony Becker
(a & c)
George
Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his captivating
stage presence and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he
braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he
woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his
father’s—and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain
future.
In a stunning graphic memoir, Takei revisits his haunting childhood in American concentration camps, as one of over 100,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon—and America itself—in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.
Takei spoke to an audience of key figures from schools and libraries around the United States, a vertical for comics and graphic novels that is growing quickly. During his speech, he narrated his wrenching firsthand experience in childhood as one of 120,000 Japanese Americans forced into internment camps during World War II. Takei also explored the complex lessons of patriotism and civic engagement passed down by his father, the duty of all Americans to stand up for our ideals, and his hopes for They Called Us Enemy to both educate and inspire new generations with the lessons of the past.
The graphic novel is a memoir about Takei’s experience in the internment camps and relevant today as camps are being erected again.
Next year, we will put it in your hands, you librarians, to build the future of America, to inform the young people who will become the leaders of our future that we have a glorious history… but we should also be mindful of some of the horrible mistakes that we made. As Americans, we all have a responsibility to build a better America.
They Called Us Enemy is currently in preparation for release in Summer 2019.
As nations around the globe confront new versions of old debates about immigration, incarceration, and family separation, actor/author/activist George Takei is preparing a beautiful and powerfully resonant graphic memoir of his own direct experience with American xenophobia.
In summer 2019, Top Shelf Productions will publish Takei’s They Called Us Enemy, created in collaboration with co-writers Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker. George Takei revisits his haunting childhood in American concentration camps, as one of 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. Readers will experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself — in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.
In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten “relocation centers,” hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard.
They Called Us Enemy is Takei’s firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the terrors and small joys of childhood in the shadow of legalized racism, his mother’s hard choices, his father’s tested faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.
What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do?
As nations around the globe confront new versions of old debates about immigration, incarceration, and family separation, actor/author/activist George Takei is preparing a beautiful and powerfully resonant graphic memoir of his own direct experience with American xenophobia.