AIPT Comics

Pornsak Pichetshote on U.S. history, noir, and writing ‘The Good Asian’

Episode Summary

This week, Pornsak Pichetshote joins the show to discuss his upcoming series The Good Asian which is out May 5th from Image Comics. We discuss the inspiration of this noir detective series set in 1930s San Francisco, the history that surrounds the time, working with artists Alexandre Tefenkgi and Lee loughridge, and more!

Episode Notes

NEWS

• Former DC comic book artist fetches $1.85M auctioning Wonder Woman NFTs
  • Also https://twitter.com/slitheryss/status/1370476985001119750?s=21
  • DC launches ‘Batman Black & White’ NFT statues — Marsha Cooke, Gary Frank respond: https://www.gamesradar.com/darwyn-cookes-widow-asks-dc-not-to-use-her-husbands-work-in-batman-nft-crypto-art/
• BOOM! reveals ‘BRZRKR’ #1 sells out and goes back to print
• Marvel reveals Spider-Man story arc ‘The Chameleon Conspiracy’ for June 2021
• Marvel announces ‘Planet-Size X-Men’ #1 for June 16th
• Marvel Comics to wrap up ‘Heroes Reborn’ with ‘Heroes Return’ #1 in June
• Marvel Comics reveals Pride Month special 'Marvel's Voices: Pride' #1
• DC news:
  • DC Comics announces ‘DC Pride’ anthology comic for June 8
  • DC Comics announces ‘Crush & Lobo’ comic miniseries launching June 1
  • DC Comics announces ‘Batman: The Adventures Continue - Season 2’ launching in May
  • DC Comics sets June 22nd for ‘Wonder Woman Black & Gold’ #1
  • DC Comics reveals more ‘Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point’ covers
  • DC Black Label to release creator owned horror comic ‘The Nice House on the Lake’
  • DC Black Label series Batman: Reptilian
  • Green Arrow’s 80th anniversary spectacular

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Non-Stop Spider-Man (2021) #1 (W: Joe Kelly, A: Chris Bachalo)
2. Home Sick Pilots #4 (W: Dan Watters, A: Caspar Wijngaard)

Nathan:

1. Batman: Urban Legends #1 (various)
2. Home Sick Pilots #4 (W: Dan Watters, A: Caspar Wijngaard)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Orphan And The Five Beasts #1 (W/A: James Stokoe)
• Nathan: Ultramega #1 (W/A: James Harren)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: King in Black: Spider-Man #1 (Carlos E. Gomez)
• Nathan: Ultramega #1 (1:10 incentive variant cover)

Segment: Pornsak Pichetshote Interview - The Good Asian #1 - May 5th artist Alexandre Tefenkgi

1. Thanks for coming on the AIPT Comics podcast! The Good Asian is out this May and Nathan and I can’t be any more excited, in part because we adore Film Noir. Can you talk about your relationship to noir and why the genre speaks to you?
2. What was the onus on kicking off this project, was it the genre, the Chinese Exclusion Act and how it fit into the story, something else?
3. Was there anything you were surprised by or that Alexandre Tefenkgi went above and beyond with?
4. How do you approach staying creative while quarantined? Do you have a set routine?
5. The Good Asian is rooted deep in American history, but it also reads like a classic noir. What led you to combining the two? - i think we covered this.
6. From hard-boiled dialogue to shadowy street corners, what do you think is the key to creating the right atmosphere for noir? Color artist lee loughridge
7. It’s clear that a lot of research went into telling this story. Did you discover anything in your research that genuinely surprised you?
8. Something that made reading the first issue of The Good Asian so strong for me, was how it captures a lo tof the hidden American history we don’t talk about. If readers wanted to explore more about this kind of history, do you have any resources fans might pick up?
9. There are so many great indie publishers today, more than ever, what made Image Comics the right fit for this project?
10. Are there any other books you’d like to discuss today?

Off-Topic Top Shelf - Pichetshote - Rewatching first two seasons of Fargo, Inside Chinatown