“I had a difficult relationship with my dad, and it came mostly from this gap we felt around how we experienced our adopted country,” Park told The Hollywood Reporter when asked about how the project began. “When we reconciled finally, I tried my best to understand his side of the story. I got to know more intimately the struggles he faced when he first immigrated, and in the end, I was left with a very unique story that I had never known before about my father. I realized then that this is so different from the portrayal in the mainstream, which tends to be very one dimensional. I wanted to humanize their depiction by telling unique stories of our parents. That was how it all started.”
The entire 108-page book, intended as the first in a series of anthologies featuring comics by BIPOC creators, will be created entirely by Asian creators, each telling a personal story of their relationship with their parents. Creators attached to immigratitude include Debbie Tung, Renee Y Liang, Diana Huh, and Fumio Obata.
“Despite the focus on the Asian identity, I wanted to have as diverse of a group [of creators], because the point of this book is about having as many kinds stories as possible,” Park explained. “I started by reaching out to people around me, to see if anyone had stories that fit the theme. I also searched through the Cartoonist of Color Database made by MariNaomi, which was very useful for this. We put a lot of care into making this group have a balance of perspectives, and I believe our roster reflects that.”
The Kickstarter campaign for immigratitude launches today, with an aim to raise $9240. More details can be found here.
