IDW’s Takei Graphic Novel Due Out Next Summer
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IDW Publishing has announced a George Takei graphic novel memoir titled They Called Us Enemy.
They Called Us Enemy, to be released next summer, is a memoir of Takei’s childhood in American internment camps during World War II.
The memoir will be co-written by Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott. It will feature art by Harmony Becker.
In 1942, by the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Executive Order 9066), West Coast people who were of Japanese descent were rounded up and sent to one of ten “relocation centers.” Around 120,000 people were affected by Executive Order 9066. They remained there for the duration of the war. The last Japanese Internment camp closed in March of 1946.
“Acting as narrator, Takei guides readers through memories of his family’s confinement within the internment camps, the aftermath of starting over with nothing after their release, his rise to stardom as helmsman of the USS Enterprise on Star Trek, and how these life-changing events led him down his chosen path of activism and championing human rights.”
“I have spoken publicly on numerous occasions during my life on the unjust internment of Japanese-Americans in my ongoing mission of spreading awareness of this disgraceful chapter of American history,” said Takei. “I do this, and will continue to do so, in the hope that my personal experience can serve as a cautionary reminder of our past leaders’ mistakes, and that as a society, we can learn from those transgressions and not repeat them. When the opportunity to tell my story in the form of a graphic novel presented itself, I recognized the value in making it easily accessible for our youth to discover and digest the material, bringing attention to an important and relevant issue, while preserving it for generations to come. We live in uncertain times, and if stories such as mine can inspire us to do better and encourage positive change, I want to share it with as many people as possible, no matter who they are, or where they come from.”
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