Advance Review: It Rhymes With Takei
From Top Shelf Productions
A special graphic novel of an amazing life. It was a pleasure to have an advance look at It Rhymes With Takei from Top Shelf Productions.
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.
In this perfectly paced, insightful graphic memoir, George Takei shares his fascinating life story as never told before and by using sequential storytelling as the medium for his memoir there is nothing left to the imagination. His experiences have been captured in the panels providing the visual storyboard of this inspiring 88-year-old's life so far!
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 Takeioffers 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, Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger
In this special graphic novel, George Takei reflects on his life and the challenges he faced as he navigated his identity and learned to cope with them.
It’s a well-crafted story, with Takei's commentary adding an extra depth to what is being shown on the page. We also gain a fair amount of history, from the internment camps of WWII to the ‘Reds under the Bed’ of the 1950s, and the challenges that Takei faced in both his professional and personal life.
There is a degree of ups and downs in this story, with some positive developments and the disappointment of others. This builds a grand narrative that allows us not only to see what George Takei went through at various points in his life, but also to understand those around him, including his family and friends.
I enjoyed the artwork within this book. It features vibrant colours, and the crisp lines make it easy to read and engage with. I did get a kick out of seeing some of the other famous faces in the story, and they look recognisable too.
The artwork does an excellent job in seeing the darker and lighter aspects of the story well, while not changing in the style and texture of the book in general. It’s not jarring in the way it’s presented.
In all, this is an excellent read, which I picked up and read from cover to cover, thoroughly enthralled by it. It has a wide range of emotions and lets you see the points of view of many in the story as we go through the life of George Takei. Certainly worth picking up and checking out.
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