Greg Pak: Rio Chino

Sneak preview of Sean Chen “Rio Chino” art from “Outlaw Territory” v2!

By Greg Pak
I’m pleased to announce that I’ve contributed a new “Rio Chino” story to volume 2 of the Western comics anthology book “Outlaw Territory,” edited by Michael Woods. The new story is pencilled by Sean Chen, inked by Sandu Florea, and colored by Chris Sotomayor. “Outlaw Territory” Volume 2 hits stores on October 6 — the Diamond order code is AUG100457.
See below for an exclusive preview page showing off the gorgeous work of Sean, Sandu, and Chris!

Ain’t It Cool digs “Rio Chino”

AintItCoolNews.com has posted a rave review of the Western anthology “Outlaw Territory.” Here’s what the reviewer had to say about “Rio Chino,” the contribution from writer Greg Pak and artist Ian Kim:

”Rio Chino” by Greg Pak & Ian Kim: More frontier justice and another memorable gunman makes his debut. A “Chinaman” comes across a slaughterhouse of Chinese bodies and a white man caught in the crossfire. Add one bigoted sheriff to the mix and you have the makings of a good old shootout–but the Chinese cowboy has a few tricks up his sleeve. Greg Pak delivers some potent action in this little yarn.

Click here to read the whole thing.

Newsarama inteviews Pak, Woods, Fialkov, and Martin about “Outlaw Territory”

“Outlaw Territory,” an comic book anthology of Western stories that includes Greg Pak’s “Rio Chino,” hit comic book stores Wednesday and can be purchased online from Amazon.com. Newsarama’s Steve Ekstrom has interviewed editor Michael Woods, along with contributors Greg Pak, Joshua Fialkov, and Skipper Martin. Here’s an excerpt:

NRAMA: Let’s turn and talk to some of the contributors—what can you tell us about your stories? Who did you work with on your projects?
Greg Pak: My piece is called ‘Rio Chino’—it tells the story of a Chinese gunslinger in the Old West who stumbles across a lynching in a small town. It’s actually a prequel to a screenplay I wrote a few years back that’s my big dream project in the film world. Ian Kim penciled, inked, and colored the story. This is Ian’s first published comics work, and he did an awesome job.

Click here to read the whole thing.
Click here to buy Outlaw Territory Volume 1 from Amazon.com.

Geeks of Doom posts massive interview with Greg Pak

GeeksofDoom.com has posted a big interview with comic book writer and filmmaker Greg Pak about everything from Texas politics to “Robot Stories” to Asian American themes to Skaar, Son of Hulk! Here’s an excerpt:

GoD: Your early film work seems to have focused on Asian American themes, such as Fighting Grandpa and Asian Pride Porn. Without necessarily connecting the two (which would seem, on the surface, awkward), you obviously have a deep influence from your heritage. Tell us a little about your early film work and where you drew your inspiration.

GP: I’m half Korean and half white. These days, people usually think I’m the same ethnicity as whomever I’m standing next to — Latino or Arab or Jewish or Native American or Dutch or whatever — I’ve heard it all. But I’ve always identified strongly as Asian American. When I was a kid I looked pretty much straight up Asian and got my share of racist taunts. But my parents taught me to be proud of my heritage and the Boy Scouts taught me that America was all about liberty and justice for all. The upshot is that I think a big motivating factor for me in becoming a storyteller was this desire to break down the barriers that separate people, to do my little bit to humanize different kinds of people.

“Fighting Grandpa” was my thesis film at NYU — it’s a documentary that asks whether my Korean grandparents ever really loved each other. It’s an incredibly specific story, rooted in one Korean American family’s unique quirks and history. But after screenings, people of all different backgrounds would come up to me and say that that was the story of their grandparents. That meant a great deal to me on a personal level, of course. But it also made me happy because it meant that folks of all different backgrounds had bonded with these Asian American people on the screen in a way that they might never have before. And in a world in which Asians are still horribly stereotyped and ridiculed in the most repellently racist ways in all kinds of media, that felt like a good thing.

In a kind of crazy way, those same impulses have probably helped me write the Hulk. On one level, “Planet Hulk” is about how what we think we know about a person can be completely wrong. Everyone knows the Hulk and his Warbound companions are monsters. But by the end of the story, we realize they may just be heroes. People are always deeper and usually better than the stereotypes would have us believe.

Click here to read the whole thing.