Interview with Stan Yan, Creator of the Wang

Interview with Stan Yan, Creator of The Wang
Interviewed by Paul Dale Roberts, President www.jazmaonline.com

Question: Tell us something about yourself, your family life, where you were born and raised, etc.

I was born in Chicago, but my family moved here to Denver, Colorado when I was less than a year old. So, I was a Chinese-American kid growing up in a void of Chinese culture that was Denver in the 1970's.

Question: What inspired you to create The Wang.

I originally was inspired to create The Wang by my college friends. Many of the characters in my story are loosely based on friends, their families, and other acquaintences from college and beyond. It actually originally didn't have really much to do with my character's Asian heritage, and my pathetic protagonist, Eugene, wasn't even originally Asian. The world of "The Wang" was really kind of a catch all for anything I felt was funny, shoe-horned into a loose story. A lot of the funny things were plays on words, so naturally, I was convinced to go with the phallic series title.

Question: Your strips are funny as all hell, do you think you will ever get a cartoon series on Fox?

I doubt it. I hate to even think about it. When I create my comics, I create them with only the comic strip or comic book medium in mind. I feel like it's other people's jobs to have the foresight to know what might translate well to their media.

Question: Where do you find the humor for your strips?

I find humor in my strips from things in everyday life. Like it or not, I'm constantly absorbing stimuli, stories, experiences, etc. Then, my it's my brain's fault that it gets convoluted into things like you find in "The Wang."

Question: For people unfamiliar with The Wang, can you briefly tell us something about these strips?

The Wang is a story about a young Chinese-American man and all of the people in his dysfunctional world -- a world which examines the unethical world of sales, high finance, pyramid schemes, sex, politics, and whatever I decide needs further exploration tomorrow. I like to think that people come for the sex and stay for the social commentary.

Question: If you had 6 dinner guests, 3 fictional, 3 historical, who would they be and why?

My historical guests would be Martin Yan, Julia Child, and Rachel Ray. My fictional guests would be Remy from Ratatoille, Tampopo, and Azuma Kazuma from Yakitate!! all for the same reasons -- they can cook for me!

Question: What is your website address?

www.squidworks.com/Stan

Question: How can people contact you?

Simply click on the link below "Talk to Stan" for my e-mail address. I don't think the form works anymore -- still trying to fix that.

Question: What are your favorite cartoons, TV shows, comic books, books?

My favorite cartoons are South Park and the Simpsons, but I've also found myself entertained by shows like Spongebob Squarepants, Kim Possible, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. My favorite comics are Hsu and Chan, Halo and Sprocket, 2024 by Ted Rall, Too Cool to be Forgotten by Alex Robinson, Whiteout, and The Walking Dead. If you haven't already figured it out, I do have a little case of zombiphilia, which has partially lead to me doing commissioned Zombicatures (or zombie caricatures), so it's no surprise that my favorite book of late is Monster Island by David Wellington.

Question: What are your recreational activities?

I used to swing dance with my wife quite often, and I used to play basketball, but in the near future, it appears most of my non-drawing / non-teaching time will be occupied by changing diapers!

Question: What are your hobbies?

See recreational activities.

Question: Thank you for the interview, any words of wisdom for your fans?

The wisest thing for FANS of mine to do, is to keep reading, buying and spreading the gospel about my work! Geez, I'm such a whore.

Name: The Wang – Erection Year
A Collection of Strips by Stan Yan
www.squidworks.com
Price: $6.95
Email: squidworkscomics@gmail.com
Overviewed: Paul Dale Roberts, President www.jazmaonline.com
Comments: Funny chit, absolutely funny chit. You have politically incorrect humor that you will embrace from age discrimination to suicide by hanging – because the employee is not happy about his job and all kind of other oddball situations. Wang feels like he is being held to a higher standard, just because he is Asian. This comic book graphic novel is funny, but at times thought provoking. Ever wonder what to do with a stimulus package? How about filling up your gas tank?; giving it to a Mexican terrorist?; bribing bill collectors:; buying a printing press to print out more money? Ahhhh..so many fun things to do with that extra money! Ever wondered what priests do in a confessional while you are confessing a sin that may be sexually explicit?
Find out here in this comic book graphic novel! This comic book fits in the league of Family Guy, Simpsons American Dad and Cleveland Brown Show. Extreme adult humor that will have you laughing so hard, that you will be falling out of your chair. Dang! I love the Wang!!