Zero Hour Is Here
Tokyo Rose: Zero Hour Kickstarter is live
(November 7, 2018) In 1941, Iva Toguri, a Japanese-American, found herself stuck on the wrong side of the Pacific when the Pearl Harbor Attack took place. She was visiting her sick Aunt in Tokyo when she got word that America and Japan were now at war. When the kempeitai (Japanese Military Police) showed up a few days later, asking for her to denounce her American citizenship, Iva proudly refused. This found Iva struggling to survive on the streets of Tokyo, labeled an enemy of the people. She eventually landed a job at Radio Tokyo, where after teaming up with a couple of Allied POWs, she found herself becoming the voice of the legendary Japanese propagandist, Tokyo Rose, singing false information to the Allied troops on behalf of the Japanese…or did she? Tokyo Rose: Zero Hour, is a proposed graphic novel project from Andre Frattino (creator of Successful 2017 Kickstarter, Simon Says: Nazi Hunter) that looks to tell the little-known story of an American woman struggling against all odds to survive in two worlds that consider her the enemy. Donate now at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1276155749/tokyo-rose-zero-hour-graphic-novel.
Women’s rights being crushed. American dreams being burned. Misinformation reigning supreme. It sounds like the headlines from every modern newspaper on the stands today…but this title is based on true events set in World War 2. The concept, is one that is all too familiar to many Americans to this very day. Like Iva, many minorities (especially women) are forced to prove their loyalty to a government that doesn’t necessarily see them as citizens, and are never willing to recognize them as such. Iva makes the best of a bad situation, trying to appease all sides just to survive and in the process transforming herself into a legend that the world would come to know as both a traitor and a hero. A legend that would bring her dire consequences.
In a world that is still rife with misinformation, inequality and racial/gender prejudices, the tale of Tokyo Rose has never been more relevant than it is today. This story isn't just about an Asian American woman caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's the story of every American today who experiences or witnessed racial inequality, misrepresentation and gender bias. It's the story of an underdog who, despite everything working against her, struggles to survive and doesn't give up. It's the story of the best part of what is America.
Frattino is teaming up with Artist Supreme, Kate Kasenow, who is fresh off her latest project, Form of a Question, the graphic memoir of Andrew J. Rostan, surrounding his experience on JEOPARDY! It’s due out this Nov. 20th from BOOM! Studios. Frattino and Kasenow are together looking to raise $30,000 on Kickstarter to actualize Iva Toguri’s story in a 75-page hardback graphic novel. Not only that, but their stretch goals include teaming up with other amazing women in comics, including Stranger Things colorist, Lauren Affe, and famed letterist, Janice Chiang, who is credited as one of the first female letterists in the industry!
The deadline is set for December 7th, the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. A day that lives in infamy, and a day that seals the fate for one of America’s forgotten heroines.
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