“It Rhymes with Takei” by George Takei with
Art by Harmony Becker
Adapted by Steven Scott and Justin Eisinger
Preview Pages | Review | Summary | Creators
Publisher’s Summary:
Following the award-winning bestseller They Called Us Enemy,George Takei’s new full-color graphic memoir reveals his most personal story of all—told in full for the first time anywhere!
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.
Now, for the first time ever, George shares the full story of his life in the closet, his decision to come out as gay at the age of 68, and the way that moment transformed everything. Following the phenomenal success of his first graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, George Takei reunites with the team of Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger for a jaw-dropping new testament. From his earliest childhood crushes and youthful experiments in the rigidly conformist 1950s, to global fame asv an actor and the terrible fear of exposure, to the watershed moment of speaking his truth and becoming one of the most high-profile gay men on the planet, It Rhymes with Takei offers a sweeping portrait of one iconic American navigating the tides of LGBTQ+ history.
Combining historical context with intimate subjectivity, It Rhymes with Takei shows how the personal and the political have always been intertwined. Its richly emotional words and images depict the terror of entrapment even in gay community spaces, the anguish of speaking up for so many issues while remaining silent on his most personal issue, the grief of losing friends to AIDS, the joy of finding true love with Brad Altman, and the determination to declare that love openly—and legally—before the whole world.
Looking back on his astonishing life on both sides of the closet door, George Takei presents a charismatic and candid account of how far America has come…and how precious that progress is.
Preview:
Review:
I went into IT RHYMES WITH TAKEI without having read THEY CALLED US ENEMY nor seen any of the plays about the legend, George Takei. I’m a casual Star Trek fan. I was, in fact, surprised by many things in this memoir including Takei’s opinion that Lt. Sulu should not have been changed to a gay character without the late Gene Roddenberry’s input. My inherent bias of what other media has shown me of Japanese parents led me to be surprised again that George’s parents were a constant source of support like when he wanted to switch college majors from architecture to drama.
Takei’s interest in politics from college age and onward was also something educational. He’s been behind the scenes in some of the most unexpected places like the California transportation system. Even while discovering his sexual orientation and hiding it as long as possible, Takei was able to impact and leave a mark on this country that betrayed him and his family. That betrayal was felt again to a different degree in Takei’s adult years as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger** vetoed California’s bill for marriage equality.
This graphic memoir shows every bit of anxiety that Takei felt. When he had to audition to play his own character to pretending to be straight publicly—like on The Howard Stern Show—to months when he had close friends dying of AIDS. He lost that audition for the role created for him, but was later asked to take the part when the other actor left. The humiliation was around any corner like the worst of pranks.
One great thing came out of it. It was one of closeted appearances on Stern’s show when Takei made his now famous quote, “Oh myyy!” It has followed him through his coming out in the most delightful way, in ways now used for mocking untrustworthy politicians to objectifying men to outright teasing. “Oh myyy” is everywhere including the title of one of his books. There’s no way to read it in internet memes or on t-shirts without hearing Takei’s deep voice.
Brad Altman came into Takei’s life because another risk. While still closeted, Takei joined a running group for gay men. Some of them recognized Lt. Sulu, but as gay men, they also respected each other’s privacy for those who weren’t public about it. Takei was working on Star Trek films at the time and still Mayor Tom Bradley’s representative on the S.C.R.T.D. (transportation) board of directors.
The pacing of the story while in the environment of running and training for a marathon worked beautifully. As the men ran, as members of their group died from AIDS, as they rallied to raise money for research, the panels bring readers to different distances and angles. When all that needs to be conveyed is shock, horror, or anger, the backgrounds simplify to minimalistic colors without features. The backgrounds use complementary colors to the foregrounds to make them stand out. Even though Brad Altman doesn’t appear until after the midpoint, their relationship grows organically showing the same kind of complementary relationships as the colors.
Likewise, intense moments needing to explore dread have darker gradients versus more joyous relief sunny yellow to orange gradients. If a larger expanse is shown, the sun rising or setting may be important to specific panels. Overall, it is a color-filled book with an easily read book design comprised of more standard rectangular panels, narrow gutters, narration captions in grey boxes, and every character’s dialog font is the same style.
The line art captures certain likenesses of people like Takei, his dear friend Nichelle Nichols, Brad, Howard Stern, politician George McGovern, Richard Nixon, and others; but there were some celebrities whose likenesses were not recognizable like William Shatner and Schwarzenegger. Since this story spans a lifetime through flashbacks of decades, it’s reasonable to concede that plenty of readers won’t even know who William Shatner is or what Schwarzenegger looked like back when he was California’s governor. This book is meant to inspire and share Takei’s emotional passage through life which is does with ease. When it comes to comics, that’s a sign of having a great story to begin with; excellent editing; skilled line art, coloring, lettering; and as previously stated, quality book design for people who may not be used to navigating comic book panels in the American style.
Summary:
For readers who are looking for history told by someone who lived it, they won’t be disappointed. The Takei family’s time in the detention camp comes up through traumatic flashbacks. Actor Rock Hudson being outted as gay splashed the media headlines played a pivotal mark for Takei who believed he’d never be able to live freely as himself. Political upheaval like Harvey Milk’s election and assassination; the Stonewall raid; the first Los Angeles AIDS walk; California’s flip-flop on marriage equality; Massachusetts’ landmark case Goodridge v. Department of Public Health; 2015’s historic Supreme Court case, Obergefell v. Hodges ruling which declared nationwide marriage equality*; to more recent “Don’t Say Gay” bills and book banning which is how the title of this book came to fruition. Takei told teachers and librarians everywhere who were not allowed to say “gay” to use “Takei” instead.
Takei’s internet takeover wraps up this turbulent story with how he uses his influence to lash back at people like Donald Trump and the Proud Boys domestic terrorists. Takei does this with his husband at his side through every step.
Rating: 5 stars
Creators:
George Takei is a civil rights activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades. He has appeared in more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles, most famously as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, and he has used his
success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality. His advocacy is personal: during World War II, Takei spent his childhood unjustly imprisoned in United States incarceration camps along with 125,000 other Japanese Americans. Takei is the author of five previous books, including his autobiography, To the Stars. His Eisner Award-winning and New York Times bestselling graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy was released in July 2019. His picture book for children, My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story, also became a New York Times bestseller upon its release in April 2024.
Harmony Becker is an author and illustrator of graphic novels. Her works include They Called Us Enemy and her solo debut Himawari House, which won the Kirkus Prize in 2022. She lives in Mexico City with her two cats, where she spends her time lying around, roller skating, and taking pictures of weird signs in the street.
Steven Scott is an award-winning author of nonfiction and fiction graphic novels. Following They Called Us Enemy, he co-created the Sixth-Grade Shape-Shifter series, as well as launching The Magic History Book series, both from Capstone. He writes and illustrates the graphic memoir G’DayYank.The west coast of Canada is where he calls home with his two kids and two cats.
Justin Eisinger is a critically-acclaimed author and editor who has worked with some of the world’s most beloved entertainment brands as well as groundbreaking graphic nonfiction. After They Called Us Enemy and It Rhymes with Takei, look for his forthcoming illustrated nonfiction children’s series, How’d They Make That?!, from
Chronicle Books. When not writing, Eisinger can be found in Ohio on his roller-blades or spending time with his wife and dogs.
Notes:
*It’s noted in the book that Justice Kennedy pointed out the coincidence and importance of June 26th as a notable day for the LGBTQIA+ community. It was the date when the decisions were made on United States v. Windsor, Lawrence v. Texas, and Obergefell v. Hodges.
**Arnold Schwarzenegger slowly changed his point of view on marriage equality. The latest is that he is willing to be an ally. With a stance of “if they want to marry, let them marry,” and he also made reforms to eliminate discrimination against anyone in California for their sexual orientation or gender.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.