After The Jump

On this week’s After the Jump, Grace Bonney is talking with cartoonist G.B. Tran- but don’t think of your grandfather’s cartoons! G.B. is the author and illustrator of Vietnamerica: A Family’s Journey, a graphic memoir about his parents’ immigration to the United States before the fall of Saigon in 1975. The book encompasses G.B.’s family history, and also includes some of his own realizations about his culture and identity. Hear about the different processes that G.B. used in illustrating Vietnamerica, as well as some of the other cartooning projects that he works on to pay the bills. G.B. identifies as a cartoonist; hear why some consider that to be a ‘dirty’ word, but why G.B. embraces it! Other discussions include this year’s Eisner Awards, the trend of graphic memoirs, and G.B.’s research process with his family members. This program has been sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery.   “It’s always really great when something that you pour so much love, sweat, and blood into resonates with someone.” “I fe