Same Difference and Other Stories, page 4 (Derek Kirk Kim, Top Shelf, 2003)

Derek Kirk Kim was one of the first cartoonists I ever actively followed. I read his journal comics ravenously, dreaming of when I might follow in his footsteps as a creative. (I'd wanted to be a playwright in another life.) Through Derek Kirk Kim, I discovered a plethora of people working on interesting indie work beyond the gargantuan Big Two, particularly people of color like Kim, Gene Luen Yang, and Thien Pham. I'm grateful for Kim not only for his wonderful art and writing, but for introducing me and all his readers to so much cool work! It's surreal that I finally own a page from his seminal work, "Same Difference and Other Stories."