TSM: THE MAN IN THE MCINTOSH SUIT presents an interesting moment in history. Please tell us about it.
RA: The Man in the McIntosh Suit follows the lives of the Filipino community settling in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1920s. The lead character, Bobot, a once promising lawyer in the Philippines, comes to America to find work to help his family financially back home. The book is set in San Francisco in the last half of 1929, right before the Great Depression and when animosity towards the huge wave of Filipinos traveling to the United States, was at its highest. The book is a mystery noir, but I knew I couldn’t tell the story of these characters without also exploring the history and political situation in which they found themselves in America, and how it impacted their decisions and relationships with each other.
TSM: What are the challenges to writing a graphic novel?
RA: One of the main challenges I find is time and motivation because so much goes into planning, writing, and drawing a graphic novel. It’s very easy to feel intimidated and lose track of both. The key for me is to stay disciplined and focused. Keep your eyes on the prize and sooner or later, hopefully sooner, you’ll get there!
TSM: How much research was involved in this book?
RA: A lot. I learned about the history of Filipino immigration in America when I was a college student – thanks to the ethnic studies program at San Francisco State University, but there was so much more to uncover. Since I live in the Bay Area, I planned to visit all the historically related landmarks such as Watsonville, for example, but I made this book during the height of the pandemic when everything was shut down. So I am grateful that there are so many resources out there online through digital archives and publications — all thanks to the many professors, ethnic studies programs, libraries, documentarians, Filipino community organizations, even family and friends who I interviewed, that continue to keep Filipino American immigration history accessible and alive.
TSM: What’s your favorite old Hollywood film?
RA: That’s so tough, I have so many! One of my favorite film series, The Thin Man series, was also a huge inspiration for my book. I love the tone, humor, and witty dialogue between the detective couple, Nick and Nora Charles. I make sure to watch all the Thin Man films with my family every New Year’s Eve as a tradition.
TSM: Was it painful at times to write about some of the racial hostility in the book?
RA: It was definitely frustrating when researching and reading old newspaper articles on how Filipinos were characterized and treated during this specific time in America. I felt strongly however that it was important to cover it in the book because not a lot of people know about these events that took place in US History and how it’s all still woven into the fear-mongering and scapegoating seen in the current societal and political climate we live in now.
TSM: I’d love to know more about the Filipino world of literature. Can you elaborate on it?
RA: All I can say is the Filipino literary world is vast and very diverse, so seek us out! Thinking in terms of the mystery genre, you have author Mia P. Manansala and her wonderful mystery series (Arsenic and Adobo) focusing on Lila, a young, single Filipina turn amateur detective. I love how she incorporates Filipino food and pop culture. When thinking about the time period that my book covers, I go back to writer/poet, Carlos Bulosan, and his important novel, America is in the Heart, which is based on his own experience living in America during the Great Depression.
TSM: What are you working on now?
RA: I am busy working on the second book in the Bobot series which will continue his private eye adventures, but also focus on stories of many of the side characters as well.
TSM: What was the best part of creating this wonderful project?
RA: I was excited to put the lives of these interesting, funny, and complex Filipino characters to the forefront, to make them the lead characters for a change. There’s so many more stories I want to share about them so I hope I can continue to do that in many books to come!