Interview: Oliver Chin
SFist loves this time of year, when we feel like really, anything can be accomplished THIS year. As Rilke put it, “And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been”. There! You just achieved your goal of becoming more literary. For those of you who aspire to write more, SFist presents you a doer! A Writer! Oliver Chin! You may recall him from the SFist giveaway madness of December. His newest book, “The Year of the Pig” (the sequel to 2006's Year of the Dog"), is the perfect gift to any new parents you encounter this year. Read on for Oliver’s literary wisdom and guide to the Bay Area (with kids!)
How did you get involved writing these books?
Back in 2002 when I was completing my first two books (the graphic novel 9 of 1 and the sports commentary The Tao of Yao), my wife and I had our first baby. As we read more and more books to him, I realized that there was still a need for new and better stories for children and, just as importantly, their parents who read with them. So I decided to team up with talented creators to fashion fresh tales for Gen X, Y and Z, and founded my company Immedium in 2005, right before our second child was born. Now we’ve published six books (with more to come in 2007), aiming to please kids and kids at heart.
What's your favorite thing about them?
Collaborating with fantastic illustrators and artists to give people worthy alternatives to the cookie-cutter commercial widgets that permeate our culture.
What's on your holiday wish list?
Please sir, may I have some more Peace on Earth. But until that comes, an Xbox 360 would be nice, but I’m still happy playing through Marvel Ultimate Alliance on a borrowed Playstation.
What are you giving this year?
Video games, anime, comics, colorful shirts, and books of course.
Name
Oliver Chin
Introduce yourself in one sentence
A storyteller, husband, father, and publisher of www.immedium.com.
Age and Occupation
37
Writer, illustrator, teacher, and idea generator.
Home Town
Los Angeles, CA
How long have you lived in the Bay Area and Where
In 1994, Oakland was my Ellis Island before I immigrated to San Francisco and I’ve been here ever since.
Favorite place to spend time online
I like checking the updated galleries at comicartcommunity.com
Favorite local business
Sunset Scavengers – they pick up your garbage, recyclables and compost, plus have a fun resident artist show near Candlestick every few months.
What I'm currently Reading
I review graphic novels regularly, so some good ones lately are A Scanner Darkly, Eden: It’s an Endless World!, and Premillennial Maakies.
Best Deal in San Francisco
Randall Museum
Favorite mode of transportation
Mountain Bike
Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area
The Counting Crows may come back
Favorite Bay Area Stereotype, and whether or not you buy into it
The liberal tree-huggers will fall into the Pacific when the next Big One hits
(yes, I fear we all will)
Favorite local hangout
Miraloma Park Playground (it’s a kid magnet and boy do I have kids)
SF has the BEST
Fog (if this doesn’t beat the Baskervilles, I don’t know what does)
You've never lived in SF until
You’ve watched the Chinese New Year parade in the rain, done Critical Mass on Halloween, and sunbathed on Baker Beach in the wintertime.
Favorite Bay area politician of past or present
The prototypical conqueror of nature and landowner turned populist benefactor, Adolph Sutro.
Now that Mayor Gavin is single, who are you going to set him up with?
It’s a toss up between Lindsay Lohan and Anne Coulter.
You can tell someone is a local here IF
They curb their wheel when they park on a slope, so they don’t get dinged by the ticket mad DPT.
SF would be soooo much better if only
They rehauled the SFUSD school lottery program.
Best Burrito
If you can’t run for the border, then La Azteca (off Third Street) satisfies.
Best Restaurant
For firm believers in bang for your buck, try Good Luck Dim Sum on 8th/Clement.
Best movie scene filmed in or about SF
Dirty Harry reloaded, though I have a soft spot for Escape from Alcatraz.
Favorite artist to come out of the bay area
I like Wayne Thiebaud, whose bold colors and dynamic perspectives evoke the essence of California Dreaming.
Favorite author to come out of the bay area
I give credit to Ferlinghetti who spoke, wrote, published, and sold, thereby helping to create and sustain a vibrant literary scene that still flowers today.
Place you always tell visitors to check out
Golden Gate Park – there’s enough there for everyone.
Favorite Bridge in the area
The Carquinez never has a line and currently sports a funky “bridge to nowhere.” But the double toll for a roundtrip from SF bites, so I have to go with the good old Golden Gate (natch).
You have two hours and $15 bucks to kill in SF, what are you going to do?
Check out the Ferry Building, cut through the Embarcaderos, grab a bite to eat along the way, and stroll to Union Square to window shop.
I have found/sold/bought the following on craigslist
The combo to go: an extra long twin bed, VCR, PC case, and computer monitor.
I want all the SFists out there to know
I was the cartoonist for the Harvard Crimson, and now teach kids of all ages how to make their own comic books.
Tell us a San Francisco Story
Once upon a time, a man and his sweetheart sailed on the ferry to Sausalito. There they enjoyed a romantic dinner gazing at the sunset. As the night grew dark, they returned to wind their way up from Fisherman’s Wharf to Coit Tower. As the bay sparkled in the distance, he took out a ring and proposed. The ending has yet to be written.
Question you'd ask if you were doing this interview
What’s your favorite Chinese restaurant?