Johnny Hiro: The Skills to Pay the Bills

The sequel to Fred Chao's graphic novel, Johnny Hiro: Half-Asian, All Hero!

After a couple of years as an underpaid sushi chef for his incredibly stingy and negative boss, Mr. Masago, Johnny Hiro doubts his abilities to provide his girlfriend Mayumi with the kind of life he thinks she deserves. Though their relationship is happy, he wonders if he can create something more stable for the long term: a partnership she can find a lasting happiness in.

Throw in the aftereffects of Johnny’s past relationships and Mr. Masago’s prior business ventures with his current rival Shinto Pete, and it’s all a big case study in how each decision influences the next and can create vast differences in the way life develops. Figuring all of this out is even harder in New York City, with its giant gorillas, sumo wrestlers, Japanese gangsters, and rogue catering companies.

And within this crazy day-to-day existence, Hiro must find a way to look beyond the fact that he can barely make rent...and figure out how to have faith in his future.

“'Scott Pilgrim meets Bruce Lee and dates an adorable girl in a fantastically weird New York City' is about as close as you'll get, but even that doesn't convey the pure energy and enthusiasm evident in every panel of Johnny Hiro.”—Boing Boing