In a new graphic memoir, George Takei will tell the story of his life as a closeted gay man who came out at the age of 68.
Top Shelf Productions will publish It Rhymes With Takei, co-written with Steven Scott and Justin Eisinger, illustrated by Harmony Becker with color by José Villarrubia, next year. In the book, the press says, Takei “presents a charismatic and candid witness to how far America has come…and how precious that progress is.”
Takei was born in Los Angeles, and as a child was incarcerated in a camp for Japanese Americans during World War II, an experience he recounted in his 2019 graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, also co-written with Scott and Eisinger and illustrated by Becker.
He rose to fame with his role as Sulu in the TV series Star Trek and its affiliated films, and he went on to appear in movies including Oblivion, Mulan, and Larry Crowne. Takei came out as gay in 2005 and has become one of the most recognizable LGBTQ+ activists in the nation, known for his prolific social media postings, many of which deal with politics.
The title of his new memoir seems to be a reference to a 2011 video he filmed in response to a Tennessee bill that would ban public school teachers from saying the word “gay.” In the video, he urged Tennessee teachers and students to use the word “Takei” instead of “gay,” saying, “For example, you could safely proclaim you are supportive [of] Takei marriage. If you’re in a more festive mood, you can march in a Takei pride parade.”
Top Shelf says Takei’s memoir combines “historical context with intimate subjectivity” and “shows how the personal and the political have always been intertwined.”
It Rhymes With Takei is scheduled for publication in June 2025.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
