For several years, he was a high school English teacher and freelance writer for Wizard Entertainment's ToyFare magazine. From 2004 until not too long ago, he was the Education Specialist at Diamond Comic Distributors, and then he returned to freelance writing.

Even before that, though, his path was leading him to this point. As an undergraduate at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Chow founded the Asian Pacific American Student Union (APASU) and was named Multicultural Student Services’ Innovator of the Year in 2000.

Scoop talked with him about the book, how it happened, and what’s happened since.

Scoop: What made you want to pull this project together in the first place?
Keith Chow (KC): It kind of just happened. Back in '06, Jeff Yang was writing a column for the San Francisco Chronicle about the disconnect between the number of Asian Americans in the industry and the lack of Asian American characters in the books. Around the same time, I had just spotlighted a number of books featuring Asian American creators and/or characters.

Jeff interviewed me for his column and in the course of our conversation, the idea just to do a book came up spontaneously (though not entirely seriously). A few weeks later, I met Jerry Ma at a show in Philly, told him about the proposed project, and the rest was history. Later, we roped in actor Parry Shen--who's starred in such films as Better Luck Tomorrow and the cult-horror film Hatchet--and that made up the editorial team.

For all four of us, it was important to not only showcase some really cool comic creators, both new and established, but to show the world that Asian Americans--who are too often the sidekick, the supervillain, or the female seductress--could be kickass superheroes too.

Scoop: What kind of reactions to did get from Asian American creators?
KC: We've gotten a lot of support from a lot of the top names in the business. People like Greg Pak, Gene Yang, Bernard Chang, and Christine Norrie immediately jumped at the opportunity to do something for the book. And while Jim Lee's schedule did not allow him to participate, he was able to see an early copy of the book and gave us a wonderful “blurb.” For the most part, the reaction has been overly positive.

Scoop:In its formative stages, how did other people who heard about the book react?
KC: I think the main reaction has been "it's about time." On the one hand, the concept of the book itself, an anthology of superhero stories told from the P.O.V. of Asian Americans, was groundbreaking in its own right. But to have the assemblage of talent that we were able to put together in one place, I think, made a lot of folks anticipate it.

Scoop: At what point did you know this was going to be more than "just" a book?
KC: I don't know, honestly. When we were putting it together, we were all so singularly focused on getting the best possible product out, that we weren't really able to think beyond that. I think it dawned on me only after going on speaking gigs at college campuses across the country that I realized the potential of Secret Identities being more than just a book. After it went to press, Parry was able to put together amazing “trailers” using his computer and Hollywood buddies. That work alone prompted us to incorporate and form SIUniverse Media to extend what we started in Secret Identities to other forms of media.

Scoop: What have reactions been like for it?
KC: Like anything that's released for mass consumption, we've had reactions from all over the spectrum. I think the reception has been overwhelmingly positive, though, and while we have had some criticism (a lot of which I actually think is justified), most people who have seen the book agree that it was something worth doing.

Scoop: Has the broader Asian American community taken note of it? If so, how?
KC: The amount of support that we've received from the Asian American community has been amazing! Their support has been the reason why our book is successful. Those college appearances I mentioned earlier were the results of Asian American student groups pooling their resources together to bring us to their campuses. Also, Asian American blogs and media outlets have been championing Secret Identities from the beginning. We wouldn't be where we are today without our community propping us up!

Scoop:You have some signings and additional events coming up. What are they?
KC: The biggest event is the first annual Asian American ComiCon on July 11 at the new, Maya Lin-designed spaces of the Museum of Chinese in America in New York City. It's the first and only event of its kind, and it's going to be great. We're presenting the innagural Henry Kiyama Award to Larry Hama and other special guests include Derek Kirk Kim (The Eternal Smile), sci-fi author William F. Wu (Hong on the Range), and even more! Go to www.aacomicon.com for the details.

We also have a couple of events lined up throughout July. On Friday, July 17, SI editor-in-chief Jeff Yang will be joined by inker extraordinaire Walden Wong at the Salinas Public Library in Salinas, CA. Then on Saturday, July 18, I will be joined by SI Art Director Jerry Ma, artist Alex Tarampi, and the legendary Larry Hama at Geppi's EntertainmentMuseum in downtown Baltimore.

Finally, the whole Secret Identities crew will be well represented at San Diego Comic-Con this year. We're at booth #1735 and will be featuring signings by Bernard Chang, Cliff Chiang, Gene Yang, and some surprise celebrity guests that we'll be announcing very soon! Check www.secretidentities.org for the details as they emerge!

Also, Jeff Yang will be moderating a panel called “Four Color Reality: Making Comics Relevant to Readers Across Cultures” featuring panelists Dwayne McDuffie (Milestone Comics, Justice League of America), Gail Simone (Wonder Woman), Jai Nitz (Blue Beetle), Stuart Moore (Wolverine: Noir), and Gene Yang (American Born Chinese).

Scoop: What is your goal for all of this?
KC: Well, our goal for the book was to tell really good and interesting stories and to showcase the diversity of talent in not only the comics industry, but within the Asian American community as well. I think we've achieved that with the book. With the AACC, I think our main goal is just to shine a light on the contributions Asian Americans have made to this industry. That's part of the reason why we chose to name the award we're presenting Larry after Henry Kiyama (creator of The Four Immigrants Manga). Foour Immigrants is not only a landmark “graphic novel,” it's also a watershed moment for Asian American history, too.

Scoop: What's next for you personally?
KC: We're trying to wrap our heads around a possible second volume, and all that that entails. Plus, as mentioned before, July is chock full of events.

Also working on developing the story of “Peril,” my personal contribution to the book in which Jef Castro provided some fantastic artwork. It's the story of a young man named Mason who is reluctantly drawn into a web of governmental intrigue and conspiracy after his scientist father is incarcerated for trumped up charges of espionage. It's up to Mason to collect pieces of the secret technology his father was working on--and which are scattered across the country--before they fall into the wrong hands.

The story itself is really built to be an ongoing one, but if it never gets picked up, I'd love to continue the story in future volumes of Secret Identities!