The first six chapters of “442” will release TODAY for FREE on the comic reading app “Stela Unlimited”. The app is available to download for FREE.
It’s confusing because the app info in itunes will say a subscription is $9.99 per month, but I think that applies only to certain content. The app itself and “442” chapters 1-6 should be free to view.
For more info visit Stela and https://stela.com/
Written by Koji Steven Sakai and Phinny Kiyomura, and illustrated by Rob Sato, “442” is based on one of World War II’s most compelling and important stories. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was the U.S. Army’s Japanese American segregated fighting regiment. The 442nd would become the most decorated unit of the War, and the most decorated unit of its size and length of service in American history. Even with their families confined behind barbed wire in American concentration camps, these soldiers fought to rescue a Texas battalion lost behind enemy lines. A fictionalized account based on the actual events, “442” follows young Japanese Americans soldiers as they suffer prejudice, internment and terrible casualties in in their battle to rescue the Lost Battalion.
“442” releases on a historic weekend. This upcoming Sunday, February 19th, is known in the Japanese American community as the “Day of Remembrance” and marks the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 which authorized the imprisonment of up to 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, around two thirds of whom were American citizens. The artist Rob Sato wrote, “While I think this piece of history should always maintain a solid place in the collective memory of the United States and the world, it’s relevance to current events is clear and urgent.”
Here are a few of my favorite panels from Chapter 1. The entire comic is hand painted in watercolor by Rob.
Koji Steven Sakai 