Giant Robot was a bimonthly magazine of Asian and Asian-American popular culture founded in Southern California in 1994. It was one of the earliest American publications to feature prominent Asian film stars such as Chow Yun-fat and Jet Li, as well as Asian musicians from indie and punk rock bands. Its coverage later expanded into art, design, Asian-American issues, travel, and much more. Publication history Eric Nakamura (BA '93) and Martin Wong (BA '90) had met when they were both undergraduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where they bonded over their shared interest in punk music and Asian pop culture. Giant Robot was initially created as a small, punk-minded magazine that featured Asian pop culture and Asian-American alternative culture, including such varied subject matter as history, art, music, film, books, toys, technology, food, and skateboarding. The publication grew from its original format—a small, photocopied zine, folded and stapled by hand—to its eventual full-color format. In the early days, Wong and Nakamura independently approached bookstores and music shops to ask if they would carry the magazine. In 2003, the magazine could be found at Barnes & Noble, Tower Records, Virgin Store, Borders, and UCLA Ackerman Union, amongst other location. In 2004, there were 60,000 copies in circulation annually. Giant Robot briefly had an in-magazine zine insert titled Giant Power. Nakamura and Wong are featured on the DVD release of the collection of animated short films The Animatrix, discussing anime in the Making of the Animatrix documentary. The last issue of the magazine, #68, was released in February 2011, featuring the work of Luke Chueh on the cover. Also in 2011, Giant Robot launched its new website and updated content, including articles, video, and products daily. Giant Robot store Tired of always redirecting customers to third-party sellers for items that they featured in the magazine, they began a mail-order service to sell those Asian products directly to the readers. In the late 1990s, Giant Robot expanded its endeavor to an online retail store, selling artist goods, designer vinyl dolls, minifigures, plush dolls, stationeries, art, T-shirts, and many creative goods. The success of the commercial website enabled the establishment of a brick-and-mortar retail store in 2001, first in Los Angeles and later in San Francisco. A third store, called GR2, was opened in Los Angeles, and features work by young contemporary artists. Giant Robot further expanded to a fourth