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All Graphic Novels & Comics Coverage

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Set in the Chinatown neighborhoods of the fictional California city San Incendio, The Shadow Hero is the tale of a young man’s discovery of his noble and ancient powers. Hank, the 19-year-old son of two Chinese immigrants, is content to work in his father’s grocery store and lead a quiet, uncomplicated life. When his mother is saved by the local superhero, she starts scheming to make Hank into a superhero as well. Out of respect for his mother, Hank trains in martial arts, but on his first night as a superhero, he bumbles into a fight with members of the Tongs gang, the Chinese organized crime ring that controls Hank’s town. Failing to wear a mask, Hank exposes his identity and puts his whole family at risk. Luckily for him, a kind, ancient spirit has been watching over Hank for years, and it makes him a promise that changes his life.

With The Shadow Hero, National Book Award finalist Gene Luen Yang revives and reinvents the story of the Green Turtle, the first Asian-American superhero. Accompanied by Sonny Liew’s epic artistry, the story captures the familial, racial and criminal tensions of a time, place and people as old as they are new.

 

This article was originally published in the July 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Set in the Chinatown neighborhoods of the fictional California city San Incendio, The Shadow Hero is the tale of a young man’s discovery of his noble and ancient powers. Hank, the 19-year-old son of two Chinese immigrants, is content to work in his father’s grocery store and lead a quiet, uncomplicated life. When his mother is saved by the local superhero, she starts scheming to make Hank into a superhero as well.
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Even before cracking its pages, it’s impossible not to marvel at the strange hybrid that is The Harlem Hellfighters. The topic—a fictionalized account of the real experiences of the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment in World War I—is certainly book-worthy, be it fiction or nonfiction. The soldiers of the 369th encountered plenty of bigotry and hatred from their own countrymen before gaining the opportunity to fight in the trenches alongside the French.

The author, Max Brooks—son of Mel, and author of World War Z and other zombie literature—has by now enough of a track record that he could get pretty much any book published thanks to name recognition alone. Illustrator Caanan White has honed his depictions of the military by working on the World War II-era series Uber.

And for the story to be delivered as a graphic novel? Well, the medium has certainly come of age during the last decade.

No, none of these alone would make The Harlem Hellfighters all that unusual. But story, author and medium combined?! That’s a strange combination. It’s also probably a necessary one, if the goal is to preserve the truth behind it for generations long removed from the War to End All Wars.

It’s a riveting tale. Brooks packs an impressive amount of exposition into the word-limited panels of the graphic novel, balancing the big picture with the small as he juggles and moves a large cast of characters through what the reader recognizes as the “paces” of a war novel—the enlistment, the training, the setbacks and, finally, the battlefield. From the first pages, it’s a harsh, savage tale. Brooks and White make sure the words and images throughout simmer with a barely restrained fury—the fury of war, the fury of bigotry, the fury at the senselessness and violence of both. These are lessons it feels as if we’ve been taught—as readers and as viewers—over and over again. Maybe, some day, if stories like those of The Harlem Hellfighters are told often enough, it’ll be a lesson we actually learn.

Even before cracking its pages, it’s impossible not to marvel at the strange hybrid that is The Harlem Hellfighters. The topic—a fictionalized account of the real experiences of the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment in World War I—is certainly book-worthy, be it fiction or nonfiction. The soldiers of the 369th encountered plenty of bigotry and hatred from their own countrymen before gaining the opportunity to fight in the trenches alongside the French.
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For Rose, summers at Awago Beach are a constant. She and her parents have been renting a cottage there for as long as she can remember, and none of the changes in her life can alter the yearly trip to the beach—not even her parents’ sudden surge of fights. She’s reunited with her best beach friend Windy, and at first everything falls into the usual rhythm. But her mother won’t join in the fun, no matter how hard Rose and her father try to pull her in, and the year-and-a-half age gap that separates Rose from Windy seems bigger than before.

As things between her parents get worse and Windy seems more and more irritating, Rose focuses on the drama surrounding the local DVD rental store and the cute boy who works behind the counter. She and Windy discover that his girlfriend is pregnant, but Rose is certain her crush isn’t at fault.

This One Summer effortlessly captures the moment when the adult world begins to seep into childhood’s summertime rituals.

Written and illustrated by the team behind the critically acclaimed graphic novel Skim (2008), This One Summer perfectly captures the comfort of returning to a safe place steeped in tradition, and the dawning realization that no matter how static a place may stay, the process of growing up forces a change in feelings and perceptions. Author Mariko Tamaki does a masterful job of tackling issues often shied away from in young adult novels, such as the instinct to blame a girl for an unplanned pregnancy rather than the boy, either out of jealousy or a sense of societal norms. Tamaki also excels at weaving in questions of bodies and boys in an authentic preteen voice.

Illustrator Jillian Tamaki’s artwork complements the story perfectly, slowing it down when the pace needs to be calmed and focusing on unusual details—such as what it’s like to look through a gummy candy—to really connect the reader to the scenes.

This One Summer is a beautiful book in more ways than one and will have readers eager for summer vacation. Its illustrations will stay with you as much as the unique-yet-relatable narrative.

 

This article was originally published in the May 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

For Rose, summers at Awago Beach are a constant. She and her parents have been renting a cottage there for as long as she can remember, and none of the changes in her life can alter the yearly trip to the beach—not even her parents’ sudden surge of fights. She’s reunited with her best beach friend Windy, and at first everything falls into the usual rhythm. But her mother won’t join in the fun, no matter how hard Rose and her father try to pull her in, and the year-and-a-half age gap that separates Rose from Windy seems bigger than before.

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For a more theoretical take on comic books, try Our Gods Wear Spandex by Christopher Knowles with illustrations by Joseph Michael Linsner. Subtitled The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes, it advances the theory that modern-day super-heroes fulfill the function that religion has served throughout history. It’s not a hard case to make, and Knowles does it convincingly, even if his survey of early human history is a tad rushed (he fits it all into the first third of a 256-page book). Things really get going when he starts discussing pulp novels and the direct links between them and modern-day comic books. Writers like Poe, Doyle and Verne, he says, together provided a fictional backdrop for the superheroes of the Ôpulps.’ From there, it was only a short leap to comics. The best parts of the book are Knowles’ personality sketches of some of the genre’s founders without whom none of the books here would ever have existed.

For a more theoretical take on comic books, try Our Gods Wear Spandex by Christopher Knowles with illustrations by Joseph Michael Linsner. Subtitled The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes, it advances the theory that modern-day super-heroes fulfill the function that religion has served…
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The Best American Comics 2007, edited by Chris Ware, collects segments of what, in the editor’s opinion, are the standout comics of the year. It includes a short piece about going back to New York City by R. and Aline Crumb, as well as a brief episode by their daughter, Sophie Crumb, and an especially poignant excerpt from Alison Bechdel’s illustrated memoir Fun Home. There are also great pieces by Lynda Barry, Lauren Weinstein, Jeffrey Brown, Ben Katchor (whose bizarre storyline involves the disruptive powers of a shoehorn), Gilbert Hernandez, Gary Panter, Ivan Brunetti, Seth and several others.

The Best American Comics 2007, edited by Chris Ware, collects segments of what, in the editor's opinion, are the standout comics of the year. It includes a short piece about going back to New York City by R. and Aline Crumb, as well as a…
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Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, edited by Jason Rodriguez, gathers stories by 16 comic book artists and writers inspired by old postcards Rodriguez dug out of bins in antique shops. The cryptic messages scribbled onto the backs of the cards ( I was in town today. Hope you were not in a fight last night ) leave their true meaning open to interpretation, and the device makes for some really inventive storytelling. Tic-Tac-Bang-Bang, by Stuart Moore and Michael Gaydos, is a peek at the dangerous lives of tic-tac-toe hustlers in the early 1900s. Time, by Tom Beland, follows an old man looking back on a lifelong romance from the cafe where it began. And Homesick, by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Micah Farritor, is a gorgeous, slightly abstracted view of a dreamlife in Paris gone hollow and drab. Like the rest of the titles reviewed here, Postcards travels far and wide but ends up getting you right where you live.

Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, edited by Jason Rodriguez, gathers stories by 16 comic book artists and writers inspired by old postcards Rodriguez dug out of bins in antique shops. The cryptic messages scribbled onto the backs of the cards ( I was…
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Also laced with humor, but in a much more serious setting, is Cairo, written by G. Willow Wilson with art by M.K. Perker. With vivid, painterly artwork and a twisty plot that includes everything from demons and genies to drug runners and Israeli soldiers, the book sets its magic-realist tale of adventure and enlightenment in the context of the always volatile Middle East. A teenage Lebanese-American boy finds himself with a genie for a guardian/instructor, which is handy because he’s unwittingly stumbled into the middle of a centuries-old battle between good and evil for control of an ancient wooden box and its mysterious contents. The smart, witty but sensitive writing is nuanced enough that the story never upsets the balance between reverence and entertainment.

Also laced with humor, but in a much more serious setting, is Cairo, written by G. Willow Wilson with art by M.K. Perker. With vivid, painterly artwork and a twisty plot that includes everything from demons and genies to drug runners and Israeli soldiers,…
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On a much lighter note is The Professor’s Daughter, written and illustrated by Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert. It’s actually the first book the now-renowned team worked on together, and it’s unique in that Sfar, who usually illustrates their collaborations, did the writing, while Guibert contributed the illustrations. In 19th-century London, the daughter of a famed Egyptologist falls for the mummied prince Imhotep, inexplicably awake after 30 centuries. Their madcap courtship gets them into all kinds of trouble, and eventually jail; the queen is unceremoniously tossed into the Thames; murder and mayhem ensue; and everyone, or almost everyone, lives happily ever after. The retro-style illustrations and lively, absurdist writing make this book as lovely to look at as it is delightful to read.

On a much lighter note is The Professor's Daughter, written and illustrated by Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert. It's actually the first book the now-renowned team worked on together, and it's unique in that Sfar, who usually illustrates their collaborations, did the writing, while…
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Blending irony-tinged cool and hipster ennui with, like, actual feelings, Adrian Tomine’s Shortcomings is a frank, funny and sometimes cringe-inducing look at a Japanese-American guy in his late 20s struggling with his arguably underdeveloped emotions. Ben Tanaka’s longtime girlfriend leaves him to move from California to New York, which he takes as an opportunity to explore some of his less admirable fantasies. The stark, unfussy artwork allows plenty of room for exploring the story’s complex themes of racial and sexual politics, gender roles, artistic ambition and distance vs. intimacy.

Blending irony-tinged cool and hipster ennui with, like, actual feelings, Adrian Tomine's Shortcomings is a frank, funny and sometimes cringe-inducing look at a Japanese-American guy in his late 20s struggling with his arguably underdeveloped emotions. Ben Tanaka's longtime girlfriend leaves him to move from…
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The antiqued look of the first few pages of Shaun Tan’s The Arrival makes it clear you’re in for something extraordinary. Following the wordless squares of sketched narrative is like watching a jittery old scrap of film dug up from the bottom of an archive; in appearance and feel, it calls to mind Chris Marker’s lovely 1962 short film La JetŽe. The plot is a classic a man sets out to make his way in the big city, where he’ll bring his family later but this time it’s infused with magic. The city is guarded by mammoth winged statues and covered in incomprehensible hieroglyphs; cute little alien creatures hide in unlikely corners. The lack of text or dialogue emphasizes the man’s sense of alienation, but gradually he makes connections with other refugees and the frighteningly strange world becomes familiar.

The antiqued look of the first few pages of Shaun Tan's The Arrival makes it clear you're in for something extraordinary. Following the wordless squares of sketched narrative is like watching a jittery old scrap of film dug up from the bottom of an archive;…
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Equally exciting, and actually true, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam is an illustrated memoir by Ann Marie Fleming about her great-grandfather, who in his day was a famous Chinese magician and vaudeville performer. Fleming, a filmmaker, started looking into Sam’s life after her grandmother died; her research led her on nearly as many travels as the magician himself enjoyed, as she tracked down version after version of the truth about her grandfather. The result is not only a documentary film but also this amazingly textured, multilayered book, a lovely pastiche of photographs, documents, stylized mini-comic-book episodes and Fleming’s own charmingly simplistic stick-figure drawings.

Equally exciting, and actually true, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam is an illustrated memoir by Ann Marie Fleming about her great-grandfather, who in his day was a famous Chinese magician and vaudeville performer. Fleming, a filmmaker, started looking into Sam's life after…
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Despite its intimidating 600-plus pages, Tekkon Kinkreet: Black &andamp; White by Taiyo Matsumoto rockets along at breakneck speed; before you know it, the story has ended, and you find yourself flipping back through the book for a lengthier gaze at Matsumoto’s explosive, neo-punk artwork. The full-throttle, splash-and-dash illustrations perfectly suit the wild, action-fueled story: A pair of fiendish little street urchins sharp-as-nails Black and sweet-but-brutal White defend their hold over the city’s violent underworld against a gang of yakuza who want to take control. What could easily have been a work of pure, unmitigated ultraviolence instead has numerous unlikely moments of tenderness and humor, thanks to Matsumoto’s nuanced writing and obvious affection for his characters. The book has also been made into a movie available on DVD.

Despite its intimidating 600-plus pages, Tekkon Kinkreet: Black &andamp; White by Taiyo Matsumoto rockets along at breakneck speed; before you know it, the story has ended, and you find yourself flipping back through the book for a lengthier gaze at Matsumoto's explosive, neo-punk artwork.…
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Weird in an entirely harmless and wholly entertaining way (if you’re into that sort of thing) is Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs. If there’s anything cuter than those big-eyed, tiny-skirted Japanese manga characters, it’s Japanese manga puppies. And this book has both. It’s the story of an ultra-naive teenage girl, Suguri, who decides to move to Tokyo on her own and gets a job at a pet store. Turns out she has a sixth sense when it comes to dogs. She’s crazy for dogs! It’s a ridiculous construction and results in all kinds of awkward dog-related situations, as well as miracles of veterinary medicine that save the lives of the cutest puppies ever drawn. Sure it’s silly, but come on who doesn’t love puppies?

Weird in an entirely harmless and wholly entertaining way (if you're into that sort of thing) is Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs. If there's anything cuter than those big-eyed, tiny-skirted Japanese manga characters, it's Japanese manga puppies. And this book has both. It's the story…

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