So whatever illness that has been sweeping through the Ewing household has got me too. Thus you have Art Mania Friday—Saturday Edition! I’m writing it first thing Saturday morning. Does that count for anything? No? Well okay then. But try to bear with me: I have an amazing book to tell you about.
I read Secret Identities: the Asian American Superheroes Anthology earlier this week. I picked it up because Kazu Kabushi , one of my favorite comic creators, had an entry in it. I was expecting an anthology of stories about superheroes like Batman and Superman that just happened to be Asian, maybe with some cool art styles. What I got was much, much more.
The anthology covers a broad scope. It has stories about everything from everyday heroes to the delightfully over-the-top story of a gritty superhero fighting Nazi gremlins for Obama. The stories take place in many different eras: from the building of the transcontental railroad to the future. The art styles vary from entry to entry and all are delightful to look at.
There are a number of stories and concepts with great female leads in them, which always makes me happy. My favorite female character was a dead pan heroine whose superpowers, much to her dismay, involved magical girl transformations and “love heart beams!” It’s a fantastic take on the magical girl stereotype and one of many great female characters in the book.
But above all the most fantastic thing this book does is be exactly what it says: Asian American. From the beginning I was blown away by the presentation of Asian American identity and how well it tied into the theme of superheroes. Each character has to handle the stereotypes against them (from the laundry girl to superhero manservant to perpetual foreigner) in their own way, finding their own path to justice.
Asian American identity is presented with both breadth and specificity. Stories of immigration, adoption, the children of American soldiers, and growing up in America and living with perpetual foreigner status are all covered in the book, and more. Many of the stories involve or echo real events in Asian American history such as the Japanese Internment or the murder of Vincent Chin, and others are heart-touching tales of self-sacrifice or humourous takes on racial stereotypes.
This book was insightful, uplifting, and absolutely blew me away. I’m not sure how much more awesome one book could contain: the upfront discussion of race and stereotypes, the strong female characters, the fantastic art and writing, just… wow. I want to buy a copy for my local library. I want to make everyone I know read it. And above all, I want more books like this.
So, if you haven’t checked this book out yet I highly reccomend it. And if anyone knows of similar books please comment and let me know.
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