American Born Chinese
by Gene Luen Yang
2006
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Finalist in the National Book Awards. Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award. Winner of the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New. First graphic novel recognized by the National Book Foundation. This is certainly a comic that has gained a lot of love from a lot of people - and it's easy to see why: The artwork and presentation (lots of white spaces) is bold, clear and easy to get to grips with (kinda reminded me of the Cartoon Network: Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory etc) - but it's simplicity contains a lot of storytelling nuance. Cleverly combining old school Chinese mythology with being the new kid at school tribulations and taking in universal themes of being "different," trying to fit in, being yourself, friendship, racism, romance etc in a lots of unexpected ways and couching lots of painful emotions with lots of nice little jokes that cut deep ("What do you want to be when you grow up?" "A Transformer.") this is a comic that can be enjoyed by the young and old alike with a winning formula for mixing the old with the new: like being told a story by a favourite wise old grandfather who also knows how to beat all your computer game high scores and plenty of top secret Kung Fu moves.
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Links: The Comics Journal Review, Read About Comics Review.
Further reading: Anya's Ghost, Buddha, Lost at Sea, Blankets, Blue Pills, Solanin.
All comments welcome.
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