Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology (Secret Identities) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1595588248 ISBN 13: 9781595588241

Publisher: The New Press, 2012

Synopsis

Three years after the publication of the groundbreaking Asian American comics anthology Secret Identities, the same team is back with a new volume bigger, bolder, and more breathtaking in scope.

While the first collection focused on the conventions of superhero comics, this new book expands its horizon to include edgier genres, from hard-boiled pulp to horror, adventure, fantasy, and science fiction. Using this darker range of hues, it seeks to subvert to shatter the hidebound stereotypes that have obscured the Asian image since the earliest days of immigration: the stoic brute, the prodigious brain, the exotic temptress, the inscrutable alien, the devious manipulator. The eclectic and impressive lineup of contributors includes leading Asian American comics creators Bernard Chang (Supergirl), Sean Chen (Iron Man), Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman), Larry Hama (G.I. Joe), Sonny Liew (Malinky Robot), Takeshi Miyazawa (Runaways), Christine Norrie (Hopeless Savages), Greg Pak (The Hulk), G.B. Tran (Vietnamerica), Gene Yang (American Born Chinese), and many others, as well as such film and literary standouts as Tanuj Chopra (Punching at the Sun), Michael Kang (The Motel), Jamie Ford (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet), Gary Jackson (Missing You, Metropolis), and Bao Phi (Song I Sing). Their original graphic short stories cover topics from ethnic kiddie shows, China’s AIDS policy, and airline security procedures to the untold backstory of Flash Gordon’s nemesis Ming the Merciless and the gritty reality of a day in the life of a young Koreatown gangster.

Shattered incorporates thrills, chills, and delights while exposing the hidden issues and vital truths of the nation’s fastest-growing and most dynamic community.

About this title

About the Author

Jeff Yang, the founder of the pioneering Asian American periodical aMagazine, writes the Tao Jones column for the Wall Street Journal and is a regular contributor on NPR. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Parry Shen, best known for his lead role in the movie Better Luck Tomorrow, lives in Southern California. Keith Chow, an educator and comics journalist, lives in Maryland. Jerry Ma, the founder of the indie comics studio Epic Proportions, lives in New York City.

From Booklist

The editorial team that assembled the acclaimed Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology (2009) teams up again here. While Secret Identities used the conventions of superhero comics to feature Asian American heroes (whether or not they had superpowers), Shattered cleverly organizes its stories by the five “demons,” or stereotypes, it wishes readers to conquer: the Asian as stoic brute, mindless brain, exotic temptress, mysterious foreigner/alien, and master manipulator. Many of the characters and intertwining plotlines here were first introduced in Secret Identities, so it makes sense to be familiar with the first collection before diving into this one. As with any anthology, some of the stories are more successful than others, but all of them speak the international language of heroism in discussing identity as a sum of values, not ethnicity. Coupled with its predecessor, this title is a must-have for libraries serving Asian American communities in addition to those with a large comics fan base. --Candice Mack

About this edition

• Publisher: The New Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1595588248
• ISBN 13: 9781595588241
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208
• Editor: Yang Jeff, Shen Parry, Chow Keith, Ma Jerry