Excited
When I was growing up, I always wondered where the Asian American superheroes were. I wasn’t a comic book junkie, but I was a fan of Saturday morning cartoons, Sunday comics, and the occasional comic book. In college I discovered and fell in love with the Watchmen comic book series and later discovered X-Men. But even then I didn’t find the Asian superhero I was looking for. So, it was a delight to read about the upcoming Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology.
The anthology includes contributions from Greg Pak, Bernard Chang, Gene Yang and Christine Norrie. Greg Pak is no stranger to Marvel Comics having worked on previous titles including Ironman and The Incredible Hulk. Bernard Chang has also worked on titles such as X-Men and Wonder Woman. Gene Yang previously published a graphic novel titled American Born Chinese. Christine Norrie is the creator of the graphic novel Cheat.
Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology is scheduled to release on April 15th. I fully expect to have my copy in hand soon after. Now if I only had some superhero power to go with it.
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^ I agree rags. Self-vindication and whitebread going hand in hand. Apparently fair treatment for asian males don't belong in that course.
^ I agree rags. Self-vindication and whitebread going hand in hand. Apparently fair treatment for asian males don't belong in that course.
Why am I not surprised to read a comment like Sunny's? There is a true scission in Asian-American society today and unfortunately it cuts down the gender line. Asian-American females have been widely accepted in Western culture, mostly as a suitable mate for white males, whilst the males have been ostracized and ridiculed.
Now that's bad enough but what really stings is the fact AA women often deny the fact or find strawman arguments to explain the situation or their own reactions to it. The AA woman, who is already accepted, will often take the why-can't-we-all-get-along attitude just as the AA man will be fighting for his share of attention and fair treatment. This leads to cross-purposes and while IIRC Asian-Americans represent like 4% of US population only, the men often seem to stand alone in this fight.
AA women should stand by AA men in regards to a common struggle instead of kow-towing to Western culture in hopes of a position as quasi-white acceptable mate to Western men.
Why am I not surprised to read a comment like Sunny's? There is a true scission in Asian-American society today and unfortunately it cuts down the gender line. Asian-American females have been widely accepted in Western culture, mostly as a suitable mate for white males, whilst the males have been ostracized and ridiculed.
Now that's bad enough but what really stings is the fact AA women often deny the fact or find strawman arguments to explain the situation or their own reactions to it. The AA woman, who is already accepted, will often take the why-can't-we-all-get-along attitude just as the AA man will be fighting for his share of attention and fair treatment. This leads to cross-purposes and while IIRC Asian-Americans represent like 4% of US population only, the men often seem to stand alone in this fight.
AA women should stand by AA men in regards to a common struggle instead of kow-towing to Western culture in hopes of a position as quasi-white acceptable mate to Western men.
You're pretty super in my book Tim. Thanks for the heads up, just in time for my grandson's 10th birthday...I hope he loves it. Bob
You're pretty super in my book Tim. Thanks for the heads up, just in time for my grandson's 10th birthday...I hope he loves it. Bob
thanks for linking this -- i'm definitely going to check it out when it's released.
but although the concept of a whole slew of asian american superheroes playing against or within the classic comic book milieu piqued my interest (even though my knowledge of comics -- whether asian american, asian, american, or otherwise -- is pretty limited), i had some concerns, perhaps because i'm an asian american female. while i don't really think it's necessary (or possible) for the "superhero" to be wrested from his roots in the uber-male and pretty proto-american tradition (wasn't superman, whom the website writer likens to the "typical" asian american male, a product of the Great Depression?), i'm a bit resistant to the approach that the editors of the anthology have taken (granted, i haven't read the book yet and may be speaking too soon). after all, what exactly constitutes the "super" aspect of these "heroes," and shouldn't this non-arbitrary standard of super-ness be rigorously contested rather than (or in addition to) being uncritically assumed? why this and why now, given the recent spate of manga/anime-influenced art and japan-frenzy? and, most obvious to me, why the heck is this particular book such a manifestly male enterprise, from the characters depicted to the editorial board???
coincidentally, i saw this book called Third Class Superhero (by Charles Yu) at the bookstore last week. i'm not at all familiar with it, but extrapolating from title and going along with the Depression-era trend, it makes me wonder if class is somehow formative to the all-(asian?)-american underdog appeal of so many superheros, especially given the ragged dick/"american dream" rubric that's still so indiscriminately championed, even by those who should contest it the most. there's a forthcoming critical anthology on asian american science fiction, which i know next to nothing about but which, along with video games, also falls in line with the strain of power-lusting-nerdy-boy culture. if we cast our net even wider, we might also think about the oh so adorable Oscar Wao (recent novel by dominican american writer junot diaz), who charmed whitebread america (and myself) while straddling the third-and-first-world divide as a chubby, socially-inept, girl-crazy dominican nerd....
anyway, i apologize that this comment turned out to be WAY longer than i'd anticipated, but i should clarify that i really am intrigued in a positive way about this anthology. i just wanted to play devil's advocate a bit by raising some personal (yet i think legitimate) concerns.
thanks for linking this -- i'm definitely going to check it out when it's released.
but although the concept of a whole slew of asian american superheroes playing against or within the classic comic book milieu piqued my interest (even though my knowledge of comics -- whether asian american, asian, american, or otherwise -- is pretty limited), i had some concerns, perhaps because i'm an asian american female. while i don't really think it's necessary (or possible) for the "superhero" to be wrested from his roots in the uber-male and pretty proto-american tradition (wasn't superman, whom the website writer likens to the "typical" asian american male, a product of the Great Depression?), i'm a bit resistant to the approach that the editors of the anthology have taken (granted, i haven't read the book yet and may be speaking too soon). after all, what exactly constitutes the "super" aspect of these "heroes," and shouldn't this non-arbitrary standard of super-ness be rigorously contested rather than (or in addition to) being uncritically assumed? why this and why now, given the recent spate of manga/anime-influenced art and japan-frenzy? and, most obvious to me, why the heck is this particular book such a manifestly male enterprise, from the characters depicted to the editorial board???
coincidentally, i saw this book called Third Class Superhero (by Charles Yu) at the bookstore last week. i'm not at all familiar with it, but extrapolating from title and going along with the Depression-era trend, it makes me wonder if class is somehow formative to the all-(asian?)-american underdog appeal of so many superheros, especially given the ragged dick/"american dream" rubric that's still so indiscriminately championed, even by those who should contest it the most. there's a forthcoming critical anthology on asian american science fiction, which i know next to nothing about but which, along with video games, also falls in line with the strain of power-lusting-nerdy-boy culture. if we cast our net even wider, we might also think about the oh so adorable Oscar Wao (recent novel by dominican american writer junot diaz), who charmed whitebread america (and myself) while straddling the third-and-first-world divide as a chubby, socially-inept, girl-crazy dominican nerd....
anyway, i apologize that this comment turned out to be WAY longer than i'd anticipated, but i should clarify that i really am intrigued in a positive way about this anthology. i just wanted to play devil's advocate a bit by raising some personal (yet i think legitimate) concerns.
Just goes to show how I should never skim through blog posts, name dropping Gene Yang like a fool..
There are only two Asian American males that I can think of on the top of my head, the first is Sunfire for the X-men, and kid super genius Amadeus Cho.
Just goes to show how I should never skim through blog posts, name dropping Gene Yang like a fool..
There are only two Asian American males that I can think of on the top of my head, the first is Sunfire for the X-men, and kid super genius Amadeus Cho.
Me too! I grew up on comics, and could count the main Asian characters (good or bad, Asian or Asian American) on two hands. It was like a nursery rhyme: Jubilee, Lady Deathstrike, Psylocke, Wolverine's girlfriend.... you get the picture. I don't even know if I remember any Asian males in comics. How lame. I'm going to get this anthology for my boyfriend!
Me too! I grew up on comics, and could count the main Asian characters (good or bad, Asian or Asian American) on two hands. It was like a nursery rhyme: Jubilee, Lady Deathstrike, Psylocke, Wolverine's girlfriend.... you get the picture. I don't even know if I remember any Asian males in comics. How lame. I'm going to get this anthology for my boyfriend!
As an avid comic book reader, I've also always searched for that true Asian American hero in Marvel or DC comics, and could never find one. They always seem to be Asian for the sake of having an Asian there... A couple years ago Gene Luen Yang came out with American Born Chinese, which I love, but that wasn't about superheroes... Therefore, to say that I'm excited is an understatement
As an avid comic book reader, I've also always searched for that true Asian American hero in Marvel or DC comics, and could never find one. They always seem to be Asian for the sake of having an Asian there... A couple years ago Gene Luen Yang came out with American Born Chinese, which I love, but that wasn't about superheroes... Therefore, to say that I'm excited is an understatement
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