For 'American Born Chinese,' my first graphic novel with First Second Books, I did mostly 'memory' research. It's fiction, but I pulled heavily from my own childhood. Gene Luen Yang americanbearbook Change image and share on social
In traditional Asian arts, the word and the picture always sit next to each other. I have an aunt, a Chinese brush painter, who told me that when you do a Chinese brush painting, you have to pair the image up with some poetry. Gene Luen Yang artasianaunt share on social
I think the 'Boxers' book was easier for me to envision as a comic, because they were on this epic journey. These teenagers basically gathered into this army and marched to the capital city where they had a showdown with the Europeans and Japanese. On the 'Saints' side, it was a lot trickier. Gene Luen Yang armybasicallybook share on social
As I was researching, I was struck by how similar the Boxers were to Joan of Arc. Joan was basically a French Boxer. She was a poor teenager who wanted to do something about the foreign aggressors invading her homeland. Gene Luen Yang aggressorarcbasically share on social
Superman was created in the late 1930s, and humankind's idea of what the future would be was very different. Gene Luen Yang 1930screatefuture Change image and share on social
To be able to write 'Superman,' to be able to work with the legendary artist who is John Romita Jr., I signed on as soon as I could. Gene Luen Yang artistjohnlegendary Change image and share on social
'Shadow Hero' was a dream to work on. Gene Luen Yang dreamheroshadow Change image and share on social
Going from idea to production is a huge hurdle. It took me a while to overcome it. It's basically all about self discipline, right? Gene Luen Yang basicallydisciplinehuge Change image and share on social
Carl Barks and Don Rosa are two of my favorite cartoonists ever. Gene Luen Yang barkcarlcartoonist Change image and share on social
For 'Boxers and Saints', the tension between Eastern and Western ways of thinking was very personal for me, and I needed to control every aspect. Gene Luen Yang aspectboxercontrol Change image and share on social