We're afraid of writing characters different from ourselves because we're afraid of getting it wrong. We're afraid of what the Internet might say. Gene Luen Yang afraidcharacterinternet Change image and share on social
I finished 'American Born Chinese' in 2005, so after that, I started actively researching the Boxer Rebellion. Gene Luen Yang activelyamericanbear Change image and share on social
Religion and culture are two important ways in which we as humans find our identity. That's certainly true for me. Gene Luen Yang culturefindhuman Change image and share on social
Immigrant parents dream that their children will find a place in their new home, and they willingly suffer hardships in service to that dream. That was certainly true of my parents. Gene Luen Yang childdreamfind Change image and share on social
For 'Boxers & Saints,' I started by reading a couple of articles on the Internet, then writing a really rough outline, then getting more hardcore into the research. I went to a university library once a week for a year, year and a half. Gene Luen Yang articleboxercouple share on social
When you work on a pre-existing character, when you end up getting invited to be part of a legacy character like Superman, I don't feel like it would be true to the character if all I did was go in looking to express my own voice. Gene Luen Yang characterendexist share on social
If I'm writing about a modern-day suburb, there's going to be details of the home and furniture, and if I'm writing about a historical period, those details, those pieces of the world are going to be there as well, but they'll be simplified, because I'm cartooning it. Gene Luen Yang cartoondaydetail share on social
Superman is such an old character. He's an old character with this huge legacy behind him. And one of the awesome things about the fact that he's been around for these decades is that he's gone through these different phases. Gene Luen Yang awesomecharacterdecade share on social
Superman has been around for so long; he's been around for, what, eight decades now? And he goes through these different eras where different aspects of who he is get emphasized. Gene Luen Yang aspectdecadeemphasize Change image and share on social
I was a superhero fan in the '90s, so I'm definitely familiar with John Romita, Jr. In fact, when I was in high school, I would go to local conventions and line up and get his signature. Gene Luen Yang 90sconventionfact Change image and share on social