Saints (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Though Saints debuted concurrently with Gene Luen Yang's Boxers in 2013, it is considered by many to be a sequel and not just a continuation of the story. Consulting with both Google and Amazon, Saints is a sequel. I felt like it was a sequel. To call Saints the second volume of the story is wrong because that book actually retells many of the events that occurred in Boxers from a different point of view. The story ends right where Boxers ends with the destruction of the Hanlin Academy Library and the fall of the rebelling Boxers. 

I fact my biggest complaint about this award winning work is that there isn't a third volume that tells of what happened after the Boxer Rebellion ended. Boxers is from the perspective of a Chinese villager wanting to free his land from foreign invaders. Saints is from the perspective of a native who finds the family that they always wanted in the foreign bureaucrats' sponsored Catholic Church. I would have liked a third book from the perspective of the victorious 'foreign devils' after repelling the rebellion.

Saints is the story of Vibiana. In the Chinese language, the word for the number four sounds almost like the Chinese word for death. Being the fourth child in her family, Vibiana is considered a pariah. It also doesn't help that  she was born on the fourth day of the fourth month. Her grandfather also blames her for the death of her father, the elder man's son, and names her 'Four-Girl'. The mistreatment causes Vibiana to rebel, making a horrifying scowl at everyone she meets. When taken to a local acupuncturist, she finds friendship and warmth from the man and his wife who teach her the scriptures. Soon the Four-Girl gets baptized by the local Catholic missionaries and is rechristened Vibiana.

Vibiana proclaims her new faith to her family. In response, she was severely beaten for her conversion to Christianity. Vibiana runs away with the missionaries who have been ordered to congregate behind the protective ramparts of the capitol city of Peking.

Working in the orphanage, Vibiana meets a young convert who is in training to become a monk. Love seems to be in bloom between her and the boy. However, when the horde of Boxers lead by volume one's protagonist Bao, arrives at the city gate, the relative safety Peking's defenses offers appears seemingly in doubt. 

Inspired by visions of the French Catholic hero, Joan of Arc, Vibiana decides to quickly learn about kung-fu from her paramour, seemingly inspired to save her new family from the heathen Boxers. Only in a strange twist fate, Vibiana's new found faith in God will result in saving the life of the most unlikely of all people involved in the uprising; an enemy that readers of both volumes had thought was long deceased. 

Boxers, along with Saints was nominated for a number of awards. It won the 2013 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for best young adult literature as well as well as being named one of School Library Journal's best books of the year. Boxers & Saints has remained in print by publisher First Second, with several editions including a a 2-volume boxed set and a deluxe size compendium of both books in a single paperback edition.

Completing this review completes Task #4 (A Graphic Novel Sequel) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Boxers

Gene Luen Yang crafts an incredible account of the Boxer Rebellion. While the main characters are fictional, I learned a ton about a part of World History that a week ago, honestly, I couldn't have told you anything about other than I know that the combatants were the Chinese vs. Missionaries. And it turns out that I wasn't even 100% correct about that.

Yes, Christian missionaries, primarily from the Catholic Church, were working to convert the heathen natives of China. However, it wasn't the ruling government who was rebelling. The ruling house in China at the time was pretty much powerless because of a conglomerate of British, German and even the American government, pushing to colonize China. The monks and nuns of the Catholic Church were seen as foreign devils, seeking to pervert the people of China to follow Christ and thus becoming enslaved by Western ideals. To become a Christian meant permanent banishment from your family and possibly your community in China. 

Little Bao is a young boy who sees a missionary destroy one of his village's beloved idol gods. Eventually, some of the villagers become followers. But in reality, some are using their new found religion as an opportunity to bully their own people. Any attempt to resist a missionary or one of their followers is met with government force as the foreign government officials in Peking see the church as a way to subdue the masses. 

When a beloved member of Little Bao's village is killed for attempting to save a town from foreign government brutality, the boy begins a pilgrimage to Peking in hopes of freeing China from it's devilish overlords. Using the lessons in the martial arts that he learned from his fallen mentor, as well as encouraged by visions of the first Emperor of China, Bao leads a group of men to the capital city. Along the way, he gathers countless followers including a group of women martial artists. But once at his destination, the leader of the Boxers, those devotees of kung-fu who fight with their hands and their passions, will find that the situation within the walled community isn't so black and white as war makes even the most noble of intentions become corrupted.

What makes this work so unique is that this is not the end of the story. 2013's Boxers tells of the Boxer Rebellion from the side of the Chinese population who believed that the foreign bureaucrats and missionaries were evil invaders who turned their disciples into traitors. Volume 2, titled Saints will show a different perspective of the conflict. Only it's not from one of the foreigners but of a native Chinese citizen who finds not just safety and religion, but a sense of belonging they never received from their blood family.

I personally own the copy of Boxers that I read. I waited a very long time to get a copy of Saints before reading. While that book is about a third of the size of Boxers, I didn't want to wait a long time to read it. I was also concerned that I might forget something. if I waited. The Boxer Rebellion is so complex. It's not a 2-sided coin kinda thing. There's so many parts, players and philosophies behind what transpired in the very early 20th century in China. I'm very glad at Gene Luen Yang's attempt to present both sides of the story. It's a creative yet bold endeavor from a creator that my fandom is growing with every work of his I read. I look forward to seeing that other side, much sooner than later, thankfully. I think it's going to add so much depth to this already weighty story.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Lunar New Year Love Story

I bought this 2024 graphic novel after last year's Lunar New Year. My favorite comic shop, who makes great recommendations, ordered it, knowing I love holiday books. So I had to wait almost an entire year to read. I collect holiday comics and graphic novels for all seasons and occasions. This is my first involving Chinese New Year. However, it very well could be a Valentine's Day read.

Val loves Valentine's Day. She dreams of a romance like those 80s flicks where a pair of unlikely people find true love. However, when Val learns that her mother really isn't dead but instead left her and her father at a very young age, Val is convinced she is cursed to never find love. 

During a Lunar New Year celebration, Val vows to give up on finding true love. With a 1-year deadline, looming Val runs into Leslie, a young man from a wealthy family who goes to a private school across town. But things are complicated by the fact that Leslie likes to take things very slow. Plus, he seems to have a lot of female friends who act like they're more than friends. 

As the year comes to a close, Val's heart is mixed up in a love triangle between Leslie and his cousin. It appears that the other boy is Val's true love; only it's causing bad blood between the cousins. With the announcement that he's moving back to Korea, Val decides to runaway on love herself, doomed to become the latest victim of her family's relationship curse. 

Lunar New Year Love Story is over 300 pages. The first 60 pages all involve Valentine's Day. The spirit of St. Valentine is a major character in this story and hearts and chocolates play important roles. Despite that, this is a very Asian graphic novel. Val is Vietnamese. Leslie is Chinese. The cousin is Korean. I did not know until reading this book that all 3 cultures celebrated the Lunar New Year! So it's kinda culturally insensitive to only wish a Happy Chinese New Year during this time of year. 

I was on the fence about keeping this book after reading it as it was a romance. I should have known that this was going to be an amazing work since it was written by Gene Luen Yang and I've never had any qualms with his epic storytelling. The art is by Leuyen Pham. My first encounter with her work. But it was equally as amazing as the storytelling. 

Today is Lunar New Year. So it's too late to read for that holiday. But with Valentine's Day still a couple of weeks away, there is still time to read while covered under the awning of the holidays of the season. Had I known that this book took place during high school, I would have read this book for my Family Comic Friday reviews. But the couple on the cover looked like adults to me. Don't let the age of the characters full you. This was a very mature read. If you've ever complained that Hallmark has never made a Lunar New Year movie, this book could be the inspiration to the adaptation of your wish come true!

Gosh darn it! This was a perfect read. I'm going have an honest to goodness romance in my holiday collection!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Dragon Hoops (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Oakland, California. It's the start of the 2014-15 school year and graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang has just finished the book tour of his 2 volume account of China's Boxer Rebellion Boxers and Saints. Ready to begin another year of teaching computer science at Bishop O'Dowd High School, Yang is also feeling the stress of following up his recent critically acclaimed works. 

Yang is afraid that he's out of ideas. But a chance encounter with members of the O'Dowd Dragons boys basketball squad brings forth inspiration. Gene has never really been great at sports. More of a nerd than a jock, the part-time comics creator really doesn't even understand that game of basketball. But after meeting with O'Dowd's coach, Lou Richie, Yang thinks he's got the idea for his next book.

O'Dowd lost in the state final last year. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride seems to follow the boys of Bishop O'Dowd. But with the state's top prospect, Ivan Rabb along with seniors Paris Austin, Alex Zhao, Isaiah Thomas and Jeevin Sandhu, O'Dowd has a very good chance to finally win their first championship!

From pre-season practices all the way to the California High School big dance, Gene Luen Yang will travel with the Dragons to chronicle their season. Along the way, Yang highlights the team seniors, diving into the depths of their past histories. What is it like to be a young black basketball star in Oakland, America, the world? How does a Sikh Indian immigrant handle the pressure when the opposing fans brand him an Islamic terrorist? How does a Chinese basketball prospect live abroad in the United States with a host family? Can you thrive in basketball as the little brother of a superstar women's basketball prospect? These are just some of the questions about culture Yang will explore as he also takes the reader on an early history of the game of basketball.

I found Dragon Hoops a fascinating read. It's what Friday Night Lights is to football. Yang basically has to do 3 things in this book. He's got to educate us on the origins of basketball. He'll need to introduce us to all of the major characters of this book. And he has to guide us through an entire season of high school boys basketball. Gene Luen Yang balances all 3 segments of this book extremely well without once being boring or repetitive. 

Dragon Hoops is just over 440 pages long. I did not want this book to end. I've been all smiles as I've Googled many of the characters in this graphic novel to see how they've fared since the end of the 2014-15 season. Yang berates himself for not being good at drawing likenesses. But I think he did a really great job at this book.

Gene Luen Yang no longer teaches. Right after this book, he devoted himself to comics full time being tasked with a run on Superman before creating a line-up of Chinese legacy heroes in the pages of New Super-Man. After both successful runs, it was nothing but up, Up and UP for Yang. But don't be surprised if we see a return to Bishop O'Dowd. Not that I think Yang is going to go back to teaching or anything like that. But I really could see this biographical graphic novel becoming a movie or TV series.

And if that happens, you read it here first! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #39 (Featuring the LGBTQ+ or different ethnic group) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 

Superman Smashes The Klan: The Graphic Novel (Family Comic Friday)

Based on 'Clan of the Fiery Cross', the classic story from the Superman radio story of the 1940s, racism rears it's ugly head in Metropolis. Set in 1946, the same year of the radio play, a new family has moved into the suburbs. 

The Lees are a Chinese-American family transplanted from the city's Chinatown thanks to a new job offering for dad. Though welcomed by the neighbors, the Lees aren't appreciated by all, when a fiery cross is lit in their front yard. As the family become the victims of increasing levels of violence, not only will Clark Kent and Lois Lane champion the Lee's cause- they'll also be under the protection of the Man of Steel! 

I've been longing for this story for a good 2 years. 2019 when the announcement for this graphic novel was announced. 2020 when the book dropped but I couldn't access it at my local library due to COVID. I must say, this was worth the wait. 

Superman Smashes the Klan is a powerful tale written by Gene Leun Yang (The Shadow Hero). I think setting this book in the 1940s with the 1940s era Superman was a smart idea. Mind you, during this era, Superman was strong and mighty. But he wasn't the god-like character he is today. This Superman doesn't use heat vision or cold breath. He can't fly-yet. And based on his fractured memories of his birth family, this Man of Tomorrow doesn't really feel like a part of the human race. Thus by having Superman being less powerful, it makes his war on racism and hate that much more poignant. 

A lot of time is spent from the perspective of the Lee children, Roberta and Tommy. The addition of rather young Jimmy Olsen helps keep their part of the story in the DC Universe. But I feel that there's just not enough Superman in this here Superman tale. 

I was also a little unsure about one of the characters. The chief of police is African American and I'm not sure how likely it would have been in 1946 for the head of security for a major American metropolitan area to be of color. I understand that by having the chief a black man, it makes the struggle between the boys in blue and the thugs in white robes more poignant. I just don't know how plausible this would've been in real life. (I welcome factoids in the comments to assist with this quandary!)

Great artwork. Yang collaborator Gurihiru gives this book a very retro while still looking sleek and cool. Superman and his city are illustrated in an art deco style not seen since the Max Fleischer toon takes on the Man of Steel.

I loved this read. Well worth the wait and incredibly meaningful!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Fresh Off The Boat Presents: The Legion of Dope-Itude Featuring Lazy Boy #1

When you are in quarantine procedures, you find yourself finally with time to do those things you always wanted. Time to read a book. Or clean the house. Or finally cataloging those comic books. It was in that back log  that I came across a one-shot issue devoted to the critically acclaimed ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat.

Wait-a-minute..?! Fresh Off The Boat had a comic book?

Fresh Off The Boat Presents: The Legion of Dope-Itude Featuring Lazy Boy #1
Written by Gene Luen Yang
Art by Jorge Corona
Published by BOOM! Studios

Fresh Off The Boat ran on ABC for 5 years from 2015-2020. The show was based on Chef Eddie Huang's same-named memoir of growing up in 1990s Orlando as basically the only Asian family in the community. Newcomer Harrison Yang played the lead role of Eddie. The series also starred Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians), Randall Park (Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Eddie's parents. Shazam's Ian Chen and Forrest Wheeler (Mortal Kombat) played brother Evan and Emery.

Essentially, the sitcom was about race, culture and eventually Eddie's discovery of his love for food and cooking. So where does comic books fit in with Fresh Off The Boat?

In the May 2nd, 2017 episode titled 'Pie Vs. Cake' Eddie and Emory decide to create a comic book together in order to win a contest. However, the brothers have two completely different ideas for how the book should go. It results in the two going off on their own to make their comics and failing miserably. Eventually the bros hug it out and team-up to craft a super hero team based on their family.

Fresh Off The Boat aired on Friday nights. With 'Pie Vs Cake' debuting on the first Friday of the month, if a fan of comic books watched that episode when it aired new, that meant the next day, they'd be in for a treat. That's because that year, Eddie and Emory's comic book dreams became a reality for fans participating in Free Comic Book Day 2020.

The Legion of Dope-Itude Featuring Lazy Boy was a freebie tie-in to the series! How did I miss that? Looking back, I had to work that Saturday at the culinary school I used to teach at. So for FCBD 2017, I needed my wife to go to my LCS in my stead. And then 3 years passed before I opened the package of comics that my bride procured. Yeah, I got that far behind...

The sitcom aired it's series finale just this February; much to my dismay. Actress Constance Wu threw such a tantrum of after a fifth season was announced by ABC that it caused a lot of tension on set. Her venom at being tied down to another year of sitcom filming was so vicious producers and cast felt that it was time for the Huang family to bid farewell to fans. Thus, this forgotten comic book was a welcome social distancing treat for a fan of Fresh Off The Boat such as myself.

Written this 'Lost Episode' is Gene Luen Yang and he's more than qualified to pen this tale. Yang's American Born Chinese parallel's the Huang Family's journey of assimilation into the American Dream.  The cartoonist evokes the mannerisms and dialogue of the actors who play the characters perfectly.

The artwork  by Jorge Corona (Feathers) wasn't quite so perfect. Eddie and his parents were drawn pretty darn close to their live-action counterparts. Brother Emery sometimes looked like actor Forrest Wheeler. But little Evan's scenes looked nothing like Ian Chen.

Now that I think more about, Jorge Corona's work is very cartoony. It has a child-like element to it. Since this is supposed to look like the comic made by Eddie and Emory, I guess that explains some inconsistencies. If that's the case, then I retract my criticism by half.

Still, the combined efforts of Gene Luen Yang and Jorge Corona was a great substitute for the real thing! I'm not sure why BOOM! Studios never made this one-shot into a series. But it's not too late! With no new Fresh Off The Boat on television, why not bring back this creative duo to create more adventures of this Huang family? I'd be all into that! And I think fans of comics and the ground-breaking series would be too!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Secret Coders (Family Comic Friday)

  When a young girl named Hopper transfers to Stately Academy, it’s a rough transition. Her basketball skills aren’t up to par with the rest of the team, nobody wants to sit with her at lunch, and the really difficult Mandarin teacher is, in reality, her mom! But when she finally makes a new friend named Eni, the pair uncover a secret involving the birds at the school, it opens Hopper up to the world of computer coding. With a myriad of mysterious numbers and locked doors, Hooper and Eni work together to undercover the mystery of Stately Academy.

  Written by Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) with art by Mike Holmes (Adventure Time), 2015’s Secret Coders is a great new series that combines science, mystery, and technology. The book is designed like a graphic novel with mystery activities that the reader is encouraged to solve along with Hopper and Eni.

  Yang was just recently selected as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and I think that this book is an excellent reason why the author was chosen. Already an accomplished writer as well as a teacher in computer science, Gene Luen knows what it takes to make learning fun for kids, such as turning a graphic novel mystery into an undercover manual for computer programming!

  I wish him well in his tenure as a literary ambassador!

  Secret Coders ends with a cliffhanger. Usually, this is a pet peeve of mine, but I got this at the library and it’s the first book in the series, so I can overlook it. However, it won’t be until August of this year before book 2 drops! That’s a long time for kids to wait for a book sequel! (Heck, it’s a long time for me to wait! and I’m 38!!!)

  That being said, there are lots of unresolved conflicts such as the troubling dynamic of Hopper and her mom, why her father just up and disappeared, and what really is going on at Stately Academy. Hopefully, Yang will include a good 2-3 page ‘Story So Far…’ summary in volume 2.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Shadow Hero

  The Shadow Hero is actually the Green Turtle and it's his backstory that's the most interesting part of this book. Back in 1944, an artist was asked to create a new superhero on par to hopefully rival Superman and to rally support for the allied cause in China against the invading Imperialist Japanese. The artist's name was Chu F. Hing and he was amongst the very first Asian American graphic artists in the comics field.

    Rumor had it according to Gene Leun Yang and Sonny Liew (the writer and artist of the Shadow Hero) is that Hing wanted the Turtle to being portrayed as an Asian character. But the publisher, Blazing Comics, in which the Green Turtle starred in for a grand total of just 5 issues of a title of the same name of the publishing company, vetoed the idea. To make matters worse, the editors deliberately ordered that the parts of the Green Turtle's body that wasn't covered by his mask and costume, be colored a bright pink hue to distinguish the Turtle's alter-ego as being that of a white man. But Hing had the last word by purposely drawing the Green Turtle either in shadow or from the back, Never being seen in the face, Hing also refused to offer any sort of origin about the hero of China's rebel army.

    Without an origin or ever being directly seen was probably why the Green Turtle never lasted very long. In fact, the character might have been forgotten altogether if it wasn't for the tireless efforts of Yang and Liew. In The Shadow Hero, Yang and Liew seek to finally give Green Turtle his long-awaited origin as well as finally portray the superhero as an Asian male.

   In the clever retool, Yang and Liew even explain why the Green Turtle was pink, as his mother's constant attempts to give him super powers only results in his skin turning sunburned pink when exposed to water. The Green Turtle also was bulletproof, but that wasn't due his meddling mommy. This time, teenaged Hank is given this special ability after a spirit animal in the form of a turtle offers him a promise in exchange for the boy being the vessel in which the turtle can reside. Now able to resist bullets and disguise himself as a white man, the Green Turtle can suit up and seek justice on the man who killed his father.

    Usually, reboots are unneeded at best and ultimately despised by readers and fans. There are a few exceptions like Frank Miller's Batman: Year One and Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. The Shadow Hero needs to be added to that very small list. I applaud First Second Books for giving Yang and Liew the thumbs up to give the Green Turtle his much needed chance to be portrayed as originally intended (based on if the legend of Chu Hing's original concept is true- which I think it is.) Be sure to check out the 'director's cut' material at the back of the book and a reprinting of the Green Turtle's very first adventure and decide for yourself.

I only hope First Second decides to publish another miniseries starring Green Turtle.

   I want to also give major props to the writer and artist. In this day and age in which many of our established superheroes are being retooled in order to fit in with this era's en vogue PC term 'diversity,' Yang and Liew changed all of the rules. They took a lesser known character that was intended to be Asian and portrayed him as he was meant to be originally presented to the masses. That is the answer to the call of diversity that I can get on board with.

   Also, the creative team made the conscious decision to stick to Chu Hing's original intentions instead of also making the Green Turtle gay, a woman, and suffering from a speech impediment. In a way, this book answers the call of many established comic book fans like myself who want to see diversity in comics but also long as it's portrayed with new characters and ideas. Sure the Green Turtle is technically 71-years old but to 99.9 percent of the comic book community, he's brand new.

    I would love to see more forgotten heroes given a new chance at life with new ideas surrounding their background. Marvel did a fantastic job of this with it's 70th anniversary miniseries the Twelve. Even my all-time favorite artist Alex Ross has taken up the call with several old school public domain heroes in the pages of Dynamite Comics.

  So, there you have it all you vast comic book publishers. The challenge has been issued. Will you follow the lead of Gene Leun Yang and Sonny Liew and answer the call?

Worth Consuming

 Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

(Note: The Shadow Hero reprints the ebook miniseries 'The Shadow Hero" The Green Turtle Chronicles, available on Kindle.)