Nov 17, 2006

ABC.

Oh yeah, one other thing. Check out American Born Chinese, by Gene Yang. I just ordered it, but his website is damn cool, his reflections on Asian American stereotypes, and his use of a stereotypical character is particularly telling of how dope this dude is:

There is always the danger, of course, that by making a comic book about Cousin Chin-Kee I’m helping to perpetuate him, that readers — especially younger readers — will take his appearance in American Born Chinese at face value. I think it’s a danger I can live with. In order for us to defeat our enemy, he must first be made visible. Besides, comic book readers are some of the smartest folks I’ve ever met. They’ll figure it out.
And you know what else? He's an educator too. Check out this site on using comics in education that he did for his masters thesis. Man, if this graphic novel is 1/2 as good as I think it will be, a lot of people are getting it for Kwanzaa.

Update:
Check out this interview with Gene Yang on the Asian Pacific Forum (WBAI).

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