Kazumi Reads

Plot Summary:
Hank Chu lives a fairly normal life; his mother works for a wealthy woman and his father owns a grocery store in Chinatown. What Hank doesn't realize is that his father harbors a secret that can be traced back to the time when China was no longer ruled by the emperor. Although Hank loves his father, he knows that his mother does not, which is why she never smiles. However, when his mother is taken hostage after a bank robbery, the Anchor comes to her rescue and gives her the idea that her son will not be like his father: he will be a superhero! Although Hank has no desire to be superhero, be obliges his mothers hair brained ideas along with many, many cuts and bruises thanks to Uncle Wun. Just when things could get any more difficult, Hank does something that will cost him dearly because he wanted to protect his family. Just when he is about to give up, his luck changes when an ancient guardian called The Tortoise arises, asking Hank to live in his shadow; what Hank didn't know is that the Tortoise saved his father by striking a deal that literally saved his father's life. Now that Hank has made a deal with Tortoise, Hank has decided that he must be a superhero to not only bring down a criminal empire, but bringing the man how hurt his family to justice. The Tortoise is on the case and readers will instantly fall in love with this underrated superhero.   

Critical Evaluation:
I absolutely, positively loved this story. In fact, I had no idea that the Green Turtle existed and I am tickled pink that Asian Americans have been represented in the long time awesomeness of comic books! What I love most about this story is how readers can easily relate to Hank. What I also relate to is Hank's mother because I see the same unconditional love and desire for him to be the best in my own mother. I also adore Hank's father because he really was Hank's rock and superhero despite all the secrecy. When readers learn all about Hank's family history, it is obvious that he Hank had a two very obvious choices to make: hide in the shadows and do what was expected or take his fate into his own hands and stand up for what is right. When I think of the Green Turtle, I am instantly reminded of Captain America because both of these two characters have the purest hearts and strong sense of wrong and right, which make them lovable and incredibly admirable. Another great aspect of this story, like Steve Rogers' super soldier serum, Tortoise makes a deal with Hank to make him bulletproof as long as Tortoise can live in his shadow. Like any superhero, there must be a sidekick and Hank has one in Tortoise. Armed with a guardian, and a strong will to seek out justice, Hank was reborn, which conveys the overall theme in this story: never accept of life of cowardice and taking a stand against injustice. More importantly, never confusing justice and vengeance, which plagues all of us, especially superheroes.
 

Information about the Author:
Gene Luen Yang

I began making comics and graphic novels over fifteen years ago.In 2006, my book American Born Chinese was published by First Second Books.  It became the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award. It also won an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album – New.In 2013, First Second Books released Boxers & Saints, my two-volume graphic novel about the Boxer Rebellion.  Boxers & Saints was nominated for a National Book Award and won the L.A. Times Book Prize.

I’ve done a number of other graphic novels, including the comics continuation of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender. This has been a thrill because I’m a HUGE fan of the original series.

In addition cartooning, I also teach.  I’ve taught high school computer science for almost two decades.  I also teach creative writing through Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Sonny Liew

Sonny Liew is a Eisner-nominated comic artist and illustrator whose work include titles for DC Vertigo, Marvel, First Second Books, SLG and Disney, along with the Xeric-awarded Malinky Robot. He currently resides in Singapore, where he sleeps with the fishes.

Genre:
Teen Graphic Novels

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

Books Similar to The Shadow Hero:

• Captain America Series
• Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai

Awards & Recognition:
From Amazon.com:

Plot Summary:
Ryoko is from a world that looks exactly like a Japanese Manga. Known as the government secret, Ryoko makes his debut and his peers are not sure what to think of him, especially when he comes to their Homecoming party with beautiful long hair. Marissa, who just broke up with her boyfriend, is very intrigued by the new guy; whether she wants to admit it or not, she is definitely a cosplayer. When Ryoko meets Marissa, he falls madly in love with her and will do anything to win her affection including fighting her ex-boyfriend (just like they do in Shonen). However, things in this reality are quite different, especially when it comes to expressing emotions; usually, when we are sad, we don't have a rain cloud raining above our heads, nor do we have expressions lines on our faces when we are super happy. Although Marissa is intrigued by Ryoko, there is something special about him that she cannot shake, especially when he shows her that the manga world and the real world are not as different as it seems. As Ryoko and Marissa get to know each other, Ryoko's time on this plane is running out. When he entered this world, he came through something called a Rip and the beings that cause this rip are trying to get through our world as well. With the help with Dr. Capeletti, Ryoko has been trying to re-build the machine that will open up the Rip to get him home; if he doesn't time his return trip carefully, he will be stuck here forever. However, after getting to know Marissa, staying her doesn't seem all that bad until all hell breaks lose and Chaz, Marissa's ex, comes after him with a vengeance.

Critical Evaluation:
All I can say about this graphic novel is BRILLIANT! Not only have Lyga and Doran managed to blend two very popular mediums together, they have done it in a way that is well-written, funny, and quite entertaining. Honestly, I don't know what I would do if a Mangaman shows up at the Library and how I would react. Depending on the character, I might fall in love or just laugh hysterically. This graphic novel combines everything from romance, mystery, science fiction, humor, and horror into one amazing story that readers will finish in about 40 minutes. The juxtaposition of both art forms is awesome because those who aren't familiar with Manga will get a pretty cool experience since Ryoko explains how it all really works. Also, veteran manga and comic books readers will appreciate the sarcasm when it comes to subtle things like the "sweat drop," the facial lines, the random highlighted words, the rain clouds, and manga references to hentai and what not. Also, the awkward moments (i.e., the kissing that almost leads to sex) that is found often in Shojo ends up being more comedic than sexy. I did like the ending because not everyone has the opportunity to see themselves in Manga form so Marissa probably got the better end of the deal. As a manga fan, I had a lot of fun dubbing the voices with all the voice actors I come across in anime so not only was I reading a graphic novel, I had an anime running through my head as well. I would love to see another blending of manga and comics again simply because it's just so much fun!   

Information about the Author:
According to their websites:

[Barry Lyga] [c]alled a “YA rebel-author” by Kirkus Reviews, Barry Lyga has published eleven novels in various genres in his seven-year career, including the New York Times bestselling I Hunt Killers. His books have been or are slated to be published in a dozen different languages in North America, Australia, Europe, and Asia.\

After graduating from Yale with a degree in English, Lyga worked in the comic book industry before quitting to pursue his lifelong love of writing. In 2006, his first young adult novel, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, was published to rave reviews, including starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal. Publisher’s Weekly named Lyga a “Flying Start” in December 2006 on the strength of the debut.

Lyga lives and writes in New York City. His comic book collection is a lot smaller than it used to be, but is still way too big.

[Colleen Doran] is a cartoonist, illustrator and film conceptual artist, she has illustrated the works of Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Warren Ellis, Anne Rice and J Michael Straczynski.

 A Distant Soil, Colleen’s epic science fiction/fantasy tale from Image Comics, is a complex space opera, among the first of its kind in the USA, and is ongoing as a webcomic and graphic novel series.

Colleen was one of the first American artists to discover the lure of Japanese comics, and later went on to work for various Japanese publishers as a consultant, teaching the American market to manga industry executives.



She won a grant from the Delphi Institute to study American popular culture, and was chosen to represent the United States at the Japan/America manga/comics seminar in Tokyo, Japan along with Eisner award-winning cartoonist Jeff Smith, Pulitzer Prize and Oscar award-winning creator Jules Ffeiffer, Denys Cowan, and Nicole Hollander. She also lectured at the Singapore Writers Festival in 2005.
, and was Artist in Residence at the Smithsonian. She has exhibited her work at shows and galleries in Milan, Vienna, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo.

Genre:
Teen Graphic Novels

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

Books Similar to Mangaman:

• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Awards & Recognition:
From Amazon.com:

"An inventive offering, sure to please fans of both American and Japanese comics."—Kirkus, starred review
"Fantastic—in every sense of the word! Lyga and Doran have created an eye-popping fun-ride through the comics traditions of East and West. Fans of both comics and manga will love Mangaman. Colleen Doran’s encyclopedic, rapid-fire grasp of manga conventions blows my mind!"　—Jeff Smith, author of Bone　
"Wonderfully quirky and subversive humor."--Bulletin

Plot Summary:
Duncan, a courageous knight, is given the opportunity to become the hero of the land and win the hand of the princess. With the help of Brother Patchwork, Duncan is not only handy with a sword, he is respected and loved by the people. However, he has been haunted by a dream of a woman, sitting alone with a bottle of Snappy Cola. Who this woman is, he's not sure, but when he defeats the Frog King, he finds, in a secret chamber, a bottle of Snappy Cola. Although Duncan should be happy that he will be marrying the princess, he can't shake the empty bottle sets out to find it. When he finds it in the hand of an awful ogre,  he learns that his existence has been a lie. For Gran'pa Greenbacks, his whole life was dedicated to making money and nothing could stop him from cheating people out of their money. When he forces his underpaid and abused worker, Filbert, to come with a "Get Rich Quick" scheme, this one is a sure fire way from him to get his pool full of gold. By creating the Church of the Eternal Smile, Gran'pa invests everything he has and what seemed like a success turned sour when his arch nemesis cheated him out of all that money. Rather than dealing with this like a rational person, he beats Filbert to death and Gran'pa learns the truth about who he is and what he has been missing this entire time. As for Janet, her dreary life has left her looking for adventure and meaning. When she gets an e-mail from the Prince of Nigeria asking her for money to help his family re-build his kingdom, she is glad to help. After being denied a promotion, and overhearing how her boss feels about her, she decides to invest everything in helping her Nigerian prince. The only problem is that every time he asks for help, her bank accounts are cleaned out and that is when she tells him that they must meet in person if he still asks for money. When he doesn't show up for their date, she goes looking for him and learns that her prince is not a prince at all, but a lonely college kid. Although he didn't know how she found him, she admits that she knew all along that this was a fantasy, but it was something to look forward to and hope it could be real. In this story are three different tales about individuals who are caught in a dream and are rudely awakened by reality whether they like it or not.

Critical Evaluation:
In this story of three dreamers is invigorating conversation about hopes, dreams, and consequences. Rather then dealing with this horrid home life, Duncan creates a fantasy where he is brave and people love him. After being beaten up by his mother's abusive boyfriend, Duncan is left in coma to grapple with the issues of his life and dreams. Although he could have stayed in the coma, he felt compelled to apologize to his mother after telling her that she "deserved to be beaten." Granted, his mother hasn't been a very good mother, Duncan's fantasy world has taught him about right and wrong, which leads him to the decision to wake up and start over. For Gran'pa, he had no idea that he was a puppet this whole time after learning about the children's television show and personality chip implanted in his brain. Believe it or not, Gran'pa lived a simple life in the pond near the studio that when he laid eyes on it all he could think about is being a part of it. In many ways, returning to the pond allows him the opportunity to learn about himself and find contentment in the life that was taken from him. Lastly, Janet's story is just as heartbreaking because she literally get taken advantage of just to feel alive. All she has ever wanted is to be seen and loved and, although, Prince Henry is really a college student who has been using her money to start a nonsensical business, Janet feels wanted and needed. When she finally confronts Henry/Steve, she forces him to wear traditional African garb and pretend he kept his promise knowing that this was just a fantasy that she wanted to come true. However, after getting to know Steve, she realizes that the only way to make her dreams come true is to prove to everyone that she has what it takes and she can succeed. In all of these stories, dreams were an escape, but those dreams could only provide a temporary relief. The only way these characters can resolve these issues is to make difficult choices that are scary, but necessary. This book was definitely a poignant story where we can all learn a few things and remember that if we want something bad enough, we can make it happen regardless of the obstacles that are keeping us from what we know is right.

Information about the Author:
According to their websites:

Gene Luen Yang:

I began publishing comic books under the name Humble Comics in 1996. In 1997, I got the Xeric Grant for Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks. (If you’re interested in creating comics yourself, check out the Xeric Foundation. They’re a great organization!) Since then I’ve written and drawn a number of stories in comics. American Born Chinese, released by First Second Books in 2006, became the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award. It also won an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album – New. The Eternal Smile, a collaborative project I did with Derek Kirk Kim in 2009, won an Eisner as well. Dark Horse Comics is currently publishing a comics continuation of Nickelodeon’s popular Avatar: The Last Airbender, with art by Gurihiru and story by Mike DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and me.  In September of 2013, First Second Books will release my two-volume graphic novel project Boxers & Saints.
I teach at Hamline University as part of their MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Derek Kirk Kim:

Derek Kirk Kim (born 1974) is an award-winning Korean-American writer, cartoonist, and filmmaker. He is the writer of TUNE and the writer and director of the spin-off webseries, Mythomania. He won both major comics industry awards in 2004, the Eisner and the Harvey, for his debut graphic novel Same Difference and Other Stories, which was originally serialized on his website Lowbright( formerly known as "Small Stories"). He also won the Ignatz Award for promising new talent, in 2003, for the same graphic novel (which was originally published with the help of a 2002 Xeric Award).

Genre:
Teen Graphic Novels

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

Books Similar The Eternal Smile:

• Orange by Benjomin
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
  

 Awards & Recognition:

• Starred Review in Booklist
• Starred Review in Hornbook
• Starred Review in Publisher's Weekly
• Starred Review in School Library Journal