The Shadow Hero

BOOK REVIEW: The Shadow Hero

CITATION: Yang, Luen Yang and Liew, Sonny. The Shadow Hero. New York: First Second, 2014. ISBN: 9781596436978

SUMMARY:

The Shadow Hero retells the story of the Green Turtle, an old superhero from a Chinese American comic writer. The Shadow Hero features Hank, a boy and his family living in a large Chinese community where organized crime was a problem. The boy’s dad owned a store, and his mom longed for adventure. Her goal was to make her son a super-hero. It sounded funny enough, until he came face to face with a thug, lost his father, and then discovered he had some special powers. He experienced great loss, but ultimately found courage and strength in doing what was right.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

This graphic novel, written by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew is an excellent and entertaining read with a teenage protagonist named Hank. A tortoise takes up residence as a man's shadow, and the man eventually ends up being Hank's dad. Retold from an old comic series, this story has a plot that moves quickly. The characters are complex and dynamic, and the way they respond to their situations will leave the readers curious how the story will turn out. Hank’s father is a hardworking grocery store owner in Chinatown, and his mother is a disappointed wife who works for a white family and is looking for adventure. Hank is satisfied with his future, which he believes is to take over the family business. He respects his father, but he is still subjected to rough language, drinking and gambling from the men (the uncles) in his neighborhood. Set in Chinatown in Incendio in the 1930s where organized crime is a problem, the themes of family commitment, hard work and courage can be seen in the way Hank responds to the challenges and requests of his family.

Yang’s style is comical in this story that has serious actions, such as death. He does not leave the reader wondering how we should interpret these characters, he gives them obvious attributes and weaknesses. For teenagers looking to embrace a new superhero, The Shadow Hero is a graphic novel not to be missed. Entertaining with a fast plot, this book introduces readers to a world found in Chinatown, a glimpse into a sliver of the Chinese American experience.

Cultural markers are found throughout this book in the way the characters are sketched by Sonny Liew. The setting, from the outside of building, cars, and Hank’s shop is authentic to Chinatown in the 1930s. The beginning of the story established information for the reader about the Chi’ing Dynasty’s collapse and the way the world had changed at that time. The pictures of the seaport illustrate how some Chinese people came to America. Then, the reality of what America really was disappointed Hank’s mother. This story shows one viewpoint of how some felt with their introduction to America.

Sonny Liew’s illustrations are excellent. Done in pen and paint, they show a lot of detail while including action in almost every pane. Adding to the story’s meaning, readers will spend many minutes looking at the pictures before they are ready to turn the page. There is so much to digest in every picture. Pages from the original Green Turtle comic book are include in the back of the book.

Giving the reader something to ponder, this graphic novel sets an extraordinary story about a superhero into the backdrop of Chinatown in the 1930s. With crime, unfulfilled dreams, and the collision of American culture and Chinese culture, this story is sure to leave the readers with deep thoughts about that place and the time period.

REVIEWS AND AWARDS:

Kirkus Review:

A golden-age comic superhero returns with a brand-new Asian-American origin story.

“In 1944, a Chinese-American cartoonist created the Green Turtle, a World War II superhero who may have had a Chinese secret identity. Seventy years later, Yang (Boxers & Saints, 2013) and Liew (Malinky Robot, 2011) have updated the Green Turtle with an openly Asian-American heritage. Growing up in Chinatown, Hank Chu dreams of becoming a grocer like his father. His mother makes other plans for his future, however, after she sees the local, white superhero in action. She sews Hank a costume, tries to help him acquire superpowers and even arranges for him to learn kung fu. Despite her efforts, Hank’s superhero debut is a disappointment—one with tragic consequences for his family after it makes them a target for a local gang. Yang’s funny and perceptive script offers clever riffs on familiar tropes and explores themes of identity, heroism and belonging. For example, Hank’s mother is a hilarious spin on the “tiger mother” stereotype, and in his costume, Hank is often mistaken for “one of those gwailo superheroes.” Liew’s playful illustrations, especially his characters’ cartoonishly exaggerated expressions, complement the story’s humor. The first issue of the original 1940s comic book is included in the backmatter.”

Publishers Weekly:

“Yang further establishes himself as one of YA’s leading voices on the Chinese-American experience by inventing a backstory for a forgotten comic-book character who was arguably the first Asian superhero. As explained in a postscript, the Green Turtle blinked into and quickly disappeared from publication during the 1940s superhero boom; he would likely be condemned to obscurity if not for rumors suggesting that creator Chu Hing masked the character’s ethnicity so that he could be read as a Chinese superhero (the face of the original Green Turtle is almost always obscured). Yang and Liew run with this theory and cast the Green Turtle as 19-year-old Hank Chu, a second-generation Chinese American who (at his mother’s urging) takes up crime fighting, aided by an ancient shadow spirit that gives him limited superpowers and provides some hilarious banter. Racism, romance, humor, and identity all play important roles in Yang and Liew’s evocation of Hank’s life in pre-WWII San Francisco as they create an origin story that blends classic comics conventions (at one point, Hank’s mother pushes him into a toxic spill in an attempt to give him superpowers) with a distinctly Chinese perspective.”

CONNECTIONS:

An excellent follow-up book to read after The Shadow Hero would be American Born Chinese, also written by Gene Luen Yang.