Heroes

The Asian American Relationship with Comic Book Representation

Secret Identities_001Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology 

by Jeff Yang, Parry Shen, Keith Chow, and Jerry Ma

This collection of Asian American comics directly addresses Asian American representation in comic books: essentially  it’s been abysmal. The first short comic “Preface: In the Beginning” by Jeff Yang narrates the tropes and stereotypes of Asian Americans and how it’s affected him personally. This author is concerned with why there are so many Asian Americans behind comics, but not within them. He also explores how those stereotypes, such as the Coolie–a term for unskilled Chinese workers, mostly railroad–the Dragon Lady, and the Math Genius, can be reversed into something positive.

The cover page for this comic has a lot to discuss, as it is a parody of X-Men with trope caricatures fighting the Model Minority, a Clark Kent look-alike, representing Asian Americans. This analysis of Superman as Asian American, with his true alien identity and bookish assimilating alter-ego, comes from Cathy J. Schlund-Vials and her article in the Amerasia Journal “Drawing From Resistance,” as well as the creators of this anthology themselves. Quoted within Schlund-Vials’ article, Yang says “the parallels between those stories help explain why Asian Americans have become such a driving force in the contemporary comics renaissance as artists, writers, and fans.” Such behind the scenes representation seems to be a theme in the media and for Asian Americans.

Secret Identities_003 croppedIn this comic, stereotypes are thrust upon Jeff Yang as a child, for while Superman’s story parallels the Asian American experience, his friends force him into those narrow stereotypes. After deciding to create this anthology, Yang narrates, they turn to embrace those stereotypes, specifically the kung-fu and karate kid ones, presumably because they scare away some racist guys trying to start a fight with them. By using what typically oppresses them, they empower themselves. It becomes a sense of racial pride.

Secret Identities_007Racist caricatures of Asian Americans comes from a history of colorism, which in turn inspires a need for Asian Americans to hide their ethnic identities. In response to this, As Schlund-Vials says, there is “the need for ‘Yellow Power,’ a new ‘way of life’ built on anti-racist revision, progressive re-imagining, and unapologetic racial pride.”

The characters in the rest of this archive represent this conflict and attempts for that “anti-racist revision.” In Chop Chop and Ah Choo, we can clearly see the racist caricaturing Asian Americans have dealt with in comic books, as well as many other facets of media. In Cindy Moon and Amadeus Cho, we can see Asian American creators put forth this revision. In navigating through this archive, considers these few questions. How do these Asian American superheroes reinvent and reclaim space within an already established story? For the sidekicks, how have they enforced a narrow perspective onto Asian Americans? How have contemporaries tried to reconcile these caricatures? And for the villains, how is their American identity shrouded by their “forever foreignness?”

 

Schlund-Vials, Cathy. “Drawing from Resistance: Folklore, Race, and Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology.” Amerasia Journal: 2013, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 1-24.

Yang, Jeff, Parry Shen, Keith Chow, Jerry Ma, and Jef Castro. “Preface: In the Beginning.” Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology. The New Press, 2009. Print.

 

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