Thick glasses, black hair, an unassuming disposition. Many might identify Asian-Americans with Clark Kent. But the creators of the Secret Identities comic book series want you to see another side: the way Asian-Americans are like Superman.
Founder Jeff Yang, the “Asian Pop” columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and managing editor Parry Shen, an actor best known for his role in Better Luck Tomorrow, along with Keith Chow and Jerry Ma, conceived the book as a way to show the many different faces of Asian America — in both well-known stereotypes and hidden identities.
The book includes 26 stories from 66 contributors including National Book Award finalist Gene Yang, filmmaker and Incredible Hulk writer Greg Pak, Batman illustrator Dustin Nguyen and actors like Kelly Hu and Sung Kang. The editors were recently on a book tour during May’s Asian-American Heritage month and have also recently created a textbook companion to the compilation to be taught in high schools and colleges.
Yang and Shen talk here about both defying and embracing Asian stereotypes, the disparity between the number of Asian comic illustrators and Asian superhero characters, and why maybe their kids can now conceive of Bruce Wayne being Bruce Wong.
Tonic: How did the idea to create an Asian-American comic book series come about?
Yang: Keith Chow and I connected back in 2006 when I interviewed him for my column in the San Francisco Chronicle. At that time, the major comic publishers were making an effort to diversify their product — not out of any kind of political correctness, but because the audience for comics was shrinking, with fewer young kids reading them. As a byproduct of that effort, two well-known superheroes were “re-raced” into Asian characters: The costume of the Atom, long worn by Ray Palmer, was transferred to Chinese grad student Ryan Choi; the Wasp was converted from generic rich white girl Janet Van Dyne to generic Asian girl Janet.
It prompted me to write a column about a weird dichotomy in comics: Many of the top comic book creators are Asian, but almost none of the most prominent characters.
During our interview, Keith [who worked for a comics distributor] and I mused that Asian-American comics creators faced an uphill battle in developing original Asian-American superheroes, because you’re either taking existing heroes and changing their identities (which pisses off the fans, perhaps rightly so) or you’re creating new heroes who lack the half-century of goodwill and brand recognition that come with a character like, say, Superman. As a result, they just don’t feel authentic — and often, can’t find lasting footing in the comic book continuity. We concluded the solution was to give Asian creators a place to create these heroes without strings attached — that is, a brand new universe to play in.
Tonic: Why do you think that disparity exists between the number of Asian artists and Asian superhero characters?
Shen: It was kind of weird that it was so obvious but nobody was saying it. I was thinking, “why haven’t these guys gotten together and done something?” Bernard Chang, a top artist who draws Wonder Woman, was so easy to get on board. When he can draw a character Asian, he’ll try to insert it. He encourages other artists to do that. But a lot of these guys are making a lot of money drawing the usual fare. Why create something that’s maybe not commercially viable immediately? A lot of these guys — top artists we could not afford to pay at the rate they get at Marvel and DC — they are exclusive to these companies, but they said [Secret Identities] is something really important to me.
Tonic: Do you think comics have a particular appeal for Asian Americans?
Yang: I think they do, for a couple of reasons. For Asian-Americans, there’s another level of affinity where superhero comics are concerned. The greatest superhero origin story of all time, that of Superman, is a quintessential immigrant tale, and one that feels suspiciously Asian-American: Guy comes from far-off alien land to the United States to pursue the American Way, has a side to himself he can’t or won’t expose to the rest of the world because they wouldn’t understand it, but which nevertheless makes him special; he has dark hair, glasses, and trouble talking to girls.
Most importantly, Superman and every other superhero experience a situation that’s directly relevant to Asian-Americans: They have their feet in two worlds, one external and one internal, and must balance and juggle each, spanning cultures, trying to make the best of both without letting them collide and create havoc. Asian-Americans understand that due to firsthand knowledge.
Tonic: What was it about superheroes and comics that you identified with growing up as an Asian-American?
Yang: I’ve been a comic book fan since I first knew how to read. By the time I got to school, I realized that one of the reasons superheroes — crime fighters in capes and costumes! — were so compelling was that they allowed me to imagine that behind the masks, the faces of the secret identities of heroes like Spiderman and Batman might possibly look a little something like me. I’d become uncomfortably aware that on TV and in films, everyone Asian was either a figure of ridicule, a master of evil, or dead. There weren’t any heroes I could identify with as an Asian-American. They weren’t any in comic books either, really, but the masks at least meant I could pretend.
Tonic: Do you feel like representation of Asian-Americans has changed at all since you were a kid?
Shen: Not really, which is why we made this book. There are maybe characters I can count on two hands now. It’s still hugely disproportionate. You have to find organic way to work it in. When we made requirement to submit stories, we wanted ethnicity to be infused in organic way but definitely in an Asian-American way so studios can’t say, “I love this character but let’s change it to a white character.”
In “9066″ (one of the stories on the compilation), there is a Japanese-American hero in the 1940s, loved by public, but then Pearl Harbor happens, and FDR writes Executive Order 9066. He’s stripped of his costume and put in an internment camp despite all the good that he’s done in the past. If a movie was ever made of this story, it would be very hard for Tom Cruise to be in it. It doesn’t make sense to have anything other than an Asian-American character. We wanted contributors to think, why is this story in this anthology? One story we rejected because the hero was a high school girl by day and spy at night, but she just so happens to be Asian. It’s too easy for an exec to say, “Make her white and we’ll cast Jennifer Garner.” It happens too often. Another story is about the Transcontinental Railroad, a coolie. It’s hard to make a white person a coolie.
Tonic: Give me examples of how some of the comics in the book are saying something about Asian-Americans that is not normally portrayed in media.
Shen: There’s one story called “Meet Joe” by Koji Sakai and John Franzese. We say we are sick of playing martial artists and being good at math. This story turns that thinking on its head and embraces it. We see him kicking ass and doing martial arts and getting code to stop the bomb. Then three Asians pull him aside and say, “We are all good at math and we are all good at martial arts!” (Sakai and Franzese) did it in such a brilliant way. It can get preachy.
There’s another one called “Blue Scorpion and Chung” by writer Gene Yang and artist Sonny Liew where there is a sidekick dynamic. Chung is the more talented part of the duo but treated as manservant. He is trying to break off on his own, but he is still doing good dispensing justice even if he doesn’t get the glory. He has to suck it up because the Blue Scorpion is more of a symbol, and sometime that requires sacrifice. The woman he wants to marry doesn’t respect him because he acts this way, but this is a sacrifice that has to be done for greater good.
Check out the preview video for Blue Scorpion and Chung:
Tonic: What do you want people to take away from this?
Shen: There are some truths to stereotypes. There are quiet Asians, but that’s not the only thing. Another side needs to be shown. When you show them someone heroic and there’s an Asian face to it, it changes perspective. My kids can look up and see that it exists: It’s not just Peter Parker. It could be Peter Park that is a hero. Or Bruce Wayne is Bruce Wong, once you show them.
Yang: The importance of this whole project was really driven home to us by the births of our kids — Parry and I each had our second, and Keith his first, during the course of putting the book together. It reminded us of what we missed as children, and why we wanted to make sure the next generation always had heroes, fantastical and cosmic in scope, yet nevertheless resembling themselves. Given the huge role comic books now play in the mainstream of popular culture — every major movie and more and more TV shows are now rooted in comic books — the stakes are higher than ever.