boldeststroke 's review for:

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

5.0

adventurous hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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If you learn enough secrets about a place, it becomes home.

i'd been wanting to start reading superman comics ever since i saw the new live action adaptation, and i'm really glad i chose this as my place to begin. as a long-time fan of gene luen yang's work on boxers and saints and american born chinese as well as gurihiru's art in marvel comics such as the unstoppable wasp, i had a feeling i was going to love this. it seemed like a collaboration for the ages, and i was right! together, they take a story from a 1940s radio show arc and breathe so much new life into it, reminding us that superman is an immigrant while also reckoning with the involvement of superhero comics in perpetuating racist stereotypes and caricatures throughout its storied history. it takes a deft hand to deal with those topics, and they are handled gracefully. there is also so much agency and depth given to the female characters that is not afforded to them in the original. for starters, they have names! lan-shin lee is a delightfully driven protagonist, working as a close parallel to clark kent while he is confronted with the truth behind his origins and the experiences that ultimately led him to becoming the superhero he is today. seeing that reflected in how lan-shin navigates the world after moving from chinatown to metropolis, dealing with constant microaggressions, it is incredible work that gets to the heart. if you're looking for a way to get into superman comics like i am, i'd say this is a great place to start.