vernip 's review for:

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

4.5

adventurous challenging informative medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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"When you do that...when you soften your landing by actually defying gravity, is it still called leaping? Isn't it more like FLYING?"
"Maybe you're not even doing it consciously...but you're limiting yourself! I could feel it!"
"I have a theory...you want to fit in better. You want everybody to believe that you're just a better version of a normal human. Humans run. You just run faster. Humans jump. You just jump higher. Humans lift stuff. You just lift heavier stuff. But the truth is, you can do things that are entirely different from humans can do right? Like fly! And you hold back because you're afraid that if people find out, they'll stop calling you superMAN..."

Oh. The retcons make sense now.
I mean, other than the hot take by David Carradine in Kill Bill Vol. 2 about Superman mocking humanity by being mild-mannered, constantly slouching, golden-retriever energy Clark Kent in his off time, this is an incredibly great perspective on why the old-timey Supes seemed so limited. And it is ALWAYS appreciated when lil Clark or even grown-man Clark has to fully grapple with what it means to be alien, both to this country & to this planet, and ultimately coming out on top as just a guy from the Midwest USA who wants to help others, regardless of what people think of him. (Also here's hoping J'Onn never reads his mind about he accidentally pictured his parents & himself in "greenface.")

But you ain't here for that; you wanna know how satisfying it is to see a superhero beat up white supremacists.
VERY satisfying.
Since this was set during a time when violence is more frowned upon, the Big Blue Boy scout does a lot more to disarm & humiliate than actually SMASH the KKK-expies into paste.
And as is always the quandary when it comes to supporting cast, how much they help vs how much they hinder is the fine ratio which makes good writing. And brother, they did a LOT of helping. In particular the focal point character of Roberta has a keen mind big on observations, which helps in several situations, mainly spurring the Man o'Steel to where he needs to go.

The artstyle is bloody brilliant since the only other exposure I've had to Gurihiru are their work in the "Avatar: the Last Airbender" comics, so it's very cool to see them draw things a little more in the modern aesthetic as opposed to the fantastical setting of the Avatar world. The pseudo-anime style is pretty great since the only other time we've had Supes in a more anime style is the TV show My Adventures with Superman and I've been ITCHING for season 3 of that to come soon; this satisfied that itch pretty well. Could just be a coincidence, but the main bad guy (THE GRAND SCORPION OF THE KLAN OF THE BURNING CROSS!) when unmasked looks a little like the Evil Faker All Might from the 4th My Hero Academia movie. Certainly helps since All Might's been compared as the best Superman expy Japan's ever made, so American Superman fighting a villainous version of himself is a win in my book.

While not perfect, (Chinese dad refuses help from Black neighbors...why?) this book is truly a winner and sometimes you just want a book of the side of good winning over a cartoonishly evil, yet sadly very familiar, threat to America.