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andreablythe 's review for:
Boxers
by Gene Luen Yang
Boxers & Saints is a set of graphic companion novels. The story centers on the Boxer Rebellion in China, and anti-foreigner and anti-Christian movement from 1898 and 1900. Both books feature the same fantastic art by Yang, backed up with interesting characters and strong storylines. I liked, too, how the author indicated the white foreigner's language in Chinese characters (or what appear to be Chinese characters), so that as English language readers we can share the sense of incomprehension when the foreigners speak.
In Boxers, Little Bao learns martial arts and calls upon the spirits of ancient Chinese gods to give him strength in order to rise up with an army of Boxers to fight off and free China from the foreign devils that oppress the country. As the violence begins to grow and Little Bao is forced to break the moral edicts he vowed to follow, he begins to question whether he is truely following the right path.
In Saints, the main character is a fourth and unwanted child, who does not even have a name. Called Fourth-Child by her family, she eventually finds a name, Vibiana, and a place for herself among the Christian community. As the Boxer rebellion grows, she has to decide whether to hold onto the community that has accepted her or join her countrymen in defending China.
Both storylines present a moral ambiguity to the events, the subtle questioning of what is really the right path and whether China can really be made whole through battle. Both also contain supernatural elements, with the Chinese gods appearing to Little Bao and the spirit of not-yet-sainted Joan of Arc appearing to Vibiana. Both work fairly well as stand alone stories, but reading them together is a much more complete and enjoyable experience.
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Sample art from Boxers:
In Boxers, Little Bao learns martial arts and calls upon the spirits of ancient Chinese gods to give him strength in order to rise up with an army of Boxers to fight off and free China from the foreign devils that oppress the country. As the violence begins to grow and Little Bao is forced to break the moral edicts he vowed to follow, he begins to question whether he is truely following the right path.
In Saints, the main character is a fourth and unwanted child, who does not even have a name. Called Fourth-Child by her family, she eventually finds a name, Vibiana, and a place for herself among the Christian community. As the Boxer rebellion grows, she has to decide whether to hold onto the community that has accepted her or join her countrymen in defending China.
Both storylines present a moral ambiguity to the events, the subtle questioning of what is really the right path and whether China can really be made whole through battle. Both also contain supernatural elements, with the Chinese gods appearing to Little Bao and the spirit of not-yet-sainted Joan of Arc appearing to Vibiana. Both work fairly well as stand alone stories, but reading them together is a much more complete and enjoyable experience.
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Sample art from Boxers: