View Full Version : American Born Chinese
kevmann16
01-23-2007, 09:52 AM
Wow this book was good, thank you for the recommendation iFanboy.
After watching the video on here I decided to finally order Absolute Dark Knight from Amazon since I've never read Dark Knight or brought an absolute edition and it looked really good on the video. Before checking out I looked though the other books available and spotted American Born Chinese and remembered the iFanboy episode where it was talked about so I took the risk and brought it.
Both books came yesterday and I flicking through ABC, I ended up reading it all and loving it. I had planned to read Dark Knight and maybe read ABC when I had nothing else but it hooked me. The three story lines are all good, when flicking through I didn't think I would like the monkey king stuff but that turned out to be the most interesting story for me, the art is pretty good, I was nicely surpised to find it was fully coloured, I was expecting a black and white book not that black and white is bad but I much prefer coloured books.
Anyway Thanks again, looking forward to start reading Dark Knight tonight.
The Absolute Dark Knight is great. You should enjoy that as well. I've yet to read American Born Chinese. I keep meaning to
mister s
01-23-2007, 03:56 PM
I've picked up American Born Chinese at my LCS I don't know how many times, only to put it back down again. I really want to read it, but for some reason I just can't. Maybe this week's the week.
Absolute Dark Knight is fantastic. You'll love it.
DarrOn
01-25-2007, 11:53 PM
I've picked up American Born Chinese at my LCS I don't know how many times, only to put it back down again. I really want to read it, but for some reason I just can't. Maybe this week's the week.
Dude, get it. You will have absolutely NO regrets. My sister, who has never read a comic in her life, fell in love with it. I had to go buy her one so I could take mine back.
Serious bro, next time you're in the store, and you see it, buy it.
CammyKnoxville
01-26-2007, 01:59 AM
after reading the title of this thread, I went and thought we were talking about Jim Lee or Frank Cho (they're the same person, right?).
kwok_talk
01-26-2007, 02:03 AM
after reading the title of this thread, I went and thought we were talking about Jim Lee or Frank Cho (they're the same person, right?).
(awkward silence)...
(awkward silence)...
right there with ya guy
I actually went to see Rocky Balboa tonight(it was ok to good in spots) and on my way out of the mall I stopped at Borders and picked this up.
CammyKnoxville
01-26-2007, 02:15 AM
only joking, ofcourse.
kwok_talk
01-26-2007, 11:50 AM
only joking, ofcourse.
oh you silly caucasians...always making the funny jokes.
Don't worry, I didn't take it personally.
ConorKilpatrick
01-26-2007, 02:20 PM
oh you silly caucasians...always making the funny jokes.
Don't worry, I didn't take it personally.
That joke - I am almost positive - is a reference to an incident that happened on our audio show a few months ago when someone wrote in a letter confusing Jim Lee and Frank Cho.
JAFlanagan
01-26-2007, 02:41 PM
*breaks tension*
Man, that Jim Lee is short isn't he?
And such a slow penciller too....
Ugh...
Anyway, one thing that's fascinating about this book was how uncomfortable the parts with the racist cousin character were. The author takes this huge chance and just throws out every ridiculous stereotype he can to make his point. That can so easily backfire, and you have to give him a lot of credit for doing it in a capable way.
Man, I think I need to give this another read. So good!
Frank Cho actually carries Jim Lee around in his pocket.
Frank Cho draws breasts larger than Jim Lee, that is not to say they both draw breasts and Cho's are larger but that Cho draws breasts larger than the actual Jim Lee.
Jim Lee once got lost in a field ..... of grass
To be fair, Jim Lee's pencils take so long because he rides an ant to work rather than driving a car. It takes him 4 hours to get there(if there's no traffic)
Jim Lee was actually the inspiration for the movie Stuart Little - there's a lawsuit in the works and everything
kwok_talk
01-26-2007, 03:01 PM
on a side note, is there a quoted height for jim lee? I've only seen press shots of him (always just shoulder-up, guess I know why now, ha). Does he break 5'?
he barely breaks 5"
it's subtle I know but you'll get it
JAFlanagan
01-26-2007, 03:07 PM
This is what I get for trying to raise the level of discourse.
He's probably over 5'. He's not really extremely unusually short. And I think next to the normal dude who works in comics he just looks very small. That's the joke for me. I mean, you get a table with Bendis, Quesada, Busiek, Waid, etc., you get the sense that he could, perhaps, fit in one of their pockets.
kwok_talk
01-26-2007, 03:07 PM
he barely breaks 5"
it's subtle I know but you'll get it
Nice! Took me a few reads, but yes my slow self finally got it. Jim Lee's kicking it ant-man style, i see.
they don't actually measure his height in inches - it's nanometers
instead of that slide thing they put on top of your head at the doctors they measure him up against a quarter
the best thing about being as short as Jim Lee is that you never need a ticket to get on an airplane - you can ride in frank cho's pocket
did you hear about the time he fell off of a newspaper and broke his leg?
The only thing that moves slower than Jim Lee's pencils were his pituitary gland and growth plates during puberty
I'm calling for a Jim Lee raost - who's with me?
If 'who's with me' doesn't work I'll move to starting a slow clap
mister s
01-26-2007, 03:42 PM
So, I snagged American Born Chinese from Roblaw and shall being reading it as soon as I get home from work...
CammyKnoxville
01-26-2007, 05:56 PM
That joke - I am almost positive - is a reference to an incident that happened on our audio show a few months ago when someone wrote in a letter confusing Jim Lee and Frank Cho.
Yea, that would be me :o
JAFlanagan
01-26-2007, 06:22 PM
That makes it even funnier.
The Dude Abides
01-26-2007, 09:12 PM
Rocky Balboa wasn't a very good movie.
But the theme hasn't left my mind yet.
GETTING STRONGER
DarrOn
01-26-2007, 10:40 PM
*Slowly clapping*
*Slowly clapping*
thanks sir
Well I'm free the Saturday after that. Beyond that, I'm going to have to check my calendar.
Rocky Balboa wasn't a very good movie.
But the theme hasn't left my mind yet.
GETTING STRONGER
It wasn't great but I can think of hundreds of movies that are worse
don't make me name them
kwok_talk
01-26-2007, 11:44 PM
It wasn't great but I can think of hundreds of movies that are worse
don't make me name them
sadly, i have yet to see a rocky movie.
DarrOn
01-27-2007, 01:32 AM
Agreed. Avoid 5 like the plague.
One and two are AMAZING flicks. Rocky was one of four flicks that helped to change the way I look at shit.
Three and four, on the other hand, also kick-ass, but in a completely different way. Ivan Drago has to be one of my favorite all-time characters.
marcushill73
01-27-2007, 01:56 AM
If you enjoyed American Born Chinese, check out his two-issue title Duncan's Kingdom from Image. It's similar to Tellos, but more concise, and arguably more enjoyable.
Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks was reoffered in last month's Previews catalog and is solicited for March release. This was the book that earned Yang and Xeric grant.
One more thing: Was the show Monkey ever shown in the U.S.? This was a Chinese television series that ran for two or three seasons in late 70's / early 80's. It followed the story of the Monkey King, who each week would get into staff fights with demons and spirits. As a kid, I used to play "Monkey" at school with friends when it originally aired. That was until teachers banned it for two reasons: too many injuries sustained; everyone wanted to be monkey.
The excerpts from American Born Chinese closely followed television stories. Just wondering if anyone else saw this series. I think it may have been distributed by BBC.
Cheerio,
Marcus
Ivan Drago has to be one of my favorite all-time characters.
I vill break you
DarrOn
01-27-2007, 07:05 PM
I vill break you
You vill lose.
DarrOn
01-27-2007, 08:07 PM
He ist not human...He ist like piece of iron.
acomicbookgirl
01-27-2007, 08:32 PM
So, B. Dalton that's in my mall is closing. So after watching "Catch and Release" me and my friend went there. On an empty shelf, I just happened to find "American Born Chinese" along with some other books and thought about you guys.. :) I got for half off since everything was %50 off in the store! :) I loved it. I have to thanks you guys for making my day! :)
I've yet to read American Born Chinese. I keep meaning to
I picked this up last week or the week before. I just finished reading it. It was OK. I thought that it was a bit heavy handed in places, but overall very readable. The way they wrapped it up at the end was good.
acomicbookgirl
02-10-2007, 02:10 AM
I picked this up last week or the week before. I just finished reading it. It was OK. I thought that it was a bit heavy handed in places, but overall very readable. The way they wrapped it up at the end was good.
The book hit home with me when I read it.. Thanks for recommendation guys!
The Dude Abides
03-10-2007, 08:40 PM
I've never heard of the show marcushill73 mentioned but it sounds ****ING AWESOME.
I just got three trades: American Born Chinese, Ex Machina (the latest one) and the Kyle Baker Plastic Man (the one with the plastic cover) trade.
Anyway, American Born Chinese is ****ing awesome. I'm like 40 pgs into it and everything it has done so far has totally, totally worked on me. Really effective reading. I love it, so far.
It's one of those things where you're just getting into a book and it hits you like a revelation, where you know you're reading something really special and (at least in my case) you decide to read it really slowly and in small excerpts in order to savor it.
AlexG
03-10-2007, 09:47 PM
I really dug American Born Chinese. I'm wondering--any of the people who have read it, did you know the Monkey King story before you read it? And if not, does the book make you more interested to find out about that story? I ask because the Monkey King legend is tons of fun and I've ever read net rumor that Spielberg is developing his own film version of the story.
Humphrey Lee
03-11-2007, 07:44 AM
I really dug American Born Chinese. I'm wondering--any of the people who have read it, did you know the Monkey King story before you read it? And if not, does the book make you more interested to find out about that story? I ask because the Monkey King legend is tons of fun and I've ever read net rumor that Spielberg is developing his own film version of the story.
I knew about it, but because of a different comic. The story was told in the final issue of LUCIFER.
DrWally
03-12-2007, 05:59 PM
THANKS guys! This thread made me remember how good "American Born Chinese" sounded when Josh, Ron and Conor discussed on the podcast, so on Sunday night I just ordered a copy. The delivery guy just dropped a slip in my box that it's arrived, so I can pick it up tomorrow. Tomorrow night I'll be in my favorite Japanese style Chinese food "greasy spoon" restaurant run by Burmese in Tokyo reading this book for desert. Yummy.
Have I heard of the Monkey King? You mean the King of all Monkeys who was born out of a mountain rock, who defeated the four great dragons of the four directions for the fun of it, who when finding out about death went to the underworld and ripped out the page that had his name on it and laughed?
Is that the same Monkey King that travels with a pig and a princess?
Never heard of him. But there was a very "B" movie called "The Monkey King" (I think) that was not too bad, and actually had some pretty good aspects to it. Something about a white guy trying to find the meaning of life in China (whatever dude). It was much more fun when they just rolled out the cool, authentic Chinese stuff monsters, creatures, historical characters, and all the Deities of Heaven. There was also a recent Japanese TV show that did yet another set of Monkey King stories, in the Japanese style, featuring a pretty big star in the title role, but it was typical Japanese TV: lots of production budget, no production value in view. I say if they want a movie done right about who may be the oldest super hero in the world (if you consider popular icons with a distinctly iconoclasitic character), then hire some Koreans...
Speaking of Korean Americns, I bet Cho could draw a booby big enough for Jim Lee to ... never mind. I think I better stop right there.
Thanks for bringing up the book, can't wait. And if you like the book, you may want to enter this name into Amazon and see what comes up: Kang, Younghill
AlexG
03-12-2007, 06:49 PM
Hah! I had a feeling Dr. Wally would dig the Monkey King story.
There's some weird irony in intersection of Spielberg making a monkey king movie and the story you described about a white guy finding the meaning of life in china...huh.
Shaw brothers produced a series of monkey king movies in ages past with an actor who was famous for performing him on stage, the whole thing had a beijing opera vibe to it. Those are readily available on vcd/dvd.
Probably the weirdest version I saw was Stephen Chow's 2 versions of the story. Weird but fun.
Monkey king is such an awesome character, he takes absolutely no sh*& from anyone.
DrWally
03-12-2007, 07:20 PM
Hah! I had a feeling Dr. Wally would dig the Monkey King story.
There's some weird irony in intersection of Spielberg making a monkey king movie and the story you described about a white guy finding the meaning of life in china...huh.
Shaw brothers produced a series of monkey king movies in ages past with an actor who was famous for performing him on stage, the whole thing had a beijing opera vibe to it. Those are readily available on vcd/dvd.
Probably the weirdest version I saw was Stephen Chow's 2 versions of the story. Weird but fun.
Monkey king is such an awesome character, he takes absolutely no sh*& from anyone.
Yea, AlexG, you got me. How about this -- Namor, the Monkey King, and Quicksilver in one room: BOOM, total 'tude fest, and I would pay money to see that, one long argument (and the Monkey King would kick a**, sorry Namor). If Wolverine were more articulate he might fit in the story somehow...
Spielburg doing the Monkey King is just too scary to contemplate. White guys finding themselves in Asia -- BORING. Been there, done that. And seen it done -- again and again and again and again and again. Ian Buruma and Said have written volumes about white people "finding themselves" in the "mysteries that are the Orient" ever since white men discovered the place. Someday I'm going to have bonfire and burn every Geisha book in English I can get my hands on, which is like half the Asian section in English bookshops. (Samurai and Bushido and Business and Bushido are the other half -- barf).
I say Spielburg should "get in touch" with his earliest and best popcorn movies, "find himself there," then just toss a ton of money at the best Asian production staff he can find, and give them total freedom. That could work.
DrWally
03-12-2007, 07:54 PM
Monkey King: Two Words-> Jackie Chan
Here is the movie I mentioned, wow, talk about "loved it vs. hated it" mixed reviews, take a look at what people wrote...I think I agree with everything written there by people who saw it (whether they loved it or hated it), you find out lots about the Monkey King in each review. But hey, I'm pretty Buddhist... apparently so is the original work, "Journey to the West," one more reason to get worried about Hollywood going near this kind of project:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0198779/
AlexG
03-13-2007, 02:16 AM
Monkey King: Two Words-> Jackie Chan
Here is the movie I mentioned, wow, talk about "loved it vs. hated it" mixed reviews, take a look at what people wrote...I think I agree with everything written there by people who saw it (whether they loved it or hated it), you find out lots about the Monkey King in each review. But hey, I'm pretty Buddhist... apparently so is the original work, "Journey to the West," one more reason to get worried about Hollywood going near this kind of project:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0198779/
wwwooooaah That looks pretty bad.
Here's the Stephen Chow movie I mentioned--maybe you saw: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112778/
DrWally
03-13-2007, 04:29 PM
wwwooooaah That looks pretty bad.
Here's the Stephen Chow movie I mentioned--maybe you saw: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112778/
Just read "American Born Chinese" tonight. WOW. The cover kind seemed spooky to me, as it reminded me of myself at that age, and it wasn't until after I read the book that I noticed the Monkey King at the bottom of the rocks on the cover... just the effect it was probably meant to have. I went to school where at least 1/3 of the kids were Asian; I'm the kid on page 26, fifth from the right (no, that is not a typo, fifth from the right). As I got older I watched many of those kids go through what is depicted so well in that book, while I went through my own geeky adolescent trauma. Unlike another commentator, I knew immediately where the book was going when the Monkey King emerged with sneakers on and banned shoes in the Monkey Kingdom, although the other surprise in the book as the other two "separate stories" come together in the end did affect me quite profoundly.
AlexG: The movie I linked to was not that bad, very "B" grade, for beginners in Monkey King lore definitely, and it was pretty decent for Hollywood trying to do Asian themed stuff, which has always been a perilous journey through stereotypes, thank goodness for Eastwood and Tarantino. I checked out your Stephen Chow link, but I'm not sure what people not familar with the basics of the Monkey King story would make of all that. I'm sure it's a big hit, but among people who grew up with the character all around them, maybe?
I have been constantly surrounded by Monkey King versions over the past 15+ years, but my own experience is that here in Asia there is a certain "shallow and standardized" version of the character that gets repeated all the time. Probably Chow is trying his own take on the character in reaction to that? You're never quite sure if he's on the journey or not in most modern versions, unlike Yang's American Born Chinese.
So, being the consumate Old School Rules guy that I am, and also being the first to throw props at a version that makes the true message of the "Journey to the West" relevant to readers today, I have to say:
American Born Chinese is now my definitive Monkey King version. I like the rather subtle, subversive, and quiet sycretism of the story, which is pretty stark contrast to that completely ridiculous and racist last scene from The Last Samurai where Tom Cruise presumes to lecture the Emperor Meiji on what Bushido means: "Dammit, I discovered Zen, the Samurai Code, and now I can kill people and revel in war without fear of Judeo Christian guilt, so who the hell do you think you are, giving peasants access to education and public transportation?!" I love Ken Watanabe, but problem with Asian actors is, Hollywood never knows what the heck to do with them. (Clint Eastwood obviously does; Watanabe and Eastwood are such a good match).
SO, American Born Chinese is great, and a nice flower in a pretty dry field. I'm sure it will be segregated off to the "Asian American Studies" section in no time at all...... like
Kang, Younghill (that guy was so great, wrote two wonderful novels)
DrWally
03-13-2007, 04:56 PM
after reading the title of this thread, I went and thought we were talking about Jim Lee or Frank Cho (they're the same person, right?).
Actually what is rather amusing is that the title of the thread is "American Born Chinese," but both Frank Cho and Jim Lee are KOREAN Americans.
Not a big difference, you say? Yeah, not where you live...
Humphrey Lee
03-13-2007, 05:25 PM
I've been seeing so much feedback about this between this site and a couple others that I finally reviewed this book for the column. Should be up Weds. It'll be sucktacular.
DrWally
03-14-2007, 06:57 PM
I've been seeing so much feedback about this between this site and a couple others that I finally reviewed this book for the column. Should be up Weds. It'll be sucktacular.
I'll be looking for that review, Humphrey! I like your reviews, but the "talkback" section that follows it is filled to the brim with juvenile stink bombs masquerading as comments, which is a shame because I think you deserve something more after your well thought out and well written column. I'm afraid I'm spoiled by the iFanboy community, and can't accept less.
I'll probably drop a short note on what I think, but I'll drop it here, on this thread. I like to play with the adults, and there are quite a few children over on that site... Keep up the good work. Educating children is hard work...
Humphrey Lee
03-15-2007, 05:24 AM
I'll be looking for that review, Humphrey! I like your reviews, but the "talkback" section that follows it is filled to the brim with juvenile stink bombs masquerading as comments, which is a shame because I think you deserve something more after your well thought out and well written column. I'm afraid I'm spoiled by the iFanboy community, and can't accept less.
I'll probably drop a short note on what I think, but I'll drop it here, on this thread. I like to play with the adults, and there are quite a few children over on that site... Keep up the good work. Educating children is hard work...
Eh, they mean well, but yeah, they're a little too abrassive for their own good. I like to think of them as those bastard punks that you see at the shows. The guys who have their heart in the right place, but have the same mohawks and pins and piercings and tattoos and all that showing that they really don't get the true spirit of punk. Some of them amuse me though, but I've been doing that column for two years now and I don't think I've ever once replied to any of them or posted in our feedback section. I'd pimp slap a few if I could.
Still though, rather see them go off on impassioned tangents than read the verbal fellatio or ubergeek drivelings that go on at Newsarama.... which I post at for some reason...... eh, I guess I do just like to pick fights from time to time. :D