The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew
Review by Lauren
Source: copy for review, but all opinions are my own
Official Summary: In the comics boom of the 1940s, a legend was born: the Green
Turtle. He solved crimes and fought injustice just like the other comics
characters. But this mysterious masked crusader was hiding something
more than your run-of-the-mill secret identity… The Green Turtle was
the first Asian American super hero.
With
artwork by Sonny Liew, this gorgeous, funny comics adventure for teens
is a new spin on the long, rich tradition of American comics lore.
Review: I’ve been interested in superhero comics lately, so I was really excited to see the new adaptation of the first ever Asian American superhero, known as The Green Turtle. Yang adds a really cool back story about how the Green Turtle came to be and found his unique powers. It uses Hank’s Chinese roots in a unique fashion, giving more weight to his background. He couldn’t be the Green Turtle if his parents hadn’t come from China.
I loved that the story was fairly long for a graphic novel, yet still read quick. It gives a full look at Hank’s family and his journey to becoming a super hero, which actually starts with his mom. She is saved by one and decides that her son should be one too in order to have a better life. It was quite amusing to see what ideas she came up with to try and get Hank to develop powers.
There are some sadder moments in the book, but that seems to be fairly typical of superhero origin stories such as Spiderman or Batman. I don’t want to say too much about the actual storyline, because I probably couldn’t explain it well enough without giving away too much information. Therefore, you should simply check this one out for yourself! I would love to read more about Hank and his adventures. He changed a lot in The Shadow Hero, and I think he’d be an even better superhero in future stories.
The book comes with the first original Green Turtle story at the back of the book, which was cool to see. It definitely shows how the writing in a comic has gotten better through the years. I thought it was a cool addition!
I'm not really into comics so it's not really a surprise that I had no idea that there is Asian American superhero. I like the sound of The Green Turtle and how his life is portrayed. Great review, Lauren 🙂
Hmm, I wonder if this comic inspired The Mutant Ninja Turtles at all? I really like the idea of an Asian superhero, and I love reading graphic novels during readathons, so I'll have to look this one up!
This looks fun! I have to agree…superhero origins always seem to have an element of somberness / drama.
xx
Neat to see the comparisons
Not a superhero I've ever heard of. Its interesting to think that The Green Turtle was the first Asian American fighting for justice.
I do like how the characters are becoming more diverse. This one looks like a good book for me to recommend to my little cousins!
Oh, very cool. I love to see diversity, and it's great to see it in comics. Thanks for sharing!
I too love the diversity in this, nice to see.
I think it is fun how it shows how comic books have evolved over the years, kind of fun.
This sounds like a fascinating book if you are into comics. What a great find.
I've only picked up one graphic novel but I enjoyed it. So much is conveyed through the pictures. Great review, Lauren! 🙂
I love how diverse the characters sound, and know my son would enjoy this one! Thanks for sharing Lauren!
Oh it's interesting and it looks a little different, I confess that I'm a little intrigued.
Wow, this is cool! I've never been a superhero comic book reader even though I love superhero movies, but I think I could dig this! It's just cool to see diverse superheroes.
I have seen quite a few people reading this and all of them seem to enjoy it. I need to see if my library has it or not. Seems like right up my alley.