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.
The comic had a short run before lapsing into obscurity, but the acclaimed author of American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang, has finally revived this character in Shadow Hero, a new graphic novel that creates an origin story for the Green Turtle.
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.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
"This one's got a green cape and a real bad sunburn!"
By H. Bala
I've got a new favorite thing, and it's THE SHADOW HERO, a boss graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew. And it's the backstory that first got me. It's fascinating stuff: In 1944, during the heyday of the golden age of comic books, the obscure publishing company, Rural Home, wanted to strike while the iron was hot and hired a cartoonist named Chu Hing to create the main attraction for their series BLAZING COMICS. And Chu Hing came up with the World War II costumed vigilante, the Green Turtle. The most unique element about the Green Turtle is that he was the first Asian-American superhero.The Green Turtle evidenced no obvious superpower, relying mostly on his rocket plane and his two good fists. He went around in a mask and a massive cape with a turtle design. He defended America's ally, China, against the encroaching Japanese forces. One odd conceit about him was that his seemingly ubiquitous shadow resembled a cheerful giant turtle that no one seemed to notice.The awesome rumor goes like this: Chu Hing was pushing to make a Chinese-American superhero, except that Rural Home ixnayed that intent pretty quick. So Chu Hing went the passive-aggressive route and introduced another odd conceit. He drew the Turtle in such a way that never once did the reader get a good look at his face. Too, whenever the Turtle was about to explain his origin story to his sidekick, Burma Boy, something always came up to interrupt him. Seven decades later, writer Gene Luen Yang notes that even his extensive research is unable to confirm this rumor. But to quote THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."Gene Luen Yang - whom you may know from his acclaimed graphic novels American Born Chinese and Boxers & Saints Boxed Set - and artist Sonny Liew (MY FAITH IN FRANKIE, Malinky Robot TP) give the Green Turtle his origin story, one that's steeped in cultural identity and in the zeitgeist of the pre-war 1940s era. The venue is relocated from China to the States, to the city of San Incendio. Our guy is Hank Chu, an unassuming 19-year-old boy who's content to work in his father's grocery store in Chinatown. And, like Lester Girls, Hank proves to be a reluctant hero. I really like Hank's colorful supporting cast, none more colorful than his mom who sailed to our shores as a hopeful young girl but who quickly sours on the American dream. So, for most of her life, she's been this embittered woman. But an encounter with a heroic flying man - this world's Superman avatar - reinvigorates her zest and her ambition. Seizing an opportunity for fame and fortune, she sets about turning her unwilling son into a superhero. We're in for a fun montage of her putting her son thru a bunch of outlandish experiments, one of which has the peculiar fallout of turning her son's skin, when wet, to an odd pink color that glows in the dark.I love how the writer explains away the turtle shadow. And, no, I don't think I should go more into it.Sonny Liew's visuals perfectly complement Yang's offbeat storytelling. Liew's art, with its delicate, sort of cartoony lines and its vitality, stylistically evokes an authentic feel of comic books as drawn in the 1940's.The original 1940s comic lasted five issues and then folded back into obscurity. I'm anticipating the modern-day run to go longer because it's good enough to. The creative team's worldbuilding and mythology incorporate themes of family, heritage, insight into life as an immigrant, terrific humor, Eastern mysticism, and an inventive shuffling of superhero tropes. I won't say what, but the Green Turtle does have a super-power after all, but it's one that's limited and born out of not thinking things thru. What a charming, unpredictable read. When I flipped to the last page I just wanted to keep on reading. The closing panels of THE SHADOW HERO dovetail nicely into the stories told in the old BLAZING COMICS as the Turtle is recruited into the great world war. And how awesome is it that this trade also reprints the original Green Turtle story from BLAZING COMICS #1? There's also Gene Luen Yang's 5-paged afterword in which he details the Green Turtle's backstory and how he and Sonny Liew came to be involved with reviving this forgotten hero.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.Pulp-revival done right!
By Jonathan Strawn
This is a great pulp superhero story, the likes of which modern reboots the "The Shadow" or "The Lone Ranger" attempt but rarely succeed in pulling off. I was skeptical of yet another dusting off of a golden age comics character, but Gene Luen Yang is rightfully acclaimed for his past work on books like "American Born Chinese," so I expected it to be well told at the least.I should not have been worried. Yang and artist Sonny Liew tell a fast-paced and deep story that never gets lost in its own complications. The main character is a lovable doofus, helped along by an equally lovable and also somewhat doofy spirit. The action sequences are clever and well rendered, and early 20th century Chinatown(in what seems to be a fictional version of San Francisco) is lovingly rendered and full of pulp details. Some of the more obvious are the cop with the yellow trenchcoat and lantern jaw, or the genial Superman analog flying around dispensing polite justice. Some concepts are wonderful and original(to my knowledge): the 3 female assassins with color-coordinated names and outfits were a fun and not over-done concept.Finally, the resolution upends your expectations and builds to something truly moving and thought-provoking. This isn't a reinvention of the superhero; its a superhero told from a distinct point of view within a specific cultural experience.A final note: this collection includes a re-print of the first adventure of "The Green Turtle" from the golden age. It isn't great, but the commentary points out some very interesting stylistic choices that make it for a fun companion piece.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
A playful modern twist on old superhero cliches
By DJ Joe Sixpack
"The Shadow Hero"Written & Illustrated by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew(First Second Books, 2014). . . .The set-up for this one seems almost too good to be true: author/cartoonist Gene Luen Yang rediscovered an obscure WWII-era comicbook character, the Green Turtle, who was apparently created by an Asian-American artist and was intended to be the first Asian-American superhero, a revolutionary step in an industry which primarily depicted Asians as either comedic fools (ala Chop-Chop, in the "Blackhawk" books) or as satanic, bucktoothed heathens (as in every caricature of Japanese soldiers ever...) Legend has it that the book's publisher forbade the cartoonist to make the Turtle explicitly Asian, so in the few episodes published, he always appears with with his back turned to the readers - we can't tell what his ethnicity is, because his face is actually never seen.Anyway, when contemporary artists Sonny Liew and Gene Luen Yang discovered the Green Turtle, they came up with the idea of revamping and modernizing the character, reclaiming him for modern audiences. They came up with a new origin and placed the Turtle in a comedic yet realistic scenario -- here, he is the teenage son of Chinese-American immigrants, a nice boy named Hank who helps his dad out in the store while his overbearing mother tries to direct both men's lives, even going so far as to push Hank into becoming a superhero proving herself to be the ultimate "tiger mom" (including her acting as his masked chauffeur, ala Cato in the Green Hornet) The domestic backdrop provides the comedy, with playful tweaks of Asian-American stereotypes and the outdated conventions of pulp-era pop culture, such as a family friend with the unfunny but punny name Wun Too, and the like. The book gives a fully-formed look at middle-class life in a fictionalized 1930s Chinatown, giving a few more layers of emotional and social depth than what audiences in the 'Thirties would have seen.Plus, the book itself is a good read, with Hank on a slow learning curve when it comes to crimefighting and derring-do, yet persevering nonetheless. This was an entertaining and inclusive book, recommended for all readers, with a small caveat that racist language pops up now and then, as a way to show the discrimination that Asian Americans faced decades ago... The tip of the iceberg, really, but perhaps enough to ruffle a few feathers today. My only real complaint about this book is that while there is one episode of the original Green Turtle series reprinted in the back, I wish they'd included more if not all of the weird old comic's brief run... It wasn't a great comic, but this still seems like a missed opportunity. Anyway, more good stuff from Gene Luen Yang -- if you liked his other books, you'll enjoy this one as well. (DJ Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)
