Webcomic Book Club Full Reviews of American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Visuals: Style- The style of the comic is a very smooth black and white style. The comic is not visually complicated, but every character is well designed. The characters are expressive, and look very distinctive. Flow- This comic does not use a standard panel design from comic to comic, altered as the writer sees fit. They always follow the tradition flow from the upper left, and the writer keeps it the same, except when he decides to do some creative story telling. Plot: Greater- This comic has 3 major plotlines, none of them related to each other. The first is a retelling of the legend of the Monkey King, and is highly entertaining. I had never heard the actual legend, but find his telling of it to be a fun read. The second plotline is based around Jin Wang, and his adventures in a public school system. This part seems somewhat autobiographical, with a Chinese kid going through the rigors of public school life. The third storyline seems to be the set up of a very not political correct sitcom, complete with laugh track. This part is based completely on outrageous situations, and can be damn funny if you take it with a grain of salt. Focused- The characters in the Monkey King segment are divided into 2 camps, the king and everyone else. Everyone else, in their little cameos, has a slight personality that sometimes shows through. The monkey king is the perfect blend of ignorance to make for a fun read. In the second segment, the characters and situations sound like things you would expect in middle school and high school. The third storyline is... weird, but that is to be expected. Final Thoughts: This is a good comic to read. It shows great potential from what I have read, and I would gladly keep reading it. Final Grade: B+ Review by Taua Boswell Tue Jan 13 2004 03:39 PM

"Dooka. Its time for Salen's Comic Review." "No funny intros this week, since I'm sort of behind on getting this review going... American Born Chinese is a really cool comic. Its not as long or established as other comics I'm familiar with, but what it lacks in content, it makes up for with being just really neat. Yeah, I know thats not very professional sounding, but its just a very neat comic." Art: "The art is really nice, clean, and is just very pleasant to look at. The artwork specifically revolving around the Monkey King really feel very appropriate, seeing as the Monkey King legend is an old story. But more on that later. But in the end... its very easy to just appreciate the comic for its art..." Characters: "Characters, there are a few. Most of the important ones seem to jump out at you, in the amount of screen time they seem to get, but even then, all the characters get the same artistic touch to show that each is important, even if they're just scenery. But since the comic seems to have two distinctive 'stories' going on, the characters end up splitting their 'screentime' up. I really can't fault anyone of the characters on the way they act, or react. The Monkey King's sort of 'focused' but I would assume that would have more to do that the Monkey King's legend showed him in much the same way. And the other characters in the 'modern' half of the story seem just to be average people, with concerns. Sure, they might not be important to us, but not everything is, and so showing that they're just 'regular' types is good." Story: "This should read "Stories". There are two distinct stories, as far as I can tell. The Monkey King legend, and the more modern half of the story. The stories themselves seem mixed up. With one taking over, then the other. Its sort of like pulling lots out of a hat as to what we'll see next. But since the comic seems to still be in the early process of building up its own content, and helping set the comic, perhaps this is just one of those things where the stories will show some sort of similiarity or lesson or something. Or perhaps not. Either way, even with the confusion of which story line you get, its not that hard to get into the next one." Writing: "Weeee. Writing! There be words here! But me, I'll skip them to tell you that the writing just seems to be pretty good. At points, it really is funny. And making me laugh once in a while is a good thing. Its actually pretty pleasant to read the comics. I never once felt I was having material go over my head or just rambled to. Combine that with the rest, and well... its really good. Dook." Overall: "In summary... This comic is pretty cool. Its not very long right now, so you don't have to read a TON of comics to get up to date, and the stories are neat to both read and look at. Really, read this comic. Its nifty." Score: 8.5 Staff Wielding Monkeys out of 10. Review by Salen Stormwing Sun Nov 30 2003 02:38 PM

Art: The art was nice, clean, visually pleasing, and seems to go well with the mood of the comic, overall. The comic seems split amongst three different worlds, and all of them seem well-illustrated, showing the rather different natures of the monkey king's world, and the more modern world the other two inhabit. Story: Well, there are three stories that seem to be, overall, not particularly related to each other. Oh, they share the common bond of the various aspects of Chinese culture, Chinese stereotypes, and actual Chinese life, but beyond these, there doesn't seem to be much of a connection between them. Ordinarily, that would be a bad thing. But here, it isn't. There may yet be some connection between the three in the future, some greater purpose that binds these three together...or it may just be what it seems to be...an interesting, humorous, and just overall, a well-done webcomic offering some interesting insights into what it is, at least in part, to be Chinese. Characters: In the three different worlds, the characters are all rather different. In the realistic setting, the characters are, overall, quite believable, with all the petty rivalries and subtle (and not-so-subtle) status wars that tend to characterize the lower grades. Not that they don't continue on different levels, mind you...but anyways. In the world of the Chinese stereotype, well, the cliche runs rampant, the stereotype borders on painful...yet it works. And it's still funny. Finally, in the world of the monkey king, the characters are, as befits most legends, suitably underdeveloped, though admittedly funny in areas. The Monkey King has his hubris, the assorted gods have their pride and exclusiveness, and it all goes well with the setting. Overall: The main problem I have with this comic is that there's not enough. Only the stage has been set....but oh, what a promising stage it is. This webcomic shows a lot of promise, especially considering how little there is to judge. What I've seen, I like, and you can color me thus far impressed. 9/10. Review by Luthorne Sun Nov 30 2003 11:38 AM

I enjoyed this comic very much! My only gripe is that there wasn't enough material (as of 11/30/2003 it was at the 4th segment of Chapter 5) "ABC" tells three separate tales that explore the blending of American and Chinese cultures on three levels: The mythological, the personal, and the level of caricature. The retelling of the Monkey King (a classic figure of Chinese mythology) infuses Christian elements into in an engaging parable of hubris and destiny. The recollections of the young Chinese immigrant Jin, learning to assimilate to American culture offers nice observations and anecdotes from childhood. The briefest and most surprising storyline is presented like an episode from some awful TV sitcom about an overbearing Chinese cousin named "Chin-kee" who visits an average white American teenage boy. Chin-kee speaks with the worse Hollywood-stereotyped accent (something like Mickey Rooney's wretched Mr. Yunioshi in "Breakfast At Tiffany's"). I never saw Spike Lee's "Bamboozled", but it seems like this segment will tackle the same issue of how to present an outdated and offensive stereotype without making it appealing/funny enough to resurrect the very same stereotypes it's attempting to critique. Other reviewers have complained that the three stories don't really tie together. I couldn't disagree more. For me, the journey that Monkey King goes through had elements that reflect those of every assimilating immigrant. Even if you master the system and wear all the right shoes, the dominate culture may never see you as anything but a monkey--unless you get tough and force respect. But that path ultimately leads to destruction. Maybe I'm reading too much into the tales, but I found these stories very rich and thought provoking. On a technical level, the artwork was simple but elegant and beautiful. The linework was especially lovely. Every panel, every image felt like it is there for a reason, advancing the story, enhancing a character, accentuating a theme, or offering some worthwhile detail. It's so refreshing to see a webcomic that really treasure's the reader's attention and makes every moment worthwhile. The whole segment where Monkey King escapes the space-time reality and reaches the five pillars was my personal highlight. The "breaking the panel" thing has been done numerous times in comics, yet here it was no tired gimmick but an extremely effective means of communicating a sequence of events. Every image in that sequence was great. I would feel "Whoa, that's really neat" followed by "But of course, it could rightly be depicted no other way". There was also great comic timing throughout. In the Jin stories, the punchlines were subtle, but most definitely there and very carefully developed. "ABC" offered genuine comedy about human nature, not cheap punchlines about pop culture figures. Jin's reactions to people and surroundings were somewhat minimalist but very effective. The narrator didn't drone on about how he was feeling this way or that way. He narrated the essentials and let the comic tell the bulk of the story. I'd have to rank "American Born Chinese" up there as one of the best webcomics I've come across and look forward to reading the rest. Review by The Phantom Critic Sun Nov 30 2003 02:08 AM

I liked "American Born Chinese"...but right now it's telling three stories, which makes it hard to follow. Art: The art for "ABC" (as I heard one person refer to it) is good to me; it's simple, but deliberately so. There's a lot of backround, and the character designs remind of "Same Difference"...though in a simpler form. The only thing that threw me was the design for the monkeys...they all looked like "Mojo Jojo" from the Powerpuff Girls to me. Characters: This is harder to judge...at least part of this is autobiographical, if I'm reading "ABC" correctly. For the childhood and adolescence parts, they at least seem to have believable characters...and I can't fault someone who brings up Transformers. The Monkey King is interesting, but he's very one dimensional to me-part of that would be his focus, of course, but we mostly see him being defiant or learning kung fu. Hopefully he'll branch out when we see him next. And Chin Kee...well, he's funny, but I felt bad for laughing. He brings up stereotypes I haven't seen in years. Story: The weakest point of "American Born Chinese". I have no issues with the individual stories, but they're all incomplete...and all mixed together. Will we see more of Chin Kee in the next installment, or more of the Monkey King? Perhaps we'll stick with Jin's story. I don't know, and that annoys me. Perhaps there's a schedule to the whole affair that I'm missing...with only 5 official chapters, that's a very real possibility. Writing: This, thankfully, is a stronger area. All of the stories in "ABC" kept my interest-I certainly want to find out what happens with the Monkey King, and Jin's story is also intriguing...though not as much. The only weak point is Chin Kee's storyline. I want to see more of his 'antics', but at the same time, I'm worried about what will pop up. Overall: "American Born Chinese" is something I enjoyed, though the odd format threw me off. I'd like to see more of this one, and I intend to keep up with it's updates. 8 out of 10. Review by Benor Mon Nov 24 2003 07:11 PM

A review of American Born Chinese By Kajamir the Giant Our fourth selection from Modern Tales greets me a bit better than the previous ones. Although it's really quite short, I thought the writing and the illustrations were on the good side of things; both pleasant to behold and reasonably drawing the reader in. I'm not truly clear what the general premise of American Born Chinese is thus far. It featured three seperate characters... one, a young Chinese boy growing up in America, the second being a nifty tale about the Monkey King, and the third is about an awful but admittedly humorous stereotype about a chinese immigrant. All three of these characters exploits are enjoyable in some fashion, yet they all feature very different settings and themes. The comic header shows them seemingly as main attractions, but I wonder if there will be more things shown later on. I get the feeling something ties them together, but it escapes me currently. I didn't have any problems with the writing or art here. That's not to say they're superior, but they come across pretty good. I particularly liked the smooth linework of the b/w art. It's eye candy for me. For a review, I'd prefer a slight bit more material to read over, but I'm content with what I see so far. If anything, I'd prefer a more apparent direction with the strip manifest soon, but that's about it. I give American Born Chinese a 7 of 10 stars. Looks like a bright future from this perspective. Review by Kajamir the Giant Mon Nov 24 2003 02:37 PM

Review of "American Born Chinese" Very interesting... There are about three different plotlines: a monkey who wants to be so much more, a Chinese American kid growing up, and a television show about a stereotypical Chinese American. The transition is a little rough, but not entirely so. I enjoyed them for the most part, especically the Monkey chapters, but then... I'm weird like that. The art is clean, smooth, and very descriptive. There is the occasional 'transparent' panel, the effect of which is very striking. The characters are well-built, and I can get inside their heads. Even if I don't agree with their methods or ideas, I can see where they're coming from. Overall, "American Born Chinese" seems to show the culture, the stereotype, and the reality of Chinese Americans. This is both very interesting and very effective. I've gained a bit of understanding that I didn't have before, which is always good. Eight-point-Five out of Ten from this corner. Review by Xenix Mon Nov 24 2003 08:59 AM

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