Staff Picks: Asian American and Pacific Islander COMICS

When Kiku is visiting San Francisco, she is suddenly transported back in time and finds herself incarcerated in one of the World War II internment camps. As she lives what her grandmother experienced, Kiku finds herself considering how this experience has affected her and her family. With captivating artwork and thoughtful tone, this is a compelling read.

Readers who enjoy time travel historical fiction such as Devil's Arithmetic and Kindred

Megan Rupe

When Nao decides to return to Japan to reconnect with her heritage, she joins Himawari House, where she meets Tina and Hyejung, two other girls who have their own reasons for being in Japan.
Over the course of a year, the three girls find joy, love, and heartbreak together in this heartwarming story of friendship and self-discovery.

Readers looking for stories about connection, reconnection, and self-discovery; readers looking for the nostalgia of studying abroad

Megan Rupe

A childless couple adopts Jesse, a young Korean girl with a voracious, inquisitive mind. She also happens to be an AI! As Jesse tries to establish her identity, she will have to grapple with the rules and expectations her family, her creator, and others place upon her.

Fans of science fiction that grapples with challenging questions such as identity, autonomy, and technology

There is a fair amount of violence, including guns and an active shooter situation. There is also some brief nudity.

Megan Rupe

Tien loves to read fairy tales with his family. He wants to come out but is unable to find the word for gay in Vietnamese and doesn't want to worry his mother, who is already concerned about his grandmother who she left behind. Can Tien and his mother find their way through the stories they both love?

Lovers of fairy tales and retellings; readers who believe in the power of stories

A little blood violence; very brief homophobia

Megan Rupe

Cici misses her grandmother who used to cook with her all the time; however, their time together became severely limited when Cici and her family moved from Taiwan t0 the United States. When Cici learns of a kids cooking contest, she decides to enter so that her grandmother can visit for her birthday. However, the cooking contest will challenge Cici's skills as she has only ever made Taiwanese food! Will Cici measure up?

Readers who love stories focusing on food and family

Megan Rupe

Stanford is just a janitor at Sky Corps Academy, working with his Mom until a mech falls from the sky and bonds with him. Suddenly he's a student and learning how to navigate piloting, politics, and the potential end of the world. Mech Cadet Yu is funny, action-packed, touching, and ultimately hopeful.

This is a mech series for mech fans so anyone who loved series like Voltron and movies like Pacific Rim will love Mech Cadet Yu. But it is also enjoyable for readers that enjoy the human side of sci-fi stories, or sci-fi that isn't heavy on the tech side of things.

Occasional curse words like "hell" or "damn" but otherwise about Power Rangers level of violence.

Shannan Prukop

Laura Gao lived with her family in Wuhan and knew a different one than the one shown in media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. After Laura moves to the United States, she grapples with her family's expectations, her own goals, and her sexuality. Told in a heartfelt, honest manner, Messy Roots is a wonderful coming-of-age tale.

Readers who enjoy memoirs that explore themes of immigrant identity and coming of age will likely like Messy Roots.

Racism, homophobia

Megan Rupe

Priyanka is going through a lot: she's bullied at school, her surrogate uncle is pulling away, and her mother won't tell her about her father. When she finds a pashmina in an old suitcase, she sees visions of India. Using her own money, Pri journeys to India to learn more about her family history, but she will find so much more.

Readers who enjoy coming of age stories; readers who enjoy magical realism

Megan Rupe

Lora and her friends used to have all kinds of adventures, but now all they want to do is talk about dating, makeup, and what's popular online. A lonely tea party leads to Lora re-discovering her childhood friend: the ghost Alexa. Being with Alexa makes Lora feel more confident and happy, but unfortunately, even ghosts don't last forever. It's a story of loss and self-discovery, acknowledging the past while moving into the future.

The discussions of death and grief make it a great choice for readers of Snapdragon, while the aspects of telling stories to understand the world make it a good read for fans of The Magic Fish. If it's witchy things that pull readers in, then it's an easy suggestion for readers of The Okay Witch.

The story does center on a ghost, so there are discussions of death and grief.

Shannan Prukop

Based on a storyline in the radio play "The Adventures of Superman" from 1946, Yang brings us a Superman story that is very different from the Superman comics most readers are used to. Instead of fighting alien warlords or billionaire megalomaniacs, Superman is fighting racism and intolerance growing right under his nose in Metropolis. When the Klan of the Fiery Cross attacks a family of Chinese immigrants who just moved to Metropolis, the daughter of this family helps Superman get to the bottom of who is responsible for the attacks. All the while, Superman is also coming to terms with the fact that he is an outsider even though he's lived in America (and on Earth) most of his life.

Both long-time fans of Superman and those who love Gene Luen Yang's work but have never been interested in superhero comics will find something to love here.

Racism, Hate crimes

Tayla Cardillo

Korean cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim weaves her mother's stories with others' testimonies to create the story of an old woman who lost her son during their flight to South Korea. She wants nothing more than to reunite with him during one of the special reunions, but time is running short. With quiet black and white illustrations and a lens that is both personal and historical, readers will find themselves engrossed.

Fans of historical fiction--especially readers curious about the Korean War and its continued impact on Korean citizens--will find this work engaging and powerful.

There is little on-screen violence, but the book is weighty as it portrays displacement and its impact and touches upon sexual assault.

Megan Rupe

This graphic novel details actor and writer George Takei's experience in a Japanese internment camp as a child. Takei recounts his memories of his childhood in the camps with the hindsight of an adult, adding historical details and perspective on his parent's sacrifices that he only learns after the fact. This graphic memoir is a reminder that the crimes of our country's past are as not as far away as they sometimes seem.

Readers with an interest in World War II will enjoy this rich first-person narrative. Manga lovers will appreciate the art style, even if the subject matter is a break from their usual reading.

Racism

Tayla Cardillo

In order to train for the entrance exams to a prestigious magic school, Sophie moves to live with the great aunt she's never met. What she finds is a lot of trouble: Aunt Lan doesn't seem to like her, she's struggling with training, and then there's the mess with Lir, a young dragon with amnesia. But what seemed like an impossible knot comes free when Sophie admits what she really feels, and speaks up for what she really wants.

This is a great pick for fans of magical coming-of-age stories like The Witch Boy, films with beautiful environments inspired by mythology like Spirited Away, and gentle stories of magic like Sprite and the Gardener.

Shannan Prukop

Woman World, the graphic novel, brings together Aminder Dhaliwal's hilarious and widely popular comics series that she originally posted on her Instagram into one print volume. In these comics, Dhaliwal imagines a world without men, and with this premise, she is able to make satirical commentary on patriarchy and womanhood. While the end of the world may not seem that funny, Dhaliwal's comics almost make you forget that her world is post-apocalyptic.

Webcomic fans will love this funny and light collection of comics.

Nudity

Tayla Cardillo