Gene Luen Yang

Gene Luen Yang
Native name Traditional: 楊謹倫,
Simplified: 杨谨伦
Born (1973-08-09) August 9, 1973
Nationality American
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley
Genre graphic novels
Notable awards MacArthur Fellow
Website
geneyang.com

Gene Luen Yang (Chinese Traditional: 楊謹倫, Simplified: 杨谨伦,[1] Pinyin: Yáng Jǐnlún; born August 9, 1973)[2] is an Asian-American cartoonist. He is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of graphic novels and comics, at comic book conventions and universities, schools, and libraries.[3] In addition, he was the Director of Information Services and taught computer science at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California.[4] In 2012, Yang joined the faculty at Hamline University, as a part of the Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults (MFAC) program.[3] In 2016, the U.S. Library of Congress named him Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.[5] That year he became the third graphic novelist, alongside Lauren Redniss, to receive the MacArthur Fellowship.[6]

Early life

Yang believes he was born in either Alameda or Fremont, California.[4] He is the child of an electrical engineer from Taiwan and a programmer who grew up in Hong Kong and Taiwan, both of whom emigrated to the United States.[2] They met at the San Jose State University Library during graduate school.[4] His parents instilled in him a strong work ethic and reinforced their Asian culture. In a speech at Penn State, where he spoke as a part of a Graphic Novel Speaker Series, Yang recalled that both of his parents always told him stories during his childhood.[7]

Yang was a part of a small Asian-American minority in his elementary school. He says that he grew up wanting to be an animator for Disney. In third grade, he did a biographical report on Walt Disney, which is where he says his obsession started.[7] This changed in fifth grade when his mother took him to their local bookstore where she bought him his first comic book, issue 57 of the Superman series DC Comics Presents, a book she agreed to buy because Yang's first choice, Marvel Two-In-One issue 99, featured the characters Thing and Rom on the cover, which she thought looked too frightening.[7]

Yang attended the University of California, Berkeley for his undergraduate program. He wanted to major in art but his father encouraged him to pursue a more "practical" field so Yang majored in computer science with a minor in creative writing.[8] In college Yang found himself much less of a minority. During this time, he began to question his faith, but a moment he experienced while walking through the woods during his freshman year caused him to make Jesus his life's focus.[4]

Career

After graduating in 1995, Yang worked as a computer engineer for two years. However, after a five-day silent retreat, he felt he was meant to teach, and left his job as an engineer to teach computer science at a high school.[8] In 1996, Yang began self-publishing his own comics under the imprint Humble Comics. Yang went on to be published with First Second Books (an imprint of Macmillan Publishers),[4] Marvel Comics, SLG Publishing, Dark Horse Comics, Harper teen, The New Press, and Pauline Books & Media.[9]

In 1997, Yang first published comic Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks under his Humble Comics imprint, and it won him the Xeric Grant, a self-publishing grant for comic book creators.[8] Yang later published two more installments in the Gordon Yamamoto mini-series and a sequel, Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order. In 2010, both Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks series and Loyola Chin and the San Pelgrino Order were published together as Animal Crackers by Slave Labor Graphics.[10]

In 2006, Yang published American Born Chinese with First Second Publishing and won the annual Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association recognizing the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit".[11] It was also the first graphic novel to be a finalist for the National Book Award, Young People's Literature,[3] and it won an Eisner Award for best new graphic album.[12] American Born Chinese has since been recognized in many ways. It has been on the Booklist top Ten Graphic Novel for Youth; NPR Holiday Pick, Publishers Weekly Comics Week Best Comic of the Year, San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year, the Rueben Award for Best Comic Book, The Chinese American Librarians Association 2006/2007 Best Graphic Album – New, Time Magazine Top Ten Comic of the Year, and Amazon.com Best Graphic Novel/Comic of the year.[13]

Yang's other works have been recognized as well. In 2009, Yang was awarded another Eisner Award for best short story for his collaborative work The Eternal Smile which he wrote and Derek Kirk Kim illustrated.[3] Yang was nominated for Eisner Awards for both Prime Baby and his collaborative work Level Up.[12]

Yang writes the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics series for Dark Horse Comics, the first volume of which was released in January 2012.[9] Yang's graphic novel, Boxers & Saints, which was published by First Second Books in September 2013. In July 2016, DC Comics released the first issue of The New Super-man, featuring a separate Chinese character in the Superman mold, written by Yang.[14]

Yang is an advocate of the use of comics and graphic novels as educational tools in the classroom. He wrote his final project for his master's degree at California State, Hayward over this topic in which he emphasizes the educational strength of comics claiming they are motivating, visual, permanent, intermediary, and popular.[15] As a part of his Master's project, Yang created an online comic called Factoring with Mr. Yang & Mosley the Alien as a method of teaching math. This idea came from a time where Yang was substitute teaching a math class at Bishop O'Dowd. Due to the position of Director of Information Services[16] he held at the school, he was forced to miss classes and used the comics to help the students learn the concepts in his absence. The positive feedback he received from the students inspired him to use the idea for his Master's project.[8] Yang's acclaimed graphic novel, American Born Chinese, has been recommended to teachers for classroom instruction.[17]

American Born Chinese

Main article: American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese was released by First Second Books in 2006. The first story line is Yang's contemporary rendition of the Chinese story of a Kung Fu practicing Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain, The Monkey King, and his journey to the west. Yang, a Catholic,[4] replaces the Buddha, from the original story, with a Christian influenced deity Tze-Yo-Tzuh. Throughout the story, The Monkey King is unhappy with himself as a monkey and continually tries to become another version of himself. Tze-Yo-Tzuh tries to help The Monkey King accept himself. When The Monkey King refuses Tze-Yo-Tzuh imprisons him under a mountain of rocks. A monk named Jiang Tao is sent by Tze-Yo-Tzuh on a mission to carry three packages to the west and is to pick up his disciple, The Monkey King, on his journey. He finds The Monkey King imprisoned under the mountain of rocks and frees him from the mountain by convincing The Monkey King to return to his true form.

The second story line follows an American-born Chinese boy, named Jin Wang, who moves to a suburb where he goes to school with only two other Asian students. Jin struggles with his Chinese identity and begins to reject it when he meets a new Asian student, Wei-Chen. Wei-Chen is a Taiwanese[13]/Chinese immigrant who just came to the United States and he and Jin become best friends. Jin begins dating a Caucasian girl in his class and her friend Gregg asks Jin not to ask her out any more because he felt she needed to protect her image. Jin perceives this as a personal attack on him because of his race and becomes angry. Angry and confused, he kisses Wei-Chen's girlfriend and they have a falling out. That evening, Jin recalls the fight he had with Wei-Chen and convinces himself that Wei-Chen deserved it. That night, Jin has a dream about a Chinese woman he had met when he was younger. She had told him that he could be anything he wanted if he was willing to give up his soul. He awakens the next morning and looks in the mirror to see himself as a Caucasian boy and he changes his name to Danny.

The third story line follows Danny, the "all-American boy"[13] and his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee, who comes to visit every year. Danny is embarrassed by his cousin Chin-Kee, who is depicted in traditional queue and buck-teeth, because he is Chinese. At the end of this narrative, we learn that Chin-Kee is really The Monkey King. The Monkey King then proceeds to tell Danny that his son Wei-Chen was sent to live among the mortals without sin for forty years but that he had changed and no longer wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father. That is when The Monkey King decided to visit Danny. Danny realized that the reason Wei-Chen fell into sin was his fault and as he realizes this, he turns back into Jin Wang. The Monkey King gives Jin Wang a card with an address on it and Jin Wang goes there to make amends with Wei-Chen.

Although Yang draws from experiences in his past to write these narratives, they are not autobiographical.[18]

Awards and recognition

In January 2016, Yang began serving a two year term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a program organized by the Children’s Book Council, Every Child a Reader, and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.[19]

Yang was named to the 2016 class of the MacArthur Fellows Program, receiving what is commonly called the "Genius Grant". The MacArthur Foundation that names the fellows said that his "work for young adults demonstrates the potential of comics to broaden our understanding of diverse cultures and people."[20]

Selected works

Anthologies

See also

References

  1. ↑ "杨谨伦：美生中国人的表述." (Archive) Government of the United States. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Antonucci, Lisa; Xochitl Ayon; Justin Beck; Cassandra Ulrich; Yahaira Vega; Alnas Zia (March 23, 2012). "A Biography of Gene Luen Yang". Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Announcing New Faculty". Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chen, Alice C. (May 11, 2008). "The Humble Comic: Gene Yang's Christian take on being American-born Chinese fuels his emerging comics career". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  5. ↑ George Gene Gustines, Library of Congress Anoints Graphic Novelist as Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, New York Times, 4 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Meet the 2016 MacArthur Fellows". www.macfound.org. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Yang, Gene. "Gene Yang Speaks as Part of Graphic Novel Speakers Series". Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Story Hour in the Library: Gene Yang". 2 December 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Yang, Gene. "Comics". Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Animal Crackers". Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books". YALSA. ALA.
      "The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature". YALSA. ALA. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Yang, Gene. "About". Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 Yang, Gene (2006). American Born Chinese. :01 First Second Books. pp. back cover. ISBN 978-0-312-38448-7.
  14. ↑ http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2016/04/14/naming-super-man
  15. ↑ Jacobs, Dale (January 2007). "More Than Words: Comics as a Means of Teaching Multiple Literacies". National Council of Teachers of English. pp. 19–25. JSTOR 30047289. (registration required)
  16. ↑ "Comics in Education: About Gene Yang". Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  17. ↑ Gutierrez, Peter (Fall 2009). "Integrating Graphica into Your Curriculum: Recommended Titles for Grades 6–12". Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Interview with Gene Luen Yang:". Winter 2007. pp. 84–88. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  19. ↑ http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/69039-yang-named-national-ambassador-for-young-people-s-literature.html
  20. ↑ https://www.macfound.org/fellows/975/
  21. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Rosary-Comic-Book-Luminous-Mysteries/dp/081986479X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411603081&sr=8-1&keywords=rosary+comic+book
  22. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Crackers-Gene-Luen-Collection/dp/1593621833/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411599478&sr=8-1&keywords=%22animal+crackers%22+gene+luen+yang
  23. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/American-Born-Chinese-Gene-Luen/dp/0312384483/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411599548&sr=1-1&keywords=american+born+chinese
  24. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Smile-Three-Stories/dp/1596431563/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411601165&sr=1-2&keywords=%22the+eternal+smile%22
  25. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Prime-Baby-Gene-Luen-Yang/dp/B005IUQXXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411603240&sr=8-1&keywords=%22prime+baby%22+gene+luen+yang
  26. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Level-Up-Gene-Luen-Yang/dp/1596432357/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411603452&sr=8-1&keywords=%22level+up%22+gene+luen+yang
  27. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Avatar-Airbender-Gene-Luen-Yang/dp/1616550740/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411603613&sr=8-1&keywords=avatar+the+last+airbender+the+promise
  28. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Avatar-Airbender-Michael-Dante-DiMartino/dp/1616552263/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411603647&sr=8-1&keywords=avatar+the+last+airbender+the+search
  29. ↑ WorldCat
  30. ↑ WorldCat
  31. ↑
  32. ↑ Cavna, Michael (August 18, 2014). "SMALL PRESS EXPO: Here are your nominees for the 2014 SPX Ignatz Awards…". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  33. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Hero-Gene-Luen-Yang-ebook/dp/B00LDR85LK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411603675&sr=8-1&keywords=the+shadow+hero
  34. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Avatar-Last-Airbender-Rift-Library/dp/1616555505/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411603805&sr=8-2&keywords=avatar+the+last+airbender+the+rift
  35. ↑ http://nerdist.com/exclusive-gene-luen-yangs-secret-coders-vol-2-cover-reveal/

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