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Gwan Anthology
Gwan, the anthology which highlights and celebrates comic creators who produce work with a sense of the immigrant/expat perspective, expressing both the joys and challenges of such a journey. The anthology includes short stories spanning a variety of genres: sci-fi, fantasy historical fiction, and slice of life.
216 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 25, 2020
It is very difficult for me to properly define what exactly this was, but it was very good!
On the most general level: this is a collection of works, not all of them stories and some not even drawn, that highlight creators who integrate various kinds of immigration experience into their works. Do check it out for introduction to some fantastic creators.
On the most general level: this is a collection of works, not all of them stories and some not even drawn, that highlight creators who integrate various kinds of immigration experience into their works. Do check it out for introduction to some fantastic creators.
May 11, 2018
The better parts of this book would have rated a fourth star, but the inclusion of what amounted ads for some of the creators, instead of stories, brought it down. At least, that's what I assumed the pinups and other non-story materials were.
There were some intriguing ideas in the book, including a Chinese retelling of part of the Wizard of Oz, and a few snippets of longer works that were a bit frustrating [more ads?].
The pieces by Jerome Walford, one of the creators of the volume, were very good. One of the others, a horror/shock story of sorts, was so obvious in the direction that it was going that the shock value was pretty limited. Most of the actual stories were in between, but I want to especially mention "Secret Asian Man" which was a short humor section that had a couple of great gags.
Weirdly, the table of contents is off by a couple of pages, so you have to do the arithmetic for the correction yourself.
Overall, the book was worthwhile, and I enjoyed it, but it could have been even better, and that was a little disappointing. The highlight was seeing the work of a lot of unfamiliar creators, which is why I bought the book in the first place, and it was worth the money I spent.
There were some intriguing ideas in the book, including a Chinese retelling of part of the Wizard of Oz, and a few snippets of longer works that were a bit frustrating [more ads?].
The pieces by Jerome Walford, one of the creators of the volume, were very good. One of the others, a horror/shock story of sorts, was so obvious in the direction that it was going that the shock value was pretty limited. Most of the actual stories were in between, but I want to especially mention "Secret Asian Man" which was a short humor section that had a couple of great gags.
Weirdly, the table of contents is off by a couple of pages, so you have to do the arithmetic for the correction yourself.
Overall, the book was worthwhile, and I enjoyed it, but it could have been even better, and that was a little disappointing. The highlight was seeing the work of a lot of unfamiliar creators, which is why I bought the book in the first place, and it was worth the money I spent.
November 28, 2018
A diverse sci-fi/fantasy anthology of short stories, comics, and artwork, all either about the immigrant/refugee experience or created by immigrants/refugees. As in all anthologies, there were some pieces that stood out more than others (props especially to Arianna Mao's immensely fun Chinese Mythology/Wizard of Oz mashup comic), but overall I enjoyed the book as a whole.
December 27, 2025
Shout out to:
- Marta Tanrikulu, Lucho Inzunza, Kote Carvajal, ET Dollman, Leila del Duca
- Jacques Nyemb
- Miguel Guerra and Suzy Dias
Talented folks, whose works I resonate with the most and found most humanity in them
- Marta Tanrikulu, Lucho Inzunza, Kote Carvajal, ET Dollman, Leila del Duca
- Jacques Nyemb
- Miguel Guerra and Suzy Dias
Talented folks, whose works I resonate with the most and found most humanity in them
December 18, 2017
Like a lot of anthologies, this was a real mixed bag.
December 14, 2020
A fascinatingly diverse anthology...
November 28, 2023
Amazing compilation. Thoroughly enjoyed the stories. They felt very authentic.
April 25, 2017
Love it!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews