Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology

Secret Identities #1

by Jeff Yang (Editor), Parry Shen (Editor), Keith Chow (Editor)

What if we told you a tale about a quiet, unassuming guy with black hair and thick glasses; an immigrant, who's done his best to fit into a world that isn't his? Many Asian Americans fit that bill. But so does Clark Kent, better known to the world as Superman.
The editors of Secret Identities

Appealing to both comics fans and Asian Americans seeking to claim their place in American culture, Secret Identities makes brilliant use of the conventions of the superhero comic book to expose the real face of the Asian American experience.

This groundbreaking graphic anthology brings together leading Asian American creators in the comics industry including Gene Yang (National Book Award finalist for American Born Chinese), Bernard Chang (Wonder Woman), Greg Pak (The Hulk), and Christine Norrie (Black Canary Wedding Special) to craft original graphical short stories set in a compelling shadow history of our country: from the building of the railroads to the Japanese American internment, the Vietnam airlift, the murder of Vincent Chin, and the incarceration of Dr. Wen Ho Lee.

Entertaining and enlightening, Secret Identities offers whiz-bang action, searing satire, and thoughtful commentary from a community too often overlooked by the cultural mainstream, while showcasing a vivid cross-section of the talents whose imagination and creativity is driving the contemporary comics renaissance.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Asian American, Fantasy

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

American writer, journalist, businessman, and business/media consultant who writes the Tao Jones column for The Wall Street Journal.[2] Previously, he was the "Asian Pop" columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Reviews

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really dig the idea of this. Provide a place for Asian-American graphic novelists to present their vision of Asian-American superhero comics. It should be noted that I am not a rabid reader of superhero comics (tending to gravitate toward indie/alternative/small press graphic novels), so this is not an expert's perspective and I may not be the target audience.

And, like most anthologies, in terms of success, it's a grab-bag. Some of the selections are less well-executed than others, some of the selections are more didactic than others. Some of the comics are more sexist than others (yes, comics focusing on women superheros are relegated to a chapter titled, "Girl Power," which is... not particularly excusable).

The standout selections for me were as follows:
1. Justified (pg. 170-71) by Ken Wong & Tiffanie Hwang
When I picked up this book to review it a couple of months after reading it, this two-page spread was the only story I remembered before actually opening the book again. I'm pretty shocked to see that it's only two pages long. Really, really good work.
2. A Day at Costumeco (pg. 119-125) by Jeff Yang & A. L. Baroza
When I flipped through the thing to refresh my memory, I saw this one and gasped in glee. Though apparently not aggressively memorable, this is a great take on day-to-day superhero society (not unlike Top 10 The Forty-Niners, Powers Vol. 1 Who Killed Retro Girl, Born in Fire Rising Stars 1, Soon I Will Be Invincible, Watchmen etc. etc. etc.). I especially dug the focus on kids and coming of age in such a world.
3. The Blue Scorpion & Chung (pg. 63-74] by Gene Yang and Sonny Liew
Totally obvious behind-the-music on The Green Hornet. But really, it needed to exist.

I'd love either of the first two to be expanded into a longer graphic novel. And I hope that more anthologies like this one will come out, maybe focusing on other underrepresented populations. Quite possibly my favorite part about this is that, as detailed in both the extra material and their contributions, the editors were inspired to create this organically. We can tell it was a labor of love. There's even a timeline of when these comics are set in the back, y'all!

Based on my personal experience with this, I'd probably give it three stars, but because more books along these lines should exist (at least as long as we don't have a perfect society, race-politics-wise), it gets an extra.

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

Secret Identities is one of the few comic anthologies I enjoy tremendously. There are 48 chapters, all drawn by Asian Americans — of course — but a few are 1-page superhero profiles and stories. So really, there are only 40 longer stories.

For most of the 1-page stories, it's an artist talking about the concept of superheroes, Asian Americans and the influence of Asia on western comics. The longer stories are really fun, bizarre and creative.

The book starts off with a comic book cover art of "The Y-Men", featuring super lame superheroes with quotes like "Feel the suicidal wrath of KamiKazei", "Sweaty Feet of Coolie are express ticket to hell", "The myopic blasts of Four Eyes" and "Special delivery from Riceman pork-fried pain". This pretty much sets the satiric tone for the book, although there are more serious stories as well.

My favourite story is "James", written by Michael Kang and drawn by Erwin Haya. James's power is super-agility and super-strength. His partner has the ability to emit light, like a light bulb. Somehow amazingly, James began to lose the limelight (pun intended) to his partner and his career crashed. In the end, he had to start over going to like N.O.A.S.S* and A.S.S.H.O* networking events. *Which translate to National Organization of Supers and Sidekicks, and Asian Student Super Hero Organization.

My second favourite "A day at Customeco". This family is shopping at a groceries supermarket dedicated to superhero shoppers and suddenly a how-dumb-can-you-get villain strikes! Now imagine every superhero rushing in for the kill.

The story concept and creativity are really commendable. The superheroes are shown in many different aspect of life, in different communities, going about their daily chores. It's mix and match everywhere, littered it with funny quotes.

This book is highly amusing and should appeal to more than just Asian Americans.

More information on the book can be found at www.secretidentities.org and secretidentitiesbook.blogspot.com.

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superheroes? Yes! Superhero comics that push back against stereotypes? Even more yes! I am not always a big fan of anthologies, but there were a number of short stories here that I would have bought immediately if they were ongoing series. This was a groundbreaking collection when it was published in 2018, and remains an important and entertaining work in the genre. It isn't preachy, it's action-packed, funny, satirical, and heartfelt. Shattered, the sequel, had a hard act to follow, but I found a good number of new-to-me creators to love there as well. Well worth your time if you're a superhero fan, or even if you're not.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good, very different read.
So much ground is covered.
So many new stories and new voices.
I would love to see some of them followed up.

[Kelvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very fact that this exists is reason enough to give it 5 stars. As an Asian American, I never realized how important AA representation in the media and having strong, non-stereotypical AA role models was to me until coming to college and taking AA studies classes.

As for the anthology's content, I did find it a bit hard to follow some of the stories, but I'll attribute part of that difficulty to my lack of familiarity with comics.

I especially enjoyed sections 5 and 6 - I think they hit home the most.

I can't wait for the second volume.

[Olivia Thames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phil Yu, from AngryAsianMan.com, states it best in his review of Jeff Yang et al's "Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology": "Where were these comics when I was a kid? At long last, here are the Asian American superheroes I've always wanted."

I worried that, in not reading both of Yang's anthologies in chronological order I would miss something key that unifies both graphic novels. However, it was not held against me, and should not be held against other readers, since like most superhero movies and comics it is best to jump right in. The water is fine!

Like the second anthology, there is something to learn from each line of dialogue, from each cell, in each story. My personal favorites from this collection were: "The Citizen" by Greg Pak, with art by Bernard Chang (56), "S.O.S." by Tanuj Chopra, with art by Alex Joon Kim (93),"Section Three: Girl Power" written and illustrated by Kripa Joshi (99), "You Are What You Eat" by Lynn Chen, with art by Paul Wei (100), and "Supergrrrls" written and illustrated by Hellen Jo (126).

I was also introduced to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a unit composed of almost entirely second-generation Japanese Americans, who in World War Two became the most decorated regiment in United States military history. I cannot fully fathom what that experience was like for them, given the atrocities they faced on the frontlines overseas, and where their families were relocated to back home. If there are any books (novels, biographies, etc.) on these men please let me know.

There may be some out there who think once the month of May is through that they do not need to continue to read books about the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) experience. I thoroughly disagree, and would encourage you to check out www.secretidentities.org for more stories and resources to enjoy all year long.

[Freddie🏳️‍⚧️🐀 · Rating 2 out of 5]

My actual rating would be 2.5. I like the idea of this anthology, basically Asian American cartoonists telling stories they wanna tell. Also some of stories are loosely connected which is cool! It’s a clever idea for an anthology.
However even though this anthology has a lot of stories none of them really made me go “wow!”. Most of the stories just feel like a miss. Most of them just feel too short. Either they go nowhere or just feel like an intro to the character. Not many of them left an impact.
I think the parts that tackled politics and race were probably the strongest and most interesting. I found the more generic superhero stories weaker and more of the cartoonist showing their cool character.
I don’t usually read comics from the 2000’s. Idk why I just read what I can find usually. This one’s from 2009 iirc, feels very much like something from that era idk how to describe it. Also Obama appears.
I think my favorite stories were probablh Trinity (liked the art style), A Day at CostumeCo (fun story also very much a 2000’s comic), and The Blue Scorpion and Chung (good short story and uses the short length well)
Anyways interesting concept but most of the stories weren’t anything to write home about.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A meditation on Asian Americans' relationship to comic books, Secret Identities is both an anthology of stories about Asians (mostly in superhero settings) written by people of Asian descent and it is a serious exploration of Asian identity politics. The stories themselves are designed to be interconnected, but their interconnectivity is subtle and easy to miss if it wasn't for a chart at the end. From investigating Japanese Americans fighting against Japan in WWII, how Asians are stereotypically marginalized in media, to Asian body types, and the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, this volume shows some of the unique perspectives that can be explored when Asians are able to populate comics as protagonists instead of playing villains (a la the Mandarin), sidekicks (like Wong from Dr. Strange), or having their culture subsumed into a white character (e.g. Iron Fist).

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't regularly read comic books or graphic novels, but maybe if this book featuring Asian superhero characters by Asian creators had existed when I was a kid, I might now be a huge comic book fan. This is the book I've been looking for all my life, and I'm so happy something like this exists in the world. Featuring a wide variety of styles and stories, the creators tackle everything from Asian stereotypes to Japanese internment during World War II to the murder of Vincent Chin to the Chinese Exclusion Act to being a minority to so many other topics. It's incredibly awesome, inspiring, fun, funny, and a whole host of other superlatives. This is the type of book I would love to not only have in my classroom library for all of my students but also hand out to family members and friends. Fantastic book!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology came out 15 years ago; a time when a new era of superheroes was being summoned, and a few years before the demand for diversity in the stories we consume became that much more vocal. This anthology is a cross section of meeting a need for Asian Americans in roles often overlooked nor often never considered; as superheroes. Some are more campy than others, whereas others are more centered in reality.

Although very male driven with a hyper focus on East Asian characters for the most part, it’s nevertheless easy to see why it’s essential reading both then and now; for the aspirational-driven stories by and for the community.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any anthology is going to be uneven. Especially one with this high a volume of up and coming writers and illustrators. You know that going in but what makes Secret Identities special other than the obvious, groundbreaking nature of getting this many Asian writers and artists all in one book is that the overall quality is so high. The super hero genre is almost completely under the control of well meaning. white people from Portland that it is a breath of fresh air to hear some new voices in the room.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun anthology, short pieces on Asian-American superheroes by Asian-American creative teams, offering a huge range of perspectives and interpretations as well as fantastic art all around.

Unfortunately, there's a distinct lack of diversity within the stories: the overwhelming majority of creators involved are men (9 women, 54 men), very few of the stories focus on women, almost none talk about disability in any significant way, and the only mention of LGBT people even existing is a one-line joke between cis straight characters.

[Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

F**king phenomenal to see characters, who look like me and have a family like mine, taking the glory like it's no big deal. The storytelling is powerful, even though it is brief. The varied art style and anthology format make it feel like I'm being recognized multiple times in multiple ways, which is more than Asian people can usually say. The representation is spread across a myriad of Asian peoples, not just focused on one or two types you typically see, reinforcing the concept of our connections.

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great concept. But like most anthologies, there are great parts mixed with not so great parts. The best pieces were too short, so they felt like comic teasers of what could be. I wanted a full length graphic novel of some characters. Others were open jokes on common stereotypes...funny in that painful wincing way the truth hurts. Interesting overall.

[Zaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anthology style

My main problem with this is while it does show racism that has occurred and how Asian American's are often put into a stereotype box. A lot of young readers will look at these stories and feel defeated. It is important to tell stories from the past of course; however, they also need heroes to look up to.

[April eclecticbookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequential art anthology by Asian Americans featuring Asian Americans. Some of the comics were fantastic but others were harder to follow or not as well done so it averaged out 3 stars for me. :) I do hope some of them continue.

[Heather King · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and thought-provoking collection of comics that questions standard stereotypes representations of Asian Americans in superhero cultures and offers exciting and critical alternative visions.

[Allison OC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and important

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have my copy of the book with me, or I could write a more detailed review. I'll try to write about what I remember. First of all, this book makes me really happy just by existing. The only reasons it doesn't get five unqualified stars are: 1) the quality of the art is somewhat variable, and 2) it was a little unclear how some of the stories fit (or not) into a larger narrative. While some of the stories stand entirely on their own, others are interconnected, and several of them hint at a larger story that isn't contained within this anthology. The editors provide a chart to explicitly show the connections between characters and stories, but it's a little hard to follow, and I was left with the feeling of a mostly unexplored universe with a lot of potential. What I really hope, of course, is that this universe *will* continue to be explored, and these stories expanded on--online, in another volume, anything! I'm greedy, what can I say--I devoured this book, said, "That was great!" and then immediately said, "I want more!"

Looking at the authors and artists who contributed, it seems like a really wide range of Asian ethnicities is represented. That's great! The stories themselves are less diverse, featuring predominantly Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters, though there are a few SEAsian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern characters represented. I guess it's not surprising that East Asian characters dominate--especially since there's a notable focus on WWII, and therefore on Japanese-American history--but it is kind of interesting when you consider the creators behind them. Just goes to show that racial/ethnic hierarchies exist at all levels, I guess. So that's another thing I'd like to see as this universe grows--a little more diversity in the characters, reflecting the diversity of the creators.

I was super-pleased that there was a chapter, "Girl Power", devoted to female superheroes. Given that all of the primary editors are men, it would have been all too easy for this book to slide into a male-centric fantasy of reclaiming Asian-American masculinity, which it avoided. It's kind of sad how happy a simple thing like not stomping all over women makes me, but there you go.

Stories I particularly enjoyed include: Driving Steel, The Blue Scorpion and Chung, and Learn to Share (which I love especially because it features a classic "victim"--a little girl rescued from sex slavery--but she is a superhero, too).

In sum: I highly recommend this book, and I hope it is the beginning of something huge!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect, but this turned out to be a delightful and solid anthology. While I didn't like all of the stories equally, the ones that resonated with me were awesome!

The only real link I see between all these stories is the Asian-American protagonist, and the setting (a city called Troy), but I wasn't looking for connections so this lack didn't bother me. Some of the stories parody stereotypes or overt racism, some call it out, some cheekily allude to it, and some make no reference to it all--they're just cool stories where the main characters are Asian for no reason other than *they are*, which particularly appealed to me. Some of them reflected real circumstances or people. Japanese internment was a given and covered in several comics, but there is a James Kim tribute as well (a man that died after walking 16 miles in the snow, searching for help for his family, which made me tear up a little, no lie).

It's a good mix of tones and artistic styles, and more importantly, different types of heroes and a slew of different powers. My favorite is probably the blind girl that could temporarily possess other peoples' sight to seek out a kidnapper--even more poignant given that she herself was kidnapped into the prostitution. And then, there are the characters that were only barely touched on but grabbed my interest anyway, like Parallel Penny: 88 clones adopted around the world, given up by Chinese scientists because the government wanted super-soldier boys, not girls.

Anyway, I enjoyed this a lot, and hope more people give it a chance!

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology has stories that bowled me over, made me cry, and left me wanting more. Dozens of complex lives are artfully shared in snapshots, in a wealth of different artistic styles. Themes of heroism, role models, strength and weakness, family and culture, pride and shame, being seen and being invisible, and loving and being loved are lived and experienced in these pages.

I know this volume is set against the backdrop of a dearth of Asian American superheroes. I was grateful to see new faces and new stories explored. Though I'm white, and whiteness is overrepresented in superheroism, I've often felt marginalized and unwelcome in the world of comics for my gender. I was honestly surprised to find only a single full story here that I skipped past for imagery that was too damned sexist. Women are not quite an afterthought here; there's some decent representation in characters and in the artist list. I can't speak for anyone else, but I was personally encouraged by the female representation, though I eagerly await more from female Asian American graphic artists.

I had a great time reading this anthology. And it's my impression that it's a great start to making sequential art more reflective of the lives of all the people that are creating it.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished reading this, so this is a first impression.

I really wanted to give this a 3.5. While it wasn't a fully satisfying experience, the fact that it is, after all, an anthology of Asian-American superhero comics makes it a notable accomplishment.
With that said, I could not quite accept all of them as worthwhile reads. The first third, with the exception of Jamie Ford's "Gaman," felt too didactic and had a sense of attempt at grasping too desperately at a moral cause behind each story. Some of the artwork felt a bit uninspired as well.
I did like most of the last third, however, with more contemporary and youthful pieces such as "David Kim" by John Kuramoto, "On the Third Day" by Johann Choi, and "Just Ordinary" by Nick Huang. They were fresh in the sense of not being too categorically superhero-esque, and comforting without trying to be too heartfelt. (Oh, and another notable mention goes to the last piece, "Peril" by Keith Chow.)

Overall, I enjoyed the whole experience even with the aforementioned not-so-great aspects.

[Sonja P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, a bunch of comics creators got together and started to discussing how invisible Asian-Americans were in comics. They realized that there were a lot of Asian-Americans behind the comics, but that their presence in the actual comics was lacking. More than that, a lot of superhero ideas cross over into their own experiences.

So, they got several Asian-American comics creators, and they developed an anthology. Here you'll discover why the chauffeur stays with the asshole superhero, even though he is far more talented and wise. Here you'll read about all the daily slights these superheros face, and why they are tired of being asked if they are martial artists. These stories are fun and wonderful, and full of badasses, and sometimes sad. But most of all, they are necessary. These stories talk about visibility and racism and father-son relationships and belonging, and I think they are an important thing to add to your collection.

[CuriousLibrarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a 2.5 from me.

Shortly before this book was published, I went to a panel at NYCC with some of the editors and creators. The enthusiasm was palpable and contagious, so I was greatly looking forward to reading this anthology.

Maybe my hopes were up too high, but I was very disappointed. I almost abandoned it after finishing section one, because I was just that uninterested. The stories in that section felt more like snippets than complete stories, and they felt connected in some vague way that I wasn't following.

I picked up the book a few times in the following weeks, reading a story here and there. It wasn't until I got to Section 3: Girl Power that I started to get into a groove with this book. I starting find more stories that I liked.

Overall though, disappointed with this anthology.

[Ryan Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the idea of this. I loved some of the execution, the way story threads connected with one another and with historical events, including World War II and the internment camps. The challenge for compilations is that they are only as strong as their weakest entries, and some of the entries fell flat. Still, I hope for another in a series of Secret Identities. No, strike that. I hope that the superhero genre evolves an ability to create nuanced characters across the racial spectrum so that books like Secret Identities are no longer needed. There's no reason that Asian characters must be stereotyped toward computers or martial arts, but they are. Until the nuance arrives, I'll keep reading and enjoying books like this that challenge the status quo.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty awesome anthology of short comics created by Asian-Americans and starring Asian-American super heros. About 200 pages and 40 contributers, so lots of variety and different perspectives packed into the collection. There are parts focusing on history, on typical experiences, of reactions agains stereotyping, and parts that are simply solid hero stories.

My favorite bit about stereotypes: a comparative literature professor discovers he has super powers and is interviewed afterwards.

Reporter: I'm sure our audience would love to know if you take on students.

Teacher: Well, yes, but not martial arts. I teach comp-

Reporter: -uter programming! I should have know.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brilliant collection of short stories from an incredible group of extremely talented writers and artists. All of the contributions were interesting and entertaining. I particularly liked the ones that subverted tropes, like Just Ordinary where the hero puts on glasses and a white shirt instead of a costume to completely hide his identity when he fights crime. The dry cleaner with an unusual power was also terrific, as was young John Henry's friend.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys comics, even though it teases you with heroes that you may never hear more of, which is a tragedy.

Seriously, I demand a YA novel about Shine.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing. This anthology blew my mind. The sheer wealth of stories, all pushing the bounds of the imagination while drawing attention to and combating the stereotypes and offenses that have plagued Asian American heroes in comics, tv, etc. for decades. I'd love to see these characters in mainstream universes leading their own titles and mixing it up with the icons of American comics. I'm already working on volume two!

[El Dubbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some real gems of stories in here and some amazing artwork, but the anthology feels a bit disjointed and disorganized. I hope a 2nd volume fleshes out some of the characters and storylines introduced here.

Some of my favorites were "The Blue Scorpion & Chung," "From Headline to Hero," "Driving Steel," and "9066."

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secret Identities is truly a great leap forward for the Asian American community. But since it is an anthology with many stories of different characters, each story is more like an introduction for these characters. I can only wish that Secret Identities would have babies. So, I would be able to really learn more about these characters and stories that come with them.