Johnny Hiro

Johnny Hiro #1

by Fred Chao

Part Action/Adventure, part SciFi, part Romance, Johnny Hiro tells the story of the everyman and the challenges he faces. Challenges like the revenge of a big lizard, or the quest for a lobster, or what can happen when 47 ronin go to the opera.

Johnny Hiro was nominated for 4 Eisner Awards in 2008: Single Issue, New Series, Humor Publication, and Writer/Artist-Humor, as well as the 2008 Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award. An excerpt of Johnny Hiro was included in The Best American Comics 2010.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Fantasy, Humor, Asian American, Graphic Novels Comics

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

Fred Chao is an illustrator and graphic designer. His clients have included HarperCollins Publishers, First Second Books, Soft Skull Books, and various Disney Magazines.

He also wrote and illustrated the graphic novel Johnny Hiro {half asian, all hero}, which was nominated for 4 Eisner Comic Industry awards and included in The Best American Comics 2010 anthology.

Various prints of his can be found at the Charmingwall gallery.

He lives in Brooklyn. He has no cats.

Reviews

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute graphic novel. Lots of randomness and improbability. The hero is very ordinary, but he gets into the most extraordinary scrapes. At the heart, he's a guy in love with his girlfriend and wanting to make a good life for the both of them. He seems to look to hip hop artists for his life philosophy, which is quite interesting in itself. You aren't quite sure the whole time what is reality and what is dream/imagination. I suppose that's what makes it fun. The artwork is all black and white, but beautiful in its simplicity.

A random grab from my library graphic novel shelves, and a delightful find. I love to read books with Asian leads, and this is one I'd recommend if you want something different and off the beaten path.

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it includes the 3 issues, then I read them and enjoyed them.

Indie all the way, but good indie!

Full of parodies & action & laughs.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hero by Fred Chao may just have it all! A book with monster secrets, samurai attacks, Coolio cameos, and the cutest bunny slippers ever gets HUGE love from me! :D

Our hero and his adorable girlfriend, Mayumi, are struggling to make ends meet in New York City. The day to day work load and pressures are hard enough, but throw in car chases with fishmongers, rooftop leaps from knife wielding busboys, and giant monsters out for revenge—well, life can be one hell of a bumpy ride! Daily life can feel like that though. One non-stop battle, chase, and fight for your dreams, love, and life. Johnny Hiro shows readers that just moving through life, moment-to-moment can provide us with opportunities to be a hero every day.

“I guess that’s just a reminder to myself that when things are calmest, I shouldn’t forget to dig a bit so I bring more to the table. It just makes things richer.”

This story comes to life with fun, energetic, black & white panels filled with adventure, “did-that-really-just-happen” mishaps, optimism, love, and humor layered with such simple pleasures and meaning.

I can’t wait for more from Mr. Chao. Johnny Hiro is a true comic gem that made me smile and sing! Outkast’s “Hey Ya” will be in my head for weeks now! :)

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

weeeeee I just finished my first book for the summer 2016 biannual bibliothon!

this was a really fun read. it took me maybe an hour or an hour and a half. this is probably the most traditional graphic novel I've read so far, and I loved it! I'm trying to ease my way into the action-packed superhero comics and mangas right now and I felt like this was a good step for me. This story had so much personality and had a great message without being super deep.

I liked Johnny Hiro and his girlfriend Mayumi! Johnny is funny and hard working, and Mayumi is so sweet. The side characters are also full of personality, and a few celebrity guests show up!

I'm not sure how I feel about the plot- maybe it was a bit all over the place? not quite sure? but I enjoyed going on a bunch of separate little adventures that eventually tied together with Johnny.

I liked the art style in this, but wasn't in love. I'm usually drawn to colorful graphic novels, so I am kind of bias. There were still several pages with awesome drawings :)

if you're thinking about picking this up, I'd say go for it! it's only a duology I think, so there's only a total of maybe 400 pages in the series. it's not like you're committing to a huge series with a complex world, you know?

[Anna Richland · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable graphic novel with the best tag line ever: Half Asian, All Hero. And who doesn’t like NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg showing up in a cartoon to save the main characters from Night Court? Indeed, a cameo by Roz and the bald bailiff, staples of my 80's youth. I don't read a lot of graphic novels b/c the usual subject matter doesn't work for me, but this did.

[Jessica-Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

To check out all the links and images referenced be sure to read this review on my blog Reading Robyn!

For those who would like a preview of the book you can check out a seven page excerpt on the publishers website here. Trust me when I say this does not even begin to show how amazing this art work is. To see something more be sure to also check out Fred Chao's website and witness more of his illustrating super powers.

"Going out in New York is never easy. It always involves construction on the 2/3 line or a Samurai attack. "

People say that New York is a city of dreamers, but all dreams have some basis in reality. Johnny Hiro's reality is how he somehow manages to get himself and anyone in his general vicinity into the most unbelievable situations. (and remarkably everyone lives to tell the tale.) Sure, Johnny is just a busboy trying to make ends meet along side his girlfriend Mayumi. But when Mayumi gets snatched up from their apartment by Gozadilla (the monster that almost destroyed Tokyo), Johnny knows he has to save her. Through this we get thrown into Johnny's crazy life with one misadventure after another.

In my many years of reading I've learned that it's very hard to resist anything with what looks like a giant dinosaur on the cover. Johnny Hiro {Half Asian, All Hero} turned out to be much more then just the crazy fantasy romp I was expecting. Mixed in with the attacking Samurai, New York car chases, King Kong spottings, and of course epic Gozadilla battles there was a surprising amount of heart. Although each story in this graphic novel is full of fantastic fantasy we also have the very familiar tale of a young couple in love living in one of the most famously unforgiving cities.

To see reality and fantasy get blended together with so imagination makes this more. It was just crazy enough to be fantasy and yet just grounded enough to be relatable. Johnny may live an action packed life, but he isn't a hero, he's a guy who wants to not die in a samurai attack just like the rest of us. The characters ground the story and the art brought the entire book together. Showing someone running or in the middle of a car chase is something Fred Chao truly excels at. Action can feel like such a struggle in some books, but here it works seamlessly.

Johnny Hiro {Half Asian, All Hero} is a story about interesting characters, doing interesting things, while fighting, and running, and chasing. I enjoyed every moment of reading this. There are so many smaller moments and even smaller details made this magical.

At the very back of the book there is a page that announces Johnny Hiro {The Skills to Pay the Bills} Summer 2013. I don't know if this date is still a go, but I will surly be keeping an eye out for any future releases from Fred Chao!

[Ariel Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover really does say it all: Johnny's just a good guy, and there are some unexpected, chaotic surprises ahead for him. His girlfriend Mayumi (alas, I hate to say it) is mostly a "cute Asian girl with Japanese accent" for most of the book, like a cross between arm candy and a female foil for adding a girly touch. Who else would the enormous Gozadilla monster grab through the brick wall? We need a girl! (Ergh.)

That said, once I got the hang of the sense of humour, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I like the bunny slippers and "good kid" feel of Johnny and Mayumi, and they both grew a bit as characters by the end of the book.

Between impossibilities (an enormous monster steals Mayumi out of bed; a herd of ninja sushi chefs chase Johnny after his boss orders him to steal a lobster, 47 ronin samurai are trying to kill Johnny's friend from Japan during an opera which was the hope of Asian opera stars for their big break, etc), they tackle harder questions: trying to find an affordable place to live in NYC, affording life in the Big Apple altogether - and what it's like to be young and in love and working so hard to make ends meet. They deal with questions of commitment, not only to each other but mostly to their careers and their jobs. Johnny's businessman friend turns up and Johnny questions himself a bit, working in food service while this guy's incredibly rich (but also being pursued by revenge-hungry businessmen samurai because he decimated the competition).

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The adventures of Johnny Hiro, everyman busboy who's just trying to pay the rent and enjoy some time with his girlfriend Mayumi. If only giant rampaging monsters, enraged chefs, and various other calamities didn't keep getting in his way. It's an absurd book sometimes, seriously funny, sometimes melancholy, mixed with these still moments of reflection and clarity that just about made me shiver. If you're down with slice of life mixed with weird NYC, celebrity encounters (David Byrne what?), car chases, and a nice guy at the middle of it all just trying to live life, this is for you.

I also enjoyed the sequel, Johnny Hiro: The Skills To Pay The Bills, and it brings Johnny to a good place to end the duology.

[D.T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the utter randomness that happens here. Trouble seems to follow Johnny Hiro everywhere. His girlfriend Mayumi is pretty cardboard as a character, but she’s supportive and nice. Didn’t care for the cameos, but they add a dream-like quality to the story. The New York setting and the working just to survive gives me such post-college, hipster in a coffee shop vibes.

[Mojofiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johnny Hiro is subtitled “Half Asian, All Hero,” and chronicles the adventures of a young man struggling to make ends meet in the city of New York. By day he lives in a tiny apartment with his girlfriend Mayumi, who adores him in ways he can barely understand. By night he works in a sushi restaurant owned and operated by Mr. Masago, a hard-boiled, whip-cracking manager if ever there was one. Johnny believes his life is ordinary at best, yet somehow by the end he finds himself hanging out with the mayor of New York, Gwen Stefani, and Judge Judy, all while trying to escape from a band of vengeful Ronin during a night at the opera, rescuing his girlfriend from a Godzilla-like lizard bent on revenge, and dodging murderous meat cleavers wielded by the chefs of a rival restaurant as they chase him and a prize lobster through the streets of New York.

If this sounds wacky, that’s because it is. And it’s awesome. Author and artist Fred Chao packs more humor, heart, and charm into his writing and drawings than could possibly legally exist in one place (okay, U.S. law allows it, but I'm still checking with the laws of nature).

Fred Chao is also the artist for this book. His black-and-white artwork is deceptively simple-looking, yet detailed and expressive. Every panel feels alive. Every character design embodies the persona that has been created for them. It’s genuinely affecting.

Somehow, through the fairy-tale-like stories and all the wit and charm, the author also finds a way to wax poetic about today’s youth trying to make it in the big city. He weaves in his own philosophies about growing up, dealing with adversity, and finding love. He strikes the balance between entertainment and meaning. In other words, this is good storytelling.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this hilarious and poignant comic about a twentysomething guy struggling to make it in NYC. The city itself is a character, a place equally dangerous and beautiful, harsh yet hopeful. In that setting, Chao deftly weaves together the realistic and the fantastical, so it somehow totally makes sense that these characters have financial woes but also encounter monsters and have epic chase/fight scenes.

We don't have a lot of real, relatable, likeable Asian American heroes, and Johnny Hiro is among the best I've seen lately. Most of the characters here are Asian/Asian American, but they're not the kinds of caricatures or stereotypes we find so often in pop culture. And Chao doesn't dwell on any cliched identity crises either. Take Hiro's girlfriend, Mayumi, who happens to speak with an accent but is also really funny, strong, confident, and not really in need of anyone's rescuing. I love her character, and she totally steals the show for me.

I also love all the pop culture references--from Godzilla to hip-hop to Alton Brown to Night Court, it felt like Chao was writing for my generation. I really hope Chao writes more adventures for Hiro and the gang!

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a lot of charm to this graphic novel: an engaging hero who works in a sushi restaurant, has trouble paying the rent (shades of Spider-Man there!), loves his upbeat Japanese girlfriend, and fights - well, sort of fights - giant monsters and greedy landlords.

But it plays to a guy's fantasy, not mine. Johnny Hiro lacks focus in his life, except for his perky girlfriend - and the joke of her enthusing "My hero!" at his every action, however unheroic, wore thin very quickly. The mundane plots (such as "Johnny has to find a lobster") didn't really hold my interest, and none of the challenges he faced were real challenges - all fixed by external events and change.

Moments of sweetness, packed amid pages that just didn't mean much.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johnny Hiro is charming because he isn't exactly looking to be a hero. He has no powers and he doesn't seek adventure. He's just a guy trying to work his way up to cutting fish at a sushi restaurant while struggling to make rent in New York City. If sometimes his girlfriend Mayumi is captured by a giant lizard, he rescues her. On occasion he might be attacked by 47 ronin at an opera, or be chased down the street by cleaver wielding busboys. I gather that these things happen when one lives in the big apple.

Johnny and Mayumi are delightful characters going through the sort of professional and personal struggles that anyone can relate to. And there are also giant robots. You should definitely read this book.

[Whitney Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yessss...so well done!

Alton Brown popping up sporadically throughout the pages, was a welcome touch. Chao's illustrations are pretty great, too. Great mix of culture-clash and the struggle for the American dream.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book. Do it now.

If you like books that are good, that is... if you do, READ THIS BOOK.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review here:
http://blog.newsarama.com/2009/06/19/...

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't say this book knows what it wants to be, or that I know what it is. But kind've adorbs.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hero is a graphic novel written illustrated by Fred Chao, which chronicles the adventures of a young man struggling to make ends meet in the city of New York.

By day, Johnny Hiro lives in a tiny apartment with his girlfriend Mayumi, who adores him in ways he can barely understand. By night he works in a sushi restaurant owned and operated by Mr. Masago, a hard-boiled, whip-cracking manager if ever there was one. Johnny believes his life is ordinary at best, yet somehow by the end he finds himself hanging out with the mayor of New York, Gwen Stefani, and Judge Judy, all while trying to escape from a band of vengeful Ronin during a night at the opera, rescuing his girlfriend from a Godzilla-like lizard bent on revenge, and dodging murderous meat cleavers wielded by the chefs of a rival restaurant as they chase him and a prize lobster through the streets of New York.

Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hero is written and constructed rather well. Fred Chao packs more humor, heart, and charm into his writing and drawings than could possibly legally exist in one place. The black-and-white artwork is deceptively simple-looking, yet detailed and expressive. Every panel feels alive. Every character design embodies the persona that has been created for them.

All in all, Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hero is a wonderful wacky graphic novel with wit and charm and waxes rather poetically about growing up, dealing with adversity, and finding love.

[RSC_Collecting · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. Mostly something to pass the time. It's a collection of a few stories about the life of Johnny Hiro. A young man who works minimum wage at a sushi restaurant, lives with his beautiful girlfriend in New York, and somehow keeps finding himself in crazy situations. A giant monster attacking his apartment, being forced to steal a lobster from a rival sushi restaurant, and crashing a new opera are just a few of the wild things he gets into. It's funny. It's cute. It was a good use of my hour.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3.5. Fun art with pop culture references that may be a bit dated these days. I didn't love how hard it failed the Bechdel Test, and Johnny wasn't very likable (the kind of 90s navel gazing melancholy loser propped up by his relationship to the Hot Sweet Girl). The black and white art worked for the most part, but wasn't an essential part of the experience. Still, it was pretty enjoyable and light quick read.

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A high 3 stars. I liked the potential this had more than what was actually there I think. I liked the first 1/3 the best, then felt like it lost a bit of steam after that. It's clever, and it's cute, sometimes humorous, and the art feels original, organic, and very adequately conveys the story. I liked it, but there as a little something deeper missing for me.

[Miles McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't think I'd finish this graphic novel so quickly - definitely left me wanting a little more. But there's some touching messages within, and this makes the book worth it, no matter how short the story was.

[Babsidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was... something. I didn't like it at first, but the style grew on me after a while. It's a slow-burn sort of story, with hints that Hiro is going to do more, to be more. I kind of want to continue to see him reach more of his potential.

[David Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It bothered me that the author constantly inserted celebrities. I'm pretty sure he has no legitimate ties with people like Alton Brown and Judge Judy

[Lisa Macklem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun!

[Katie Maxfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun comic, the life of a day dreamer

[Wes · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars for the art. The rest just didn’t land for me.

[Brad Garlich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book with a great illustration style. You can’t help but root for the young couple making a go of it in New York City and getting through their wacky adventures.

[Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on my blog, Shared Universe Reviews.

Johnny Hiro vol. 1 Half Asian, All Hiro tells the story of Johnny, a busboy, and his girlfriend living somewhere in New York. Simple, right? But it’s much more than that. This story has surprising depth and philosophical meanderings about life. Johnny’s life with his girlfriend, Mayumi, is constantly being interrupted by odd and supernatural events which Johnny has to overcome after which he often comes to a realization about his life.

Written and drawn by Fred Choa, Johnny Hiro tells a done in one story every issue but it has story elements that continue from one chapter to the next. In the first story a giant lizard monster, à la Godzilla, breaks into the Asian couple’s bedroom and kidnaps Mayumi, the daughter of Ami Murakami a member of the Super A-OK Robot team who defeated the monster when it attacked Japan in 1978. As it can be expected, it’s up to Johnny to rescue his girlfriend but in the end she’s really the one that saves the day with her savvy New Yorker knowhow. It’s a pretty dense first story but Chao keeps it breezy. During all this giant lizard chasing action, Chao also establishes the relationship between Johnny and Mayumi, adds an appearance from Mayor Bloomberg, makes a metatextual comment on the ridiculousness of living in a New York in which superhero catastrophes happen on a daily basis such as in the Marvel Universe and sets up one of the main plot elements that pops up in nearly all the following chapters.

Fred Chao does an excellent job with his characterizations. Johnny feels a bit lost and confused. He’s searching for something, he’s trying his best to work towards making a better life for Mayumi and himself. Mayumi is absolutely charming. She’s very capable and even though she has her own thoughts regarding her future with Johnny, she’s there to support Johnny throughout all his challenges.

The book is sweetly funny. There are no lough out loud moment but there was a lot quiet laughter and little smirks on my part while reading the book. The whole comic had a comforting feel to it. Perhaps it’s because I relate to what Johnny and Mayumi are going through.

Johnny Hiro reminds me of Scott Pilgrim and to a lesser extent Sharknife. Johnny Hiro is more down to earth than the other two but not because of the contents of the plot (see above) but because of the tone. More than anything, Johnny is trying to be responsible and seems to almost force himself to mature whereas Scott Pilgrim is a young adult being forced to mature. The similarities with Sharknife has more to do with rival restaurants then it does with the plot and themes of Johnny Hiro but there is still something I can’t put my finger on that links the two in my mind. It's important that I point out I'm a very big fan of all three series and that I'm not comparing them in order to rank them, simply to point out some of the similarities and differences.

Chao’s art separates his book from the other two. IT doesn’t have the same manga influences in both the story telling, the bouncing line work and the heavy inks. He uses thin lines which gives his drawings has a light and airy quality to the art. He doesn’t use many lines. It’s very clear and Chao seems to have a desire to use as few lines as possible but in a way to keeps the art simple but without using a minimalist style. The best way I can describe it is that he’s precise with the lines that puts on the page. For a seemingly simple style, there is a surprising fluidity to the character’s movements. This fluidity and kineticism is aided by Chao’s inventive use of panels during certain scenes bet it introducing Mayumi to their new apartment or running around in back alleys of the Lower East Side while being chased by cooks from a rival restaurant.

Johnny Hiro is about doing what is right, it's about working hard so that you can give the people you love what they want the most. As a hero, Johnny is selfless. All the samurais, giant fish, prize lobsters, rival restaurants, back alley and rooftop chases just happens to be a colourful way to portray everyday tasks that shape a young man into a young, responsible but still fun, adult. In short, Johnny Hiro is about life and growing up and you should give it a read.