Gene Luen Yang

This book has it all for basketball fans and even non-fans like myself. In a bit of a meta turn, Gene portrays himself in the graphic novel as he gathers notes and observations of the Bishop O'Dowd men's basketball team, to write a graphic novel about their season. The team is expected to shine this school year, and Gene thinks this may make an interesting graphic novel. But at times he doubts his ability to get the project done. He doesn't know anything about basketball, the star players show more are not forthcoming in interviews, and he wrestles with whether to include the dark back story of a former beloved coach. This was like watching a basketball documentary, featuring intriguing people and stories, a bit of basketball and world history, and the authenticity of a real school, a real team. The theme of taking that first step into the unknown is as true for adults as it is for the kids.The page turns during the state championship evoke the suspense of a closely contested game. This is about as perfect a graphic novel and sports book as I've seen. show less

Now this is more like it! The Search takes the potential that Yang and Gurihiru demonstrated in The Promise and really capitalizes on it-- this book really captures the characters and gives us a compelling, emotional story. Zuko was always one of the best parts of Avatar, and The Promise explores his mother's history with some heart-wrenching twists; some stuff that was in plain sight in the television series but I never put together is combined with new information to great effect. I also show more liked his reaction to some of the key revelations in the series. Azula is well-used, too, and the trip into the world of the spirits is really well done, too. The Mother of Faces is creepy and awesome, one of Avatar's best renditions of a spirit. This is great stuff, and I am really looking forward both to the next volume (The Rift) and finally starting Legend of Korra. show less

I recently watched all of Avatar: The Last Airbender on DVD at the urging of a friend, and I was bowled over by just how good it was. Not "good for a show aimed primarily at children." Just plain good, without any qualifiers whatsoever. I blazed through all three seasons and felt a bit bereft when it was over. Fortunately, I still have the sequel to watch. But before that, comics!

This volume collects all of the comics story "The Promise," which picks up after the show leaves off. I was show more extremely happy about this, because, although the series ends in a place that feels satisfying, it seemed to me that what comes after that ending was bound to be as interesting as what led up to it. And the comic does not disappoint in this, as it deals with all of the ways in which things are still messy, difficult, and complex, even after the triumphant happy ending. There's a lot of thoughtful moral and political nuance here. Also a lot of silliness, and some moments of outright hilarity. All of which is to say, it captures the spirit of the show extremely well. The characters feel right, too. And look right -- the artwork is spot-on. Admittedly, the action sequences the show always did so beautifully don't work nearly as well in still-picture form, but you can't have everything.

The edition I have -- a big, hefty, solid tome -- also features some annotations from the writer and artist, talking about the experience of creating the comic and where the inspiration for various elements came from, including some interesting cultural background. So that was a nice bonus.

Definitely recommended for fans of the show. Which everyone should be. show less

A fantastic graphic novel about identity and the desire to belong.

Yang weaves three separate story lines together in surprising ways with an interesting intersection at the end. Jin Wang is a schoolboy who wants nothing more than to fit in with his classmates. He's willing to go to great lengths to have a bestfriend and a girlfriend. The Monkey King is snubbed at a gathering of the gods and denies his true self in an attempt to be accepted. His rebellion, punishment, and redemption are taken show more from the 16th-century Chinese novel, Journey to the West. Chin-kee is the embodiment of negative stereotype Americans have about the Chinese. Together these three stories explore what it means to be different.

In his afterword the author writes about the overwhelming response he has had from people.

"What I've found is that the outsider's experience is nearly universal. Almost all of us have a story about not fitting in. It's so common that, ironically, it can be a way for us to understand and connect with one another. The outsider's experience can be our common ground." show less