Author: Gene Luen Yang
Illustrator: Gurihiru
Publisher: Burbank, CA: DC Comics 2020
Set in 1946, Dr. Lee moves his Chinese American family from Chinatown to Metropolis. His son Tommy soon settles in and be
friends local kids but his sister Roberta struggles to fit in; she is awkward and withdraws as she is self-conscious of her differences from the other kids. The family soon finds themselves to be targets of the Klan of the Fiery Cross, resembling the Klu Klux Klan. When Clark Kent speaks with the children as a reporter for the Daily Planet, he realised that an intervention by Superman is needed. Meanwhile, superman experiences flashbacks to his own childhood when he struggled with his own identity and alien heritage. Superman fights the Klan thanks to Roberta's keen skills of observation. A nuanced approach is used to explore the immigrant experience, racism and bigotry through a variety of perspectives. An African American police officer and a young Klan member who faces his own's family's history of bigotry.
Detailed illustrations with clean lines and muted colour are a mix of traditional comic and manga styling combined with a modern, western variation in panel cuts and action scenes. Cantonese dialogue is depicted in red speech bubbles whilst alien speech is in green.
This is a thought-provoking graphic tale of battling racism, hate crimes and the fight for justice against a powerful organisation and the people in power that support them. It is also an inspiring message about accepting and reclaiming one's identity.
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