Gene Luen Yang
Gene Luen Yang
Gene Luen Yang is an American writer of graphic novels and comics. Until recently, he was the Director of Information Services and taught computer science at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California and travels all over the world, speaking about graphic novels and comics at comic book conventions and universities, schools, and libraries. In 2012, Yang joined the faculty at Hamline University, as a part of the Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adultsprogram...
NationalityChinese
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth9 August 1973
CountryChina
I love hearing people who are smarter than me talk about my comics. It makes me feel smarter.
I general don't color my stuff - I'm pretty horrible with color. Usually, I'll get one of my cartoonist friends to help me out.
I finished 'American Born Chinese' in 2005, so after that, I started actively researching the Boxer Rebellion.
Going from idea to production is a huge hurdle. It took me a while to overcome it. It's basically all about self discipline, right?
Figuring out a way to balance the Boxer story with the Chinese Christians was difficult.
Every superhero has this superhero identity and a civilian identity. A lot of their lives are about code switching.
Eventually, I just couldn't imagine myself being in a cubicle for my entire career.
Dwayne McDuffie was one of my favorite writers. When I was growing up, he was one of the few African Americans working in American comics.
Creativity requires input, and that's what research is. You're gathering material with which to build.
Carl Barks and Don Rosa are two of my favorite cartoonists ever.
'Avatar: The Last Airbender' is, to my mind, the greatest American animated series ever produced. The characters lived and breathed.
'Avatar: The Last Airbender' creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have, along with their team, painstakingly planned out the Avatarverse.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized 120 saints of China, 87 of whom were ethnically Chinese. My home church was incredibly excited because this was the first time the Roman Catholic Church acknowledged Chinese citizens in this way.
We have to allow ourselves the freedom to make mistakes, including cultural mistakes, in our first drafts. I believe it's okay to get cultural details wrong in your first draft. It's okay if stereotypes emerge. It just means that your experience is limited, that you're human.