Tag: Sonny Liew

Comics, DC Comics8 Comments

No 52: The New Era of DC Comics Looks Promising

Keith Chow

Can it be? Am I actually excited about DC Comics? Again? I’ve made no bones about my aversion to the company-wide reboot of 2011, but it seems that starting this summer, DC is dropping the The New 52 branding and starting fresh with all-new books, and a diverse and wide-ranging roster of talent, including — full disclosure — several friends and alums from the SIUniverse! So maybe I’m a little biased.

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Comics, Crowdfunding, Toys

Kickstart The Green Turtle and Other Amazing Heroes Action Figures

Ren Hsieh

There is a Kickstarter ending in three days that will produce retro-style super hero action figures. Among them is The Green Turtle, the first Asian American comic book superhero. The character was recently rebooted in the graphic novel, The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew earlier this year.

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Comics, Conventions, Cosplay, Guest Post1 Comment

Find the Green Turtle at Comic-Con

Guest N.O.C.

by Gene Yang

Pro cosplayer Alvin Duong has graciously agreed to help us promote The Shadow Hero by cosplaying the Green Turtle at San Diego Comic-Con!

When I first talked to Alvin, I told him we could find a way around the Green Turtle’s bare-chestedness. Alvin wouldn’t hear of it — staying true to the source material is key for him. So here he is, embodying the Green Turtle in all his goofy Golden Age glory:

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Comics, Literature5 Comments

Gene Yang & Sonny Liew Bring the Green Turtle Out of the Shadows

Keith Chow

Captain America rakes in billions of dollars in box office. Computer graphics are required to bring Superman’s powers to life. An Oscar-winning celebrity is cast to play Batman and the internet breaks in half. We take for granted that these superhero characters are embedded in our modern cultural conscience. They are more than just household names, they’re indelible parts of our collective identity. They are also all really old.

After all, 2014 marks Batman’s 75th anniversary (Supes turned 75 last year). And Steve Rogers being a WWII relic isn’t just a plot gimmick for a series of movies, it’s because the character was actually conceived during WWII. The point is that these characters who are part of contemporary popular culture were actually born during the 1930s and ’40s (the “Golden Age” of comics, if you will) and have endured ever since. They weren’t the only ones who were created at the time, but they have had the most staying power.

There is actually another superhero that is also celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. Seventy years ago this July, a superhero called the Green Turtle debuted in the pages of Blazing Comics. You’ve probably never heard of him, but if Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew have anything to say about it, you will soon.

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Comics, Guest Post1 Comment

Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 5

Guest N.O.C.

by Gene Yang | Originally posted at GeneYang.com

All this week, Sonny and I are taking you behind the scenes of our new comic The Shadow Hero! Buy the digital first issue of The Shadow Hero on Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, or B&N Nook for a mere $0.99!

Here are the previous posts, in case you missed them:

Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 1
Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 2
Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 3
Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 4

Continue reading “Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 5″

Comics, Guest Post

Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 4

Guest N.O.C.

by Gene Yang | Originally posted at GeneYang.com

All this week, Sonny and I are taking you behind the scenes of our new comic The Shadow Hero! Buy the digital first issue of The Shadow Hero on Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, or B&N Nook for a mere $0.99!

Here are the previous posts, in case you missed them:

Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 1
Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 2
Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 3

Continue reading “Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 4″

Comics, Guest Post

Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 3

Guest N.O.C.

by Gene Yang | Originally posted at GeneYang.com

All this week, Sonny and I are taking you behind the scenes of our new comic The Shadow Hero! Buy the digital first issue of The Shadow Hero on Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, or B&N Nook for a mere $0.99!

Here are the previous posts, in case you missed them:

Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 1
Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 2

Continue reading “Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 3″

Comics, Guest Post

Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 2

Guest N.O.C.

by Gene Yang | Originally posted at GeneYang.com

Today is the day! Sonny Liew and I revive the Green Turtle, the first Asian American superhero!

The Shadow Hero #1 hits the digital shelves of Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, and B&N Nook! Buy it now for the low, low price of 99 cents!

All this week, Sonny and I are sharing our behind-the-scene material with you. Check out character designs on Sonny’s blog, and here’s my post from yesterday in case you missed it.

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Comics, Guest Post3 Comments

Secret Origin of The Shadow Hero Part 1

Guest N.O.C.

by Gene Yang | Originally posted at GeneYang.com

Tomorrow, First Second Books will release the first digital issue of The Shadow Hero, a six-issue miniseries written by me and drawn by the tremendously talented Sonny Liew! The Shadow Hero #1 will be available via Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, and B&N Nook for the low, low price of $0.99! A print trade paperback collecting all six issues will be available July 15, just in time for Comic-Con.

The Shadow Hero revives the Green Turtle, an obscure comic book character from the 1940s who is arguably the first Asian American superhero. Like so many Golden Age characters, he’s in public domain now. You can read more about him and his creator Chu F. Hing here and here. You can find all of his original adventures at the Digital Comics Museum, an amazing free resource for comics fans.

Since this is The Shadow Hero‘s debut week, Sonny and I are going to share with you some behind-the-scenes stuff. Sonny’s going to show you his amazing character designs, while I’m going to give you a glimpse at my writing process.

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Comics

Gene Yang & Sonny Liew Preview The Shadow Hero

Keith Chow

Later this year, First Second Books will be publishing The Shadow Hero from writer Gene Luen Yang and artist Sonny Liew. Back in November, we were fortunate enough to have Gene on Hard N.O.C. Life where he talked a bit about working with Sonny and their research into the Asian American origins of a forgotten Golden Age hero named the Green Turtle.

Though the book is still forthcoming, Gene and Sonny actually published a series of Shadow Hero strips in Shattered, the anthology of Asian American comics I co-edited with Jeff Yang, Parry Shen, and Jerry Ma in 2012. For the first time, however, Gene and Sonny are unveiling these strips in full color over at Tor.com (they were originally published in black & white in Shattered).

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Animation, Comics, Hard N.O.C. Life4 Comments

(Air)Bend it Like Gene Yang

The Nerds of Color

Two-time National Book Award finalist Gene Luen Yang (@geneluenyang) joins Hard N.O.C. Life for a special episode discussing his career as an award-winning graphic novelist and his involvement in the Avatar/Korra comic universe.

Joining Keith (@the_real_chow) on the panel as well are The N.O.C.’s resident Avatar experts Julie Kang (@JulieKang) and Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria (@rscspokenword). As always, Hard N.O.C. Life is directed by the indomitable Nelson Wong (@aarisings).

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