So in a lot of ways I think Asian Americans and immigrants' kids in general can find reflections of ourselves in these characters." "American Born Chinese"(which was also a finalist for the 2006 National Book Awards) is the semi-autobiographical story of a kid desperate to fit in. Yang was drawn to comic books from a young age: "Every superhero negotiates between multiple identities, right? Batman isn't just Batman he's also Bruce Wayne. They felt hopeless and angry - and they expressed their hopelessness and anger, they dealt with their hopelessness and anger by identifying strongly with these heroes that they watched on stage." And in a lot of ways, the way American geeks latch on to superheroes is sort of the way these young men in China latched on to Chinese opera. "Both tell stories about these heroes who dress in bright colors, who have superpowers, who fight these epic battles for the fate of the world. "When I read about Chinese opera's place in these young men's lives, I saw a lot of connections between Chinese opera and American superhero comics," he tells Kurt Andersen. In imagining the conflict, Yang drew on images from the popular culture of the time. Four-Girl is a convert Little Bao is a peasant. Yang's graphic novelfollows two fictional Chinese teenagers on opposing sides of the conflict.
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