Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

Bibliographic Information:

• Title: Superman Smashes the Klan
• Author: Gene Luen Yang
• Illustrator: Gurihiru
• ISBN: 1401298419
• Publisher: DC Zoom
• Copyright Date: May 12, 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction/Superheroes/Social Justice/Fantasy

Format: Graphic Novel

Awards/Honors: YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Nominees 2021, Harvey Award for Best Children’s or Young Adult Book Award 2020

Reading Level/Interest Level: Teens Grades 10-12. Ages 15-18 (Baker & Taylor Titlsource360, 2020)

Plot Summary: Superman Smashes the Klan is a graphic novel adaptation of the 1940’s radio show, The Adventures of Superman. The original story was titled The Clan of the Fiery Cross. When Tommy and Roberta Lee and their parents move from Chinatown to Metropolis, they are targeted by the racist group, Klan of the Fiery Kross. The Klan burns a cross on their lawn one night and a reign of terror begins. Tommy joins the local baseball team while Roberta struggles to fit in. The family is befriended by Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane of the Daily Planet, and Superman comes to the family’s rescue many times. Meanwhile, Superman is having flashbacks and visions of his birth parents and starts to question his true identity.

Author Background: Gene Luen Yang is an American cartoonist and lecturer on comics and graphic novels. In 2016, he was named the Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the U.S. Library of Congress. Yang began drawing comics and graphic novels in 5th grade. He attended the University of California, Berkeley for his undergrad degree. Although he wanted to major in art, his father had him pursue a more “practical” degree so he majored in Computer Science (Wikipedia, 2021). After graduating, he worked as a computer engineer but decided he was meant to teach, so took a job teaching computer science at a high school. Yang has published many graphic novels, including American Born Chinese in 2006. This book won many awards, including the Printz Award from the ALA. It was the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award (Gene Yang, 2021). Yang is also the author of the graphic novel Dragon Hoops (2020) and the Avatar: The Last Airbender comic series.

Yang was born to parents who were both immigrants to the Unites States. They met at the San Jose State University Library during graduate school. His parents instilled in him a strong work ethic and sense of his Asian culture. Yang lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and children. He teaches Creative Writing through Hamline University’s M.F.A. program (Gene Yang, 2021).

Illustrator Background: Gurihiru, also known as Illustrator Unit Gurihiru and Gurihiru Studios, is a team of two Japanese women illustrators, Chifuyu Sasaki and Naoko Kawano. They mostly work as illustrators for American comics. They are originally from Sapporo but are currently based in Saitama, Japan. Both women are art school graduates who worked as web designers before they started illustrating comics. They have illustrated many Marvel comics and most recently, illustrated Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang. They also worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender comic series, also by Gene Luen Yang (Wikipedia, 2021).

Critical Evaluation: Superman Smashes the Klan is an engaging, well written graphic novel that deals with self-discovery and racism. Superman grapples with who he is through flashbacks to his birth parents from a different planet, and to his adoptive parents, who raised him on earth. He is still trying to figure out his superpowers and how to use them. The book also deals with social injustice and racism- the Lee’s are targeted by the Klan of the Fiery Kross when they move to a predominantly white neighborhood. As in many superhero comics, this is about good versus evil. The story is fast paced, engaging, and educational. The illustrations are manga-like but in full color. They are beautifully drawn and colored and enhance the text of the book. The facial expressions and body language of the characters help to illustrate their moods and feelings. At the back of the book, Yang includes information on the KKK and how they spread to the west coast and targeted Chines immigrants. He also covers the Superman radio show of the 1940’s and its importance to the American public during that time as well as some history of Superman. Overall, this book is enjoyable and informative. I am not much of a comic/superhero reader, but I enjoyed this book and learned a lot. Teens who like Superman and American history will like this book.

Creative Use for a Library Program: I would combine a book discussion of Superman Smashes the Klan with the book Nubia: Real One. Both are graphic novels that have superheroes that deal with social injustice and racism. I would also have a cartooning/comic drawing class. An instructor could teach the teens how to draw cartoons and develop them into comics or graphic novels.

Speed-Round Book Talk: “Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” Did you ever wonder what Superman was like before he learned how to fly? In Superman Smashes the Klan, Superman fights racism and evil before he discovers all of his super powers. He grapples with his identity while he saves the Lee family from a group of racist terrorists.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense: Challenges could arise due to the portrayal of Chinese Americans in this book. There are some sterotypes but Yang includes them on purpose to illustrate what the group faced in the U.S. in the 1900’s.

Reason for Inclusion: I included Superman Smashes the Klan because Gene Luen Yang is a very popular graphic novel author, and his books circulate well in my library. Superman comics are popular with teens, as well. The story in this book is important because it is based on true events that happened in the U.S. that many teens (and adults) are not aware of. Personally, I was not aware that the KKK had spread to the west coast and was targeting Chinese immigrants. This is an important part of our history and using a graphic novel to relay this story is a great way to introduce it to teens.

References:

Comics Beat. (2019, September 26). Gene Luen Yang says SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN is unapologetically Asian American. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMdUYfsCsXI&ab_channel=ComicsBeatComicsBeat

DC. April 16, 2020. Superman Smashes the Klan official trailer. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ5ID_k_iBA&ab_channel=DC

Gene Luen Yang. (2021). About. Retrieved from https://geneyang.com/about-gene

Wikipedia. (2021, 2021, May 12). Gene Luen Yang. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Luen_Yang

Wikipedia. (2021, April 29). Gurihiru. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurihiru