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Gene Luen Yang and the quintessential American superhero, Superman

A deep dive into Gene Luen Yang's body of work and how led him to become the best modern Superman writer

Cropped image featuring Superman and two child protagonists from Superman Smashes the Klan
DC Comics

Gene Luen Yang is a MacArthur Genius recipient, an Ambassador for Young People’s Literature as appointed by the Library Of Congress, and a teacher and educator. He is one of the best and finest cartoonists in Western Comics, and he is also an equally accomplished comics writer when he is not drawing.

Yang's work has been incredibly varied and diverse, spanning from genres like historical interpretation (Boxers & Saints) to contemporary coming-of-age dramas (American Born Chinese) to sports epics (Dragon Hoops) to educational comics about coding (Secret Coders). He’s worked on and created short-stories, anthologies, mini-series, maxi-series, ongoing titles, and original graphic novels. Yang is, simply put, a creator who can do anything and everything.

But over the past decade, Gene Luen Yang has become known for something else too, something much more specific:

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About the Author
Ritesh Babu avatar

Ritesh Babu

Contributing writer

Ritesh Babu (He/They) is a writer and critic whose work has appeared in Polygon, Panel x Panel, NeoTextReview, DenOfGeek, Shelfdust, Comic Book Herald, and many more outlets. Their recurring fascination and subject of interest is the terrain of colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism, and how they shape our collective modern realities. When he's not writing about The British Invasion (comics or otherwise) or reading books on history, Ritesh can be found enjoying football and food dramas.

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