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Popverse Picks: Asian Pacific American comics and books that break the mold

Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month with this edition of Popverse Picks

Features by Jules Chin Greene, Staff Writer

Published on Mon May 19 2025

For this edition of Popverse Picks, I wasn't interested in pulling together a group of books about AAPI experiences that didn't push the envelope on what we consider an 'AAPI experience.' That is, as cool as it is for me to see my community get the chance to be considered 'normal' enough for ordinary Hollywood fare, I've been itching to find stories that felt more like me - a little weird. This weirdness stemming not from a white American gaze (H.P. Lovecraft would have soiled himself if he saw me on the street), but from the pressures to adhere to a specific 'model' of Asian American/Pacific Islander. Don't get me wrong, I love Shang-Chi, but I'm not that guy. I'm queer and disabled, so even within my own community I feel like I standing somewhere on the margins.

Luckily for me and the rest of us,

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Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, Multiverse of Color, and Screen Rant.

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