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Classic Comic Compendium: SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN might be exactly what we need right now

A beacon of hope for dark times.

06/23/2025 11:00 am

It feels very dark out there right now.

It seems like everywhere we look right now on the news something terrible is happening. That our institutions like government and business organizations are turning against us. That ever more draconian laws are being passed in order to oppress, dehumanize, and criminalize minorities. That xenophobia is taking hold everywhere. That masked thugs are executing dubious objectives on behalf of the government, invading communities, and disappearing folks who they’ve deemed “illegal”. All while the already wealthy seem to be getting even richer day by day as they use the sociopolitical divide as cover for their wholesale capitalistic reaping.

It can feel very bleak these days. Even hopeless. All while it feels mind-numbingly familiar to various points in history that we thought we had got past long ago. That we’ve been here before and that current world governments may well be using history as their regressive playbook.

“If you learn enough secrets about a place, it becomes home.”

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang, Gurihiru, and Janice Chiang features the story of a Chinese immigrant family moving to a new neighbourhood in Metropolis, their acclimation to that neighbourhood, problems with racism and acceptance, and their harassment by the Klan of the Fiery Cross. Mixed with Superman working to help out and come to terms with his own heritage. It’s inspired by the Adventures of Superman radio serial, “Clan of the Fiery Cross”, that aired in 1946.

The story here is also set in 1946, not too long after World War II, kicking off with one of the remnants of Nazi Germany facing off against Superman. Reminding us of the mindset of genocide and oppression that were all too familiar at the time. It’s largely told from the point of view of Lan-Shin Lee, a young girl whose family is moving from Chinatown to a new mixed neighbourhood in Metropolis after her father got a new job. There are some very layered, complex ideas of integration, immigration, and identity that Gene Luen Yang navigates through her story. That theme also playing out in Superman’s own self-discovery (There’s a nice deep cut for Clark’s own childhood problems here too). And of the feelings of resentment and hatred that come from the white nationalists of the Klan, giving us a number of different faces for that racism and hatred, be it institutional, radicalized individuals, or people manipulating the hatred for their own reward.

Gurihiru are an incredible art team. Bright, beautiful and open manga-inspired art perfect for this kind of work meant for all ages. Chifuyu Sasaki’s linework is clean and expressive. She captures the larger-than-life aspect of Superman perfectly, with a rather clever design for his alien heritage in the beginning. I think the simplicity of the artwork keeps the heavy subject matter at a tolerable level, without making it feel too oppressive as a different, more realistic style would. Likewise, Naoko Kawano’s colours are largely a colour-palette working off of the primary colours of Superman’s costume, but there’s occasionally a muted quality to them. Almost reflecting the idea that there’s something causing this world not to shine properly.

Janice Chiang’s letters round out the creative nicely, kicking off with a unique word balloon for the Nazi villain and continuing a nice bit of expressiveness of its own through changes in emotion of dialogue.

“Sure, he passes himself off as a boy scout for now, but what if some day he trades his cape for a crown?”

It may feel silly reading comics right now. I mean, multiple times while I’ve been writing this I’ve wondered why. I’ve erased and re-written it a few times. I’ve basically come to the conclusion that not only do we need entertainment to help keep us sane, that it can be a beacon for hope, but it can still give us insight into ways we can deal with current problems. If our governments are using the past as a guidebook for the present, so too can we utilize it to figure out ways to resist.

It would be a just world where we could look at Superman Smashes the Klan by Yang, Gurihiru, and Chiang as a chronicle of how things used to be. Of a blight in our past. But it’s sadly never been more relevant. It’s a reminder that we still have to be vigilant, lest base ideas of fear and exclusion take hold. That it teaches us to be kind and accepting to one another, regardless of our background, and to not give in to the hate and fear-mongers seeking to divide us for profit.

We don’t have a Superman to swoop down and save us from our ills. No one’s going to magically make it all better. But we do have each other. We have our voices and our deeds. And we can stand strong together to still help one another against the darkness.