GRAPHIC NOVEL CLUB: Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru discuss the modern relevance of SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN

Plus, get Gurihiru’s take on the difference between Eastern and Western comics.

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The Beat is a proud sponsor of Comix Experience’s Graphic Novel of the Month Clubs, which bring comics fans a curated mix of the best of new release graphic novels and conversations with the creators who make them.  Each month, the staff of Comix Experience votes on two sets of upcoming books they are most excited—one gets presented to adults and another to middle readers. Each club provides swag like original signed custom bookplates for adults or buttons and magnets for the kids (in this case, the latter, to support the featured book, Superman Smashes the Klan).

superman smashes the klan

Most excitingly, the Graphic Novel Clubs bring in the creators of selected books to talk exclusively to GNC members in interviews conducted by Comix Experience owner Brian Hibbs, who brings 30 years of experience in comics to the table. These talks are livestreamed to members all over the country and are a fun and informative mix of conversation on craft and form, as well as on the business of making comics. The Graphic Novel Clubs make a point of being inclusive, inviting creators from a wide variety of age, race, sex, and cultural perspectives to speak to members.

Membership is what propels these conversations, so if you like what you see, please support these discussions of comics, and the creators who make them, by joining the club.

Today: Brian Hibbs talks to Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru about their DC comics, Superman Smashes the Klan. If you haven’t already read about Beat writers gushing over this story, it’s set in Metropolis’s Chinatown in 1946 and follows a young Roberta Lee as she teams up with Superman to defend her family – and her city – from the KKK. In the interview, Yang discusses his feelings about the relevance of this story today, its impact now versus when it was first published and most Japanese and Chinese Americans were forced into the United States’ internment camps, and the role he plays as an Asian-American with Black Lives Matter.

Make sure to check out the full interview on Comix Experience’s official YouTube page.

graphic novel club

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