Street Noise Books will spotlight You Must Take Part in Revolution co-creator and writer Melissa Chan at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 with panels and a signing. The Emmy-nominated Hong Kong and Taiwanese American foreign correspondent was the first journalist in more than a decade to be expelled by Chinese authorities in 2012, and she now splits her time between Los Angeles and Berlin.
You Must Take Part in Revolution, illustrated by co-creator Badiucao, is a near-future dystopian graphic novel that follows a trio of youths trying to navigate an ongoing war between the U.S. and China. Here’s the full synopsis:
It’s 2035. The US and China are at war. America is a proto-fascist state. Taiwan is divided into two. As conflict escalates between nuclear powers, three idealistic youths who first met in Hong Kong develop diverging beliefs about how best to navigate this techno-authoritarian landscape. Andy, Maggie, and Olivia travel different paths toward transformative change, each confronting to what extent they will fight for freedom, and who they will become in doing so.
A powerful and important book about global totalitarian futures, and the costs of resistance.
At SDCC ’26, Chan will feature on two panels on Thursday and Saturday (descriptions to come).
“Carousel: Comics Performances”
Thursday, July 24, 4-5 p.m. PT
Room: Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Moderated by: R. Sikoryak
Featuring Melissa Chan (You Must Take Part in Revolution, Street Noise Books), Maëlle Doliveux (I Will Live Forever, Beehive Books), Peter Kuper (Wish We Weren’t Here, Fantagraphics), Katie Skelly (Heaven, Fantagraphics), Sophie Yanow (The Contradictions, Drawn & Quarterly)“Comics vs. Authoritarianism!”
Saturday, July 25 3:30-4:30 p.m. PT
Room: 10
Moderated by: Mo McMasters (Pretty Guts Press)
Featuring Melissa Chan (You Must Take Part in Revolution, Street Noise Books), Andrew Aydin (March, Top Shelf/IDW), Dave Maass (Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis, Dark Horse Comics), and Shay Mirk (Making Non-Fiction Comics, Abrams ComicArts)
Chan will also be at Fanbase Press booth #O-03 on Friday, July 24 from 10-11 a.m. for an author signing. For more details, stop by the Fanbase Press booth on Thursday.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more news from SDCC ’26.
