Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen YangMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
When a Chinese family moves to Metropolis, they run afoul of The Klan of the Fiery Kross. Can Superman and the Lee children stop the Klan, even as Superman struggles with his own identity as an alien?
This book comes highly recommended. I'm accumulating comics to force on my son when he gets a little older and this one meets my criteria. Plus racist scumbags can eat a bag of dicks.
Superman Smashes the Klan is timely in that racism never seems to go out of style. Gene Luen Yang experienced racism growing up as a Chinese American and channels his childhood through the Lee children. Tommy and Roberta just want to fit in with their white classmates. Unfortunately, there are some bad apples in the barrel, as the Lee children and their parents soon find out. Superman is just learning the ropes and isn't flying just yet, struggling with reconciling his identity as an alien and his American upbringing. Superman fights The Atomic Man and the KKK but his main struggle is with himself.
The villains of the book made my skin crawl, mostly because they're all too real. I found it shameful how quick the people of Metropolis were to jump on the hate bandwagon when they found out Superman was an alien. There were good moments too, however, like Superman giving Roberta his cape and her mom making her a jacket out of it. Plus Superman saving the day, of course.
The art is manga-influenced, not one of my favorite things for superheroes, and it looks great! Gurihiru's Superman is obviously influenced by the Fleischer Brothers animated Superman of the 1940s.
Superman Smashes the Klan is a good YA read and a great intro to Superman for younger readers. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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