ABC...D...

(I have no idea who he is, and I don't have the right of this photo but this is what normally a ABC looksl like)

ABC

American born Chinese is an interesting and fresh take on telling a story. I read the story of the monkey king like a hundred times when I was a child, and I must say Gene Luen’s monkey king is really close to the original. It is in a way a WHAT IF story and the mix with a real Chinese boy is a really interesting direction. I love how the story tells you a little about the king and it all turn out to be in the same world. The connection of each character really surprises me, and I love the “all-perfect” Asian guy who turns out to be the monkey king.

The artist use really simple iconic characters and keep the dialog simple too. It is really easy to read and because all those characters are so iconic and simple, it is easy for us to make a personal connection. The takes on the story of a Chinese boy trying to live in an American school isn’t the most unique story, but the way it tell it is fun and easily enjoyable. I think many Chinese or Asians had the same problem trying to blend in to the society, and we all know kids can be really mean. That Chinese boy had done some really stupid stuff to try to blend in and afro hair is really funny.

For some reason I feel that the story doesn’t have a good …or perhaps “HAPPY” ending, and we never really know what happened to the girl he liked and how he is doing in school. The story is really realistic as lots of those things are true, and most of the Asian think being white is better. I used to go to this high school in Taiwan where many girls change their hair color to blond. After graduating from high school I took a month travelling in Asia with one of my friend, and wherever we go he will always be really popular due to his skin color.

American Born Chinese is also known as ABC, and I think it is much different then what it was like before. Many ABC will come back to Taiwan for summer and most of them can speak Chinese, but doesn’t because they feel speaking English somehow make them better. My friends and I don’t really like those ABC, as they speak English to each other, and act like they are better all the time…which is totally not like that boy in the comic. Most of the time ABC had a richer family, and likely to buy a sport car and drunk driving around…well that’s just my experience with ABC back home. I don’t think your skin color matter to your behavior, as it’s where you growing up that will change your behavior. If you are born in America and go to school like everyone else I don’t think you will be too different from everyone else. However I feel America is still a country to judge people on his color, which is really strange for a country with such mix of different nationality.