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Gene Luen Yang
Gene Luen Yang (Chinese: 楊謹倫; born August 9, 1973) is an American cartoonist and author. He is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of graphic novels and comics, at comic book conventions and universities, schools, and libraries. In addition, he was the Director of Information Services and taught computer science at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California. In 2012, Yang joined the faculty at Hamline University as a part of the Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults (MFAC) program. In 2016, the U.S. Library of Congress named him Ambassador for Young People's Literature. That year he became the third graphic novelist, alongside Lauren Redniss, to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.
Yang was born on August 9, 1973 in Fremont, California and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. His father, an electrical engineer from Taiwan and his mother, a programmer from Hong Kong with family root in Taiwan, emigrated to the United States, where they met as graduate students at San Jose State University. He was raised in a Catholic household, where his parents instilled a strong work ethic and reinforced their Asian heritage. In a speech at Penn State, where he spoke as a part of a Graphic Novel Speaker Series, Yang recalled that both of his parents often told him stories during his childhood.
Yang was one member of a small number of Asian-American students in his elementary school. As a child, he aspired to become a Disney animator. In third grade, he completed a biography project on Walt Disney, which sparked what he later called his obsession with animation. His ambitions changed in fifth grade, when his mother took him to a local bookstore bought him his first comic, issue 57 of DC Comics Presents, featuring Superman. She had declined his initial choice, Marvel Two-in-One issue 99, because its cover The Thing and Rom, looked too frightening. Yang has said that reading the issue ignited his lifelong love of comic books and storytelling.
Yang attended the University of California, Berkeley for his undergraduate degree. He wanted to major in art, but his father encouraged him to pursue a more "practical" field, so Yang majored in computer science with a minor in creative writing.
After graduating in 1995, with a B.S in Computer Science from University of California, Berkeley, Yang worked for two years as a computer engineer. Following a five day silent retreat, he felt called to teaching and left his engineering job to teach computer science at a Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California, where he also served as Director of Information Services. He taught there 17 years from 1998 to 2015, while continuing to write and draw comics during evening and weekends. In 1996, he founded Humble Comics, through which he self-published Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Greeks, later funded by a Xeric Grant. His work eventually reached major publishers, including First Second Books (an imprint of Macmillan Publishers), Marvel Comics, DC Comics, SLG Publishing, Dark Horse Comics, HarperTeen, The New Press, and Pauline Books & Media.
In 1997, Yang first published comic Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks under his Humble Comics imprint, and it won him the Xeric Grant, a self-publishing grant for comic book creators. Yang later published two more installments in the Gordon Yamamoto mini-series and a sequel, Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order. In 2010, both Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks series and Loyola Chin and the San Pelgrino Order were published together as Animal Crackers by Slave Labor Graphics.
In 2006, Yang published American Born Chinese with First Second Publishing. Drawing upon the Chinese folk character of the trickster Monkey King, the book tells the story of a school-age second-generation immigrant who struggles with his Chinese-American identity. Although Yang drew from his own experiences, the book is not autobiographical. In 2021 Disney+ ordered production of a television adaptation of the book. Yang wrote American Born Chinese to look into what it means to be Chinese-American, drawing on his own experience with racism and cultural conflict. In shaping the graphic novel, he was inspired by the Chinese folktale Journey to the West, especially the Monkey King, and reimagined the story reflect the modern immigrant experience. According to Yang, the book is about "the pain of being an outsider", and tries to challenge racial stereotypes while giving young readers a way to connect if they face similar struggles. By mixing humor, mythology, and social commentary, Yang wanted to create a story that would reach many people and show how comics can help bridge cultural gaps by sharing common experience and building empathy.
Yang's other works have been recognized as well. In 2009, Yang was awarded another Eisner Award for Best Short Story for his collaborative work The Eternal Smile which he wrote and Derek Kirk Kim illustrated. Yang was nominated for Eisner Awards for both Prime Baby and his collaborative work with Thien Pham, Level Up.
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Gene Luen Yang
Gene Luen Yang (Chinese: 楊謹倫; born August 9, 1973) is an American cartoonist and author. He is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of graphic novels and comics, at comic book conventions and universities, schools, and libraries. In addition, he was the Director of Information Services and taught computer science at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California. In 2012, Yang joined the faculty at Hamline University as a part of the Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults (MFAC) program. In 2016, the U.S. Library of Congress named him Ambassador for Young People's Literature. That year he became the third graphic novelist, alongside Lauren Redniss, to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.
Yang was born on August 9, 1973 in Fremont, California and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. His father, an electrical engineer from Taiwan and his mother, a programmer from Hong Kong with family root in Taiwan, emigrated to the United States, where they met as graduate students at San Jose State University. He was raised in a Catholic household, where his parents instilled a strong work ethic and reinforced their Asian heritage. In a speech at Penn State, where he spoke as a part of a Graphic Novel Speaker Series, Yang recalled that both of his parents often told him stories during his childhood.
Yang was one member of a small number of Asian-American students in his elementary school. As a child, he aspired to become a Disney animator. In third grade, he completed a biography project on Walt Disney, which sparked what he later called his obsession with animation. His ambitions changed in fifth grade, when his mother took him to a local bookstore bought him his first comic, issue 57 of DC Comics Presents, featuring Superman. She had declined his initial choice, Marvel Two-in-One issue 99, because its cover The Thing and Rom, looked too frightening. Yang has said that reading the issue ignited his lifelong love of comic books and storytelling.
Yang attended the University of California, Berkeley for his undergraduate degree. He wanted to major in art, but his father encouraged him to pursue a more "practical" field, so Yang majored in computer science with a minor in creative writing.
After graduating in 1995, with a B.S in Computer Science from University of California, Berkeley, Yang worked for two years as a computer engineer. Following a five day silent retreat, he felt called to teaching and left his engineering job to teach computer science at a Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California, where he also served as Director of Information Services. He taught there 17 years from 1998 to 2015, while continuing to write and draw comics during evening and weekends. In 1996, he founded Humble Comics, through which he self-published Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Greeks, later funded by a Xeric Grant. His work eventually reached major publishers, including First Second Books (an imprint of Macmillan Publishers), Marvel Comics, DC Comics, SLG Publishing, Dark Horse Comics, HarperTeen, The New Press, and Pauline Books & Media.
In 1997, Yang first published comic Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks under his Humble Comics imprint, and it won him the Xeric Grant, a self-publishing grant for comic book creators. Yang later published two more installments in the Gordon Yamamoto mini-series and a sequel, Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order. In 2010, both Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks series and Loyola Chin and the San Pelgrino Order were published together as Animal Crackers by Slave Labor Graphics.
In 2006, Yang published American Born Chinese with First Second Publishing. Drawing upon the Chinese folk character of the trickster Monkey King, the book tells the story of a school-age second-generation immigrant who struggles with his Chinese-American identity. Although Yang drew from his own experiences, the book is not autobiographical. In 2021 Disney+ ordered production of a television adaptation of the book. Yang wrote American Born Chinese to look into what it means to be Chinese-American, drawing on his own experience with racism and cultural conflict. In shaping the graphic novel, he was inspired by the Chinese folktale Journey to the West, especially the Monkey King, and reimagined the story reflect the modern immigrant experience. According to Yang, the book is about "the pain of being an outsider", and tries to challenge racial stereotypes while giving young readers a way to connect if they face similar struggles. By mixing humor, mythology, and social commentary, Yang wanted to create a story that would reach many people and show how comics can help bridge cultural gaps by sharing common experience and building empathy.
Yang's other works have been recognized as well. In 2009, Yang was awarded another Eisner Award for Best Short Story for his collaborative work The Eternal Smile which he wrote and Derek Kirk Kim illustrated. Yang was nominated for Eisner Awards for both Prime Baby and his collaborative work with Thien Pham, Level Up.
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