Multiple Eisner award winner, writer/illustrator, Gene Luen Yang began his career self-publishing his comic books under the name Humble Comics in 1996. He went on to write and draw a host of books including Animal Crackers, Prime Baby, American Born Chinese. The latter was released by First Second Books in 2006 and became the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award.
Mr. Yang is also the writer of Dark Horse’s comic series the Avatar: The Last Airbender. Very recently First Second Books released his two-volume graphic novel project, Boxers & Saints.
Not long ago I watched a wonderful talk Gene Luen Yang gave at Penn State University, where he champions the comic medium, and discusses his thoughts and process behind some of his work. If you have a spare 60 minutes, it’s definitely worth the watch.
