Noe’s Comics Nook: The Good Asian Volume 1 and 2

Review

I won’t hide that I was excited to dive into this series after enjoying Pornsak Pichetshote’s Infidel as much as I did and I am happy to share that my excitement was well-rewarded. In The Good Asian we are introduced to Chinese-American detective Edison (Eddie) Hark, brought to Chinatown to investigate the disappearance of one Ivy Chen – a young woman beloved by his adopted father and brother alike. What follows is noir storytelling at its best, with shocking revelations and well-known tropes galore, masterfully intertwined with a (re)education for the reader about the history of immigration bans imposed on Chinese peoples. 

The combination of Tefenkgi’s artwork, full of bold lines and imaginative panel layout, and Loughridge’s colors, alternating between noir dark and bright colors that evoke the Big Band feelings of the 30s, is a delight that pulls you into the world. It is clear that the entire creative team did their homework for building the world and trying to match what the architecture, clothing, and general style of San Francisco Chinatown was like at the time. I am particularly drawn to their efforts with the Jade Castle club scenes in volume 1 – those are worth a second look all on their own.

I mentioned the team doing their homework. Well, I mean that in a literal sense – they have included historical notes in both volumes of the series that expand on the political landscape of the era, where the inspiration for a Chinese detective came from, and photos that were used for reference. I probably say this every time a comic does this but I LOVE this kind of detail and I wish more comics, both fiction and nonfiction, included sections like this. Process pages are fun and good to see too, but we seldom get quite as much detail as we do here.

All-in-all, The Good Asian is a complex look at a period in US history that the history books would like to forget or skip cleanly over, presented through the familiar tropes of noir that are relatable to all readers. For school purposes, be mindful that this is a book with violence, sex, and depictions of racism throughout – making it best reserved for upper high school and college students.

Elements of Story

Plot: Edison Hark – a rare Chinese-American detective in 1936 – is on the trail of a killer in San Francisco’s Chinatown and each time he thinks he is close to the end, a new wrinkle comes to complicate the case. Before the end, Hark will learn more about his own origins, his family, and will expose ever more abuses in a world that doesn’t accept Chinese immigrants.

Characters: Edison Hark, Detective O’Malley, Ivy Chen, Mason Carroway, Frankie Carroway, Terrence Chang, Hui Long, Victoria Carroway, Bennie Yan, Donnie Yan, Lucy Fan, Mrs. Tze, Helen Chao, Tony Zhao, Holly Chao, Silas Woodward

Major Settings: San Francisco (California), SF Chinatown, Honolulu (Hawaii), Santa Cruz (California)

Themes: Racism, stereotypes, history, community, politics, development

Lesson Plan Idea Using Common Core Standards (CCS)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 – Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Directions: In the Good Asian, we learn about the Chinese Exclusion Act throughout the story, shown most clearly through the ongoing experiences of violence, distrust, and racism of the story’s characters. While the story itself is a fiction, the Act was very much real.

Using the back-matter from The Good Asian as a starting point, as well as resources available from the Library of Congress (https://guides.loc.gov/chinese-exclusion-act), students should conduct a short research project that seeks to understand why the Chinese Exclusion Act came to be, what impacts it had in the short and long-term, and what it took to finally repeal the act. Students may present their findings either as a research paper, as a comic, as a podcast, or as an oral presentation during class. Specific length requirements for each mode of presentation are to be determined by the instructor based on amount of time students are given for this research.