DC Comics’ new Asian-American hero is Shazam for Journey to the West fans

Wu Cheng’en’s Journey to the West This classic Chinese literature has been told many times over, inspiring stories of its own. Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is at the center of this legendary work.

Since long, The Monkey King is a fascination that inspires imaginations of Asians. Son Goku, of Akira Toriyama’s Dragonball is, after all, just the Japanese translation of ‘Sun Wukong’ — and Goku is further equipped with Wukong’s magic staff, tail, and flying cloud to surf upon.

It is only fitting then that the tradition continues, and something new is created once more from the legend of The Monkey King: DC Comics’ newest superhero, the Monkey Prince.

What is DC’s The Monkey Prince about?

How would it be if Sun Wukong the Monkey King had a child? And what if that boy didn’t know who he really was? That’s the juicy premise of The Monkey PrinceThis will be the start of the tale of an Asian American hero who embarks on a journey of self discovery.

Marcus Shen is the son of two henchmen-for-hire — meaning he’s afraid of superheroes, and he moves around a lot. It is difficult for him to adjust at school. But things change after he meets Mr. Zhu the maintenance man and discovers his real father, Sun Wukong the Monkey King.

There’s a touch of Karate Kid here, clearly, as we see a kid who’s lost really find his purpose and stand up for himself. This is a story about a young man coming of age, rooted in Chinese literature as well as American super-hero world-building. Marcus’s life has taken him all over the DC Universe, he’s seen Batman, and the book is even set in Gotham. So it’s very rooted in a familiar superhero setting, but with touches like ‘Mr. Zhu’ — who is just Zhu Bajie (or “Pigsy”), who was the Monkey King’s companion in Travel to the West.

Why is The Monkey Prince taking place now?

Image: Gene Yang, Bernard Chang/DC Comics

DC Comics published last year’s May 2021 issue. DC Festival of Heroes – The Asian Superhero CelebrationThe grand issue, overseen by Jessica Chen and Andrea Shea and filled with Asian talent meant to honor their visions and contributions. The issue was an anthology — all one-and-done short stories, except for one.

In a 12-page masterpiece by Gene Luen Yang, Bernard Chang and Bernard Chang, The Monkey Prince made its debut there. It was the only story to hint at a new installment. The book finally arrived after more than a year. This Asian hero story seemed like a promise to DC that it would do more with Asian characters and talent. With Jessica Chen as editor, this is the first major step towards fulfilling that promise.

Given the long history of orientalist and racist works in American comics — even as Asian American creators like Jim Lee rise to the position of publisher at DC Comics — one can never have enough authentic work crafted, produced, and overseen by voices with the lived-in-experiences to address their cultural touchstones. It is important to represent, but there are many things that need to be done. The Monkey Prince’s all Asian American creative crew is so meaningful.

Who made The Monkey Prince

Gene Yang is an prolific writer who was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant and has produced a wealth of diverse work. Whether it’s the expanded canon of Avatar for The Last Airbender and Superman, or coding and basketball, he’s made comics based on all of them. Superman’s definitive comic, The Smash-hit Comic, was recently released. Superman Terrorizes the KlanYang, who has been a great Batman/Superman performer, is now back at the DCU, with this title.

Joining Yang here is the impeccable artist Bernard Chang, who has a long and storied career, from breaking out in the ’90’s, working with Disney as a concept designer, and boasting the experience of drawing a plethora of superhero books over the years. The two are joined on this venture by the terrific colorist Sebastian Cheng, who’s been working with Yang on Shang-Chi over at Marvel.

And even more impressively, the team is rounded out by the legendary letterer Janice Chiang — who began her work in the Marvel Bullpen in the 1970s and hasn’t stopped since. Overseen by editor Jessica Chen, this is a rare Asian American comics team, working with an Asian American editor, allowed to let loose and explore the legacy of one of Asia’s most iconic heroes!

Do you require any reading?

Image: Gene Yang, Bernard Chang/DC Comics

Gene Yang is one of the most approachable writers around. You can still read the 12-pager above in the DC Festival of Heroes – The Asian Superhero Celebration special.

DC published Monkey Prince #0, a special Monkey Prince issue, that focused more on Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, than his son. It’s a 12-page prologue of sorts showing us this creative team’s take on the legendary hero, and how he fits into the DC Universe, with all of its New Gods and assortments of bizarre beings.

Does The Monkey Prince have a good reputation?

There’s a striking choice in that original 12-pager debut of Monkey Prince: Marcus makes his first appearance in disguise as DC Comics’ Shazam. These parallels are striking. Shazam, the first American comics superhero and one of the earliest to appear in disguise as Shazam by DC Comics is Shazam. transforming heroesLandscape. One magical act and he shapeshifts from his mortal self into his divine form — Marcus’ transformation from a teenage boy to a cloud-riding monkey hero is much the same.

But it’s also a parallel that highlights the characters’ differences. Shazam, a Western-based superhero who draws his power from Greek and Roman heroes and gods (and one Biblical figure), is very distinctive. Monkey Prince draws his power from an Eastern figure, and specifically, a Chinese one. Yang and Chang had revealed Marcus to be a close friend and classmate in the 12 page character presentation.

This entire idea is clearly thought-out. The Monkey Prince#1 shows Yang and Chang are very clear about the character and they know who they want him be. He is a young Asian American hero, a modern American super-hero, based on both American and Chinese literature.

Their first full issue with the Monkey Prince crackles with the possibility of the concept, with Bernard Chang’s pencils conveying a lively, expressive art style that feels packed with youthful exuberance. The scenes of Marcus in his normal self can feel cramped, while his dramatic transformation makes page layouts seem larger and more fluid. It’s an artistic sensibility decidedly suited to what the work is going for. Sebastian Cheng’s bright, colorful palette only helps add to that and punctuates its essential goal.

At its core, Monkey Prince is equal parts the Monkey King story and American superhero fiction, ‘Asian’ and ‘American’ all at once. Marcus has only just begun his superheroic journey, and I can’t wait to see it play out.

One panel that pops

Image: Gene Yang, Bernard Chang/DC Comics

Here’s The Penguin thinking he’s got a Chinese Demon under his control. His confidence in himself is a mistake, he doesn’t know it!