DGN hosted an event where students got to meet and interact with the author and cartoonist of many graphic novels, Gene Luen Yang during fourth period Wednesday, November 9. He wrote American Born Chinese that was granted the Michael L. Printz award which was represented by the Young Adult Library Association.
Throughout the meet and greet, Yang presented a slideshow soaring through his life, from picking up his first comic book to taking a break because he wanted a girlfriend. Yang connected with the audience in such a short amount of time by sharing many intimate stories from his life and making a comforting environment about himself and his books.
“My characters are almost always pulled from my own life,” said Yang.
During a Q & A, Yang revealed how close his characters from his novels are to him. Yang was extremely anxious to publish one of his novels, Dragon Hoops, since he took so much inspiration from people in his life into his illustrations. When he creates his characters, he makes sure to incorporate small intricate details in his books to make them unique.
“It is really soul riching,” Yang said. “Taking something abstract and making it concrete.”
Cartooning captures Yang’s intense emotions while also allowing him to embrace doing what he enjoys. It has given him the opportunity to continually share his love for creating content.
“I was in my mid 20’s and made $200. I still wanted to make comics,” Yang said. “I wanted to pave my way to become a full time cartoonist one day.”
Although he underwent many obstacles when publishing his first piece, Yang has never lost the love for drawing. He wrote his comics at night while being a teacher during the day. While he was initially faced with a lot of rejection, getting shot down when initially reaching out to publishers, he eventually gained success. After three years a company by the name of Slave Labor Graphics offered to publish his original books; Gordon Yamamoto and the King of Geeks series.
From starting by selling his comics outside in elementary school for fifty cents to having a Disney show being adapted from one of his most awarded books, American Born Chinese, Yang has pursued his lifelong dream.
