Shattered

October 1, 2012
This second anthology of comics by Asian-American creators focuses on genres from science fiction to fantasy, superhero to historical, slice-of-life and more—a few stories stand out, and a prologue and epilogue tie some of the individual stories together, but the overall quality is uneven. Contributors include such mainstream mainstays as Cliff Chiang, Larry Hama, Sonny Liew, and Sean Chen. The more polished pieces are often a five-to-10-page introduction to a setting and new characters rather than a complete story with an ending.The variety of styles of art is impressive, with some influenced by American comics from all eras of the 20th century, some more evocative of manga, and some more cartoonish. Overall, the impression is more of a collection of portfolio pieces than a tightly edited anthology despite the talent on display.

November 15, 2012
The editorial team that assembled the acclaimed Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology (2009) teams up again here. While Secret Identities used the conventions of superhero comics to feature Asian American heroes (whether or not they had superpowers), Shattered cleverly organizes its stories by the five demons, or stereotypes, it wishes readers to conquer: the Asian as stoic brute, mindless brain, exotic temptress, mysterious foreigner/alien, and master manipulator. Many of the characters and intertwining plotlines here were first introduced in Secret Identities, so it makes sense to be familiar with the first collection before diving into this one. As with any anthology, some of the stories are more successful than others, but all of them speak the international language of heroism in discussing identity as a sum of values, not ethnicity. Coupled with its predecessor, this title is a must-have for libraries serving Asian American communities in addition to those with a large comics fan base.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)