Early Reader Review: Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

Source: From DC Comics in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

Series: superman Smashes the Klan #1-3
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date:  May 12, 2020

 

Format: Paperback

Rating:







Goodreads Synopsis: 

The year is 1946, and the Lee family has moved from Chinatown to Downtown Metropolis. While Dr. Lee is eager to begin his new position at the Metropolis Health Department, his two kids, Roberta and Tommy, are more excited about being closer to the famous superhero Superman!

Tommy adjusts quickly to the fast pace of their new neighborhood, befriending Jimmy Olsen and joining the club baseball team, while his younger sister Roberta feels out of place when she fails to fit in with the neighborhood kids. She's awkward, quiet, and self-conscious of how she looks different from the kids around her, so she sticks to watching people instead of talking to them.

While the Lees try to adjust to their new lives, an evil is stirring in Metropolis: the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan targets the Lee family, beginning a string of terrorist attacks. They kidnap Tommy, attack the Daily Planet, and even threaten the local YMCA. But with the help of Roberta's keen skills of observation, Superman is able to fight the Klan's terror, while exposing those in power who support them--and Roberta and Superman learn to embrace their own unique features that set them apart.

From multi-award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Gene Luen Yang comes an exciting middle grade tale featuring Superman.

Review: 
If you have been reading the blog for a while you might know that I don't really read any Superman comics or graphic novels, but this one seemed very interesting so I jumped at the chance to take a look. DC Comics is doing a series of books called Graphic Novels for Young Adults. They are exactly what you would think, graphic novels geared toward a teen/ young adult audience.

This graphic novel has a number of themes but there is the overarching theme of racism and being different and fitting in. There is also an appearance of Nazis.

I have to admit that when I started reading this graphic novel I was a bit taken aback at the bluntness of the racism and the Clan of the Fiery Cross (being a stand-in for the KKK). After getting further in to the book it became clear that the more important theme was understanding of differences and it being ok to be yourself both for the kids in the book but also for Superman himself.

There are a lot of extreme visuals in this book showing racism and there are different types of racism in the book as well, but it was a very good story. The main characters are Roberta and Tommy Lee, their family is Chinese and just moved to Metropolis from Chinatown and not all their neighbors are happy about them being there. Tommy is good at making friends sometimes at his family's expense but Roberta isn't sure about this new place or these new people and feels like she is just too different.

Superman in this book does not fly, he is not the Superman we now know and love but only a portion of him. In this graphic novel, he too is learning it is ok to be different, it is ok to show his full self, and to remember what that even is.

Overall this was a great read, it even concludes with an Author's note of sorts called "Superman and Me" by the author that talks about how this book came to be and the time period. That is what sold the whole thing for me, the somewhat personalized story from the author. Superman had meaning to him, especially in this particular context and that is a wonderful thing.