21st International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

This study traces the historical transformation of the Asian anti-hero to the Asian American hero in comics, and examines how racial politics and immigration policies are contested in the process. In particular, it focuses on Manny Stallman’s comics, “Chinese All-American” that features a patriotic Chinese American hero during the Korean War. This black-and-white comics story was published in 1952, during the stalemate period and in the middle of the Second Red Scare in the United States when McCarthyism led to often unsubstantiated accusations and attacks of disloyalty, treason, or subversion. Stallman drew comics stories about crime, horror, war, and romance for Avon, Atlas, and Harvey in the 1950s. “Chinese All-American” has many of the elements typical for a war story at the time: loyalty, patriotism, espionage, and heroism. What’s worth noting is that this story features a Chinese American soldier not only as the leading character but also as a war hero. Stallman’s story incorporates elements of wartime paranoia, Red Scare, and espionage, particularly distilled into the main character’s Yellowface. Juxtaposing early comics with contemporary graphic narratives, this paper investigates how visual representations of Asians and Asian Americans transform in different historical, cultural, and political contexts and helps the reader make a connection between history and reality.