My favorite scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home is undoubtedly the one where Ned accidentally summons the other Peters. For one, it’s a great fanservice moment — and an excellent excuse to gaze upon Andrew Garfield’s gorgeous face. But that’s not why I enjoy it.
That scene — Garfield and Maguire’s official entry into the MCU — takes place in the dining room of Ned’s Filipino grandma. Watching it unfold in the theater was the first time I’d ever seen my culture represented in a blockbuster Hollywood film. Not only was she speaking Tagalog and eating pandesal like my lolas, but she even had my paternal grandma’s exact standing flower lamp. I had never felt so seen.
AAPI media representation has historically been narrow in scope and fraught with stereotypes. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a diverse range of experiences that tend to get flattened or overshadowed. Growing up, I almost never saw people like me in the books I read or the shows I watched. Author Viet Thanh Nguyen has described this lack of representation and the limited picture it creates of AAPI people as “narrative scarcity.”
Luckily, we’re seeing more AAPI stories in our theaters and on our bookshelves — voices for all ages, from all across the diaspora. From myth to memoir, these ten graphic novels are amplifying — and reshaping — AAPI narratives.
The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang by Stan Yan
In true Frankenstein fashion, Stan Yan’s debut graphic novel fuses his self-professed fascination with creepy things and his Chinese American heritage. 12-year-old Eugenia Wang’s birthday falls on the unlucky day of April 4th. This year, she’s determined to defy her superstitious mother and celebrate on her own terms. But when her friend accidentally kicks her in the head during PE, Eugenia starts experiencing strange visions around her birthday. Is it a concussion, or is Eugenia cursed? Or is someone trying to warn her about her unlucky 13?
Unhappy Camper by Lily LaMotte, Illustrated by Ann Xu and Sunmi
After the success of their first collaboration, Measuring Up, author Lily LaMotte and artist Ann Xu return with a new graphic novel, now joined by artist Sunmi. Once inseparable, sisters Clare and Michelle are growing apart. While Michelle desperately wants to fit in with her classmates at the expense of her Taiwanese culture, Clare wholeheartedly embraces her heritage. When Clare decides to become a junior counselor at a Taiwanese American summer camp, the girls’ parents send Michelle with her, much to the sisters’ dismay. Will Michelle learn to love her roots?
Mabuhay! A Graphic Novel by Zachary Sterling
Artist Zachary Sterling’s celebrated graphic novel presents a familiar first-gen conundrum with a fantastical twist. Bullied and ostracized by classmates for their Filipino heritage, siblings JJ and Althea struggle to survive the school day. Coming home to work at their family’s food truck doesn’t help, especially JJ’s dancing pig costume. But one day, the folklore their mom likes to quote at them comes to life, and strange creatures endanger their family. JJ and Althea realize that their greatest challenge — their culture — may just be the key to saving the world.
Wish I Was a Baller by Amar Shah and Rashad Doucet
Sports media veteran Amar Shah shares his unbelievable story with an assist from artist Rashad Doucet. Wish I Was a Baller chronicles 14-year-old Shah’s ventures into sports journalism in the mid-’90s, the age of Michael Jordan’s NBA dominance. Through sheer tenacity, Shah lands exclusive access to the Orlando Magic locker room and an unlikely friendship with Shaq. But though reporting on star athletes comes naturally to him, navigating high school is a whole other ball game.
Advocate: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice by Eddie Ahn
First-generation Korean American lawyer Eddie Ahn stunned his family when he left his well-paid job for a San Francisco nonprofit. This graphic memoir traces his path to environmental justice advocacy, from his parents’ immigration to his work with underserved Bay Area students. Through local activism and community empowerment, Ahn redefines the American Dream, reminding us that we only truly prosper when we work together.
Fitting Indian by Jyoti Chand, Illustrated by Tara Anand
Trigger warning: this book depicts mental illness, substance abuse, self-harm, and attempted suicide.
Author, influencer, and “mom next door” Jyoti Chand teams up with artist Tara Anand for this exploration of mental health and cultural conflict. Growing up in an Indian American family, Nitasha never felt like enough. Her parents constantly compare her to her older brother, a doctor, while at school, her friends seem to be drifting away. As Nitasha spirals further and further, she begins coping in unhealthy ways.
Tall Water by SJ Sindu, Illustrated by Dion MBD
Acclaimed writer SJ Sindu follows up their graphic middle-grade fantasy, Shakti, with a poignant coming-of-age tale illustrated by Dion MBD. Teenager Nimmi has never met her mother, who refused to leave Sri Lanka even as war ravaged the country. When her mother appears to her in a dream, Nimmi tags along with her reluctant journalist father as he returns to the country on assignment. But Nimmi’s long-awaited reunion is thrown into jeopardy when a tsunami strikes the island the day after Christmas. Will Nimmi ever see her mother again?
Low Orbit by Kazimir Lee
Malaysian American artist Kazimir Lee delivers a coming-of-age story that, much like them, is unapologetically queer. Isolated in her new Vermont hometown, 15-year-old Azar finds solace in her neighbors: nonbinary teen Tristan and their sci-fi writer father, Shannon. Azar loses herself in real-life expeditions with Tristan through their small town — and in the pages of Shannon’s epic novel, The Exiles of Overworld. But Azar can only run for so long, especially as the queerness she’s hidden from her mother starts to blossom.
Mata Austronesia: Stories from an Ocean World by Tuki Drake
Artist and food systems researcher Tuki Drake’s self-described (ethno)graphic novel weaves together oral traditions from throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Mata is the word for “eye” in many Austronesian languages, symbolizing these diverse cultures’ shared cultural history and oceanic ties. Through contributions from various Austronesian storytellers and lush watercolor illustrations, Mata Austronesia defies boundaries of time and space to celebrate a people’s collective heritage.
The Man in the McIntosh Suit by Rina Ayuyang
Inspired by her love for Old Hollywood, artist Rina Ayuyang offers a fresh cultural perspective on Depression-era noir. In 1929, law school graduate Bobot left home in the Philippines to pick fruit in the fields of Watsonville, California. Then he receives a letter from his cousin, telling him he’s spotted Bobot’s estranged wife, Estrella, in San Francisco. Interest piqued, Bobot dons a coworker’s suit and sets off into the sketchy underbelly of the big city. Using all the genre trappings of a good detective film, Ayuyang explores the lives of Filipino American migrant workers amid xenophobia and looming economic crisis.
BONUS: The Further Adventures of Ned’s Lola by Benjamin Lee DeGuzman
Okay, these technically don’t exist in print…yet. But I have to shout out animator Benjamin Lee DeGuzman, who took Ned’s lola to new heights by making her a comic book protagonist. On DeGuzman’s book covers, Ned’s lola sings karaoke, extols the virtues of Vicks VapoRub, and asks Thor for Jesus’s phone number. She’s an absolute riot, and I would trust her with my entire life. Don’t be shy, Marvel — give Lola Leeds the book deal she deserves.
These stories are only a few drops in the vast ocean of the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience. But each story told brings us closer to what Nguyen calls “narrative plenitude”: an abundance of stories reflecting our community’s incredible diversity.
Click here to check out our list of AAPI superheroes.
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