Edited by Jeff Yang, Parry Shen, Keith Chow and Jerry Ma (The New Press)

OK - stop, drop and think. If Asian Americans were to take over the comic book industry, what kind of superheroes would we make? I'll give you a minute. ... Sike! You don't have to answer. Editors Yang, Shen, Chow and Ma - yes, that Jeff Yang; yes, that Parry Shen - already asked themselves, and every Asian American in the comic book industry, the same question. The result covers all the hot-button topics from railroad building (with a fish-headed Chinese alien) to spying accusations (against nanotech armor designers) to Hiroshima victims (recruited for their mutations) and even laundries (superhero costume dry cleaners). Turns out, taking an Asian American issue and spinning it until a caped crusader comes out makes a lot of sense. As the editors point out in the introduction (itself a comic): "Comics have always been a refuge for kids who are shy or socially awkward ... for Asian Americans the parallels are even stronger. You're an outsider, you don't fit in ... but then you ... discover your secret heritage - the thing inside you that makes you special." With this much energy and invention, it shouldn't be long before that authence gets direct service. I can't wait to see which of these ideas turns into a series. - Claire Light