Gene Luen Yang

My brain subconsciously limits itself to panel compositions that my hand can actually draw. ”

Writing for myself and writing for another artist are two very different experiences. When I handle both the story and the art, I have full control. I can endlessly tweak every word and every line. ”

Any superhero, regardless of how different they are from Superman, recalls Superman in some way. They're either pushing against Superman or reflecting Superman; there's something about them that comes from Superman. ”

Superman has been around for so long; he's been around for, what, eight decades now? And he goes through these different eras where different aspects of who he is get emphasized. ”

Ch'in Shih-huang is the first emperor of China. He united seven separate kingdoms into a single nation. He built the Great Wall and was buried with the terra-cotta soldiers. The Chinese have mixed feelings about him. They're proud of the nation he created, but he was a maniacal tyrant. ”

I was really worried that sitting at home by myself in front of a computer was going to make me crazy. ”

The thing about research is that there's no end. You constantly have this fear that an expert who knows more than you will call you out on some detail in your book. ”

I think the 'Boxers' book was easier for me to envision as a comic, because they were on this epic journey. These teenagers basically gathered into this army and marched to the capital city where they had a showdown with the Europeans and Japanese. On the 'Saints' side, it was a lot trickier. ”

I minored in creative writing in college, and I've played with the idea of doing something more hybrid, but comics are my first love. ”

I love hearing people who are smarter than me talk about my comics. It makes me feel smarter. ”