Comics After Camp
With the growing popularity of Comic-Con, anime, and graphic novels over the past 10 years, it is not surprising that these platforms are the home for new stories about the Japanese American Incarceration. Many of these artists and writers use their art to address topics that were ignored for a long time, including the violation of civil liberties, rampant racism, resource grabs, and other issues that were at the heart of the Incarceration.
These imaginings of the past also provide the opportunity for Japanese Americans to be seen in a sympathetic and human light and for superheroes to defend the Japanese Americans rather than reinforce their vilification. In the DC comic Bombshells, for example, Superwoman is shown protecting Japanese Americans' civil liberties and saving them from the horrors of camp. This is a drastic shift from the depictions of camp seen in the Superman comics of World War II.
Displacement by Kiku Hughes
A teenager is pulled back in time to witness her grandmother's experiences in World War II-era Japanese internment camps in Displacement, a historical graphic novel from Kiku Hughes.
Want to Learn More?
Listen to Kiku Hughes, author of Displacement, here.
Fred Korematsu Speaks Up by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi
The story of Fred Korematsu’s fight against discrimination explores the life of one courageous person who made the United States a fairer place for all Americans, and it encourages all of us to speak up for justice.
Gaijin by Matt Faulkner
This searing, cinematic graphic novel, by acclaimed author Matt Faulkner follows the story of Koji, a biracial prisoner in WWII America as he struggles to find his place.
Stealing Home by J. Torres and David Namisato
In this emotionally gripping graphic novel, J. Torres weaves fictional story into a historically accurate, thoroughly researched account of the events surrounding the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II.
Take What You Can Carry by Kevin C. Pyle
A cross-generation, back and forth narrative that tells the story of a young boy in a Japanese internment camp during World War II and a young man in 1978 California who steals because he is bored and lonely.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven R. Scott
A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon— and America itself— in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.
Those Who Helped Us by Ken Mochizuki and Kiku Hughes
As the young girls struggle with the horrors of being imprisoned in the dusty desert, they also find solace in the fact that some people chose to help. This story highlights the actual actions and experiences of those neighbors and friends.
We Hereby Refuse by Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura
We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration is the story of camp as you’ve never seen it before. A new graphic novel which presents an original vision of America’s past with disturbing links to the American present.Want to Learn More?
Listen to Frank Abe, co-author of We Hereby Refuse, here.
Let's Talk About It!
1. Which graphic novel would you like to read? Why? Is this graphic novel available in your library?2. As far as you can tell, how are Japanese Americans and the Incarceration depicted in these graphic novels?
3. How are these depictions similar or different from the comics made by Japanese Americans during WWII? Are there any topics or themes that you see repeated here?
