Gene Luen Yang's Rebirth New Super-Man Vol. 1: Made in China reminds of Karl Kesel's Superboy, featuring a brash young Super-analogue who only occasionally takes his superheroing seriously. Giving this book not only its own Superman but also its own Chinese Justice League straightaway is a smart move by Yang. From the giant #1 that Kong Kenan carries on the cover of New Super-Man Vol. 1: Made in China on through, the New Super-Man remains wonderfully full of himself, and Yang succeeds in still making the character likable. Viktor Bogdanovic's soft, rounded figures are perfectly appropriate for the book's comical tone.

4 Stars - I love that Gene Luen Yang is a part of this comic. He really brings light to the need for diversity - especially in regards to superheroes. The graphics and artistry in the book are wonderful.

This was great - definitely my favorite comic DC has put out in a long time. I can't wait to see where it goes from here. The art wasn't always my favorite, but the writing was amazing - Gene Luen Yang did a great job. I haven't read his graphic novel (American Born Chinese), but it's been something I've wanted to read for a long time, so when I saw that he was writing this, I had high hopes and I wasn't disappointed. This is definitely the most successful Rebirth story line I've read so far. I think that some people who are more classic fans who aren't fans of things changing won't care for this as much, but if you're open to new things, definitely give this a try. Highly recommended.

'New Super-Man, Volume 1: Made in China' by Gene Luen Yang is a different take on superheroes, this time from China. I liked the perspective it took, but I didn't love it.

Kenan Kong is kind of a jerk. He bullies a rich kid for lunch money because the kid's parents own an airline that Kenan's mom was killed on. When Kenan makes a heroic act (against his own nature), he gets selected for a superhero program and his life changes. He joins two other young people who will make up a new Justice League for the nation of China. The two other heroes are takes on Wonder Woman and Batman. Kenan finds his powers come and go, and he needs to figure out how to make them work. Additionally, he finds himself at odds with his father. Can Kenan learn to be a hero, mend his relationship with his father, and figure out who is behind this new superhero initiative?

Kenan is a pretty unlikable character at the beginning of the story, and he stays that way for quite a while. He is arrogant and a bully. By the end of the story, things have happened to help move him towards being a hero, but it takes quite a few chapters before I liked this character much. I really liked the Wonder Woman and Batman characters and I hope they have more to do in the future. This is a very different take on DC superheroes and I liked the cultural shift in perspective that it takes.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

While I'm lukewarm on superhero books these days, the fact that Gene Luen Yang's name was attached to this book was enough to get my attention. His "American Born Chinese" was a strong work in a very accessible style, and I looked forward to seeing him bring some of that style and perspective to the DC Universe.
I am glad to say I was not disappointed. Superheroics aside, the real meat of the story is the interactions between the characters, focusing on their personal relationships with a strong dose of the political awareness that would be almost necessary in a book like this. The characters are complex enough to derail the expectations of a Western reader, yet familiar enough to provide a good grounding from which to explore the world in which the operate. In its way, if one were to overlook the relationship to DC's iconography, this series would read like a good science fiction novel that just happens to include superheroic archetypes.
For me, the one disappointment with the book was the art. Not that it was bad; Viktor Bogdanovic is definitely a good superhero artist. It's just that his style doesn't seem to capture the full scale of what is possible in a story of this type. The story has a lot of possibility for visual world-building, with lots of room for detail and local color. Bogdanovic does not seem to tap into that, but rather delivers an - admittedly serviceable - typical American comic book style. I suppose this serves a function in its own way, giving the reader a visual familiarity with an unfamiliar environment, but I can't help but think that it would have been better served to take the art further by more fully exploring the details of that environment.
That being said, the book is overall enjoyable, and for comic book readers, this should be a welcome addition to the Superman pantheon. It's fun to see an exploration of the wider world in which the familiar characters operate, in stories that do not depend on them to "save the day". Readers looking for a little intelligence and diversity in their comics will not be disappointed.

A fun start to a new series in which Superman's spiritual successor finds himself on the Justice League of China! Although this is a new setting and a host of new characters for the Superman family, the story still feels very familiar, part Elseworlds tale, part Invincible, part Ultimate Spider-Man, with a little of the New 52 Superboy thrown in for good measure. It's hard for a book that is so clearly beholden to its precursors to feel this fresh, but New Super-Man is a good read.

The New Super-man is a very solid book with some issues.
After an act of heroism, Kenan Kong gets chosen to take a part in an experiment to create a government- funded Justice League of China, led by the mysterious and shadowy government agency. The story is interesting and keeps you hooked with its twists and turns, especially those involving Kenan’s father. Although, to be fair, I wasn’t a huge fan of the implications that freedom-fighters fighting for democracy are as bad as their oppressors.
The problem with a book like this is that it needs a strong protagonist to truly succeed, and it doesn’t. Konan is, simply put, a bully. He’s a fatshaming bully. The book opens with him being a bully and he continues his behavior through the book, without it ever being challenged. He bullies his classmate, calls his team-mate “tubby”, flirts with every female character to the point of unpleasantness, acts like an immature asshole and is overall jerk without principles. His character development come too late in the book to redeem him and doesn’t even touch upon the main problems.
Surprisingly, the team dynamics are very well done. Despite starting off on wrong foot and then constantly bickering, Kenan, Baixi and Deilan have a realistically developing friendship that was wonderful to watch.
I wish I could’ve liked the book more, but Kenan made it almost impossible.

This was a fun read. This was a little different than the typical Superman comic. This New Superman is Chinese (as one can gleam from the subtitle). I loved the story as it was a breath of fresh air from the generic Superman story and also that it was a different cultural perspective. I am glad DC printed this and had a good writer name Gene Yang tell this story. Thus far this is my favorite of DC’s latest company-wide relaunched called Rebirth.
The story began with a funny opening that got me hooked. Yang gives us a fun introduction and I appreciated Yang bringing his humor that you see in display in some of his other works (I think his best work yet was his two volume “Boxers and Saints”). I appreciated that Yang is able to tell the story without resorting to profanities, excessive violence or sexual immorality. I really appreciate that of Yang, in that he is able to tell a good story without having to make it “dark.” There is a subplot about family, immaturity/maturity and duty as you see the origin and start of the “New Superman.” The story shows consciousness of Eastern and Western outlook, values and ways; kind of cool if you asked me.
The book was beautifully illustrated and the Asian characters were believable and not just stereotyping Asians. Yet at the same time the illustrations along with the dialogues made it identifiable to Asian Americans whose value are being reflected. I like that.
This is a book I can feel comfortable having kids at my church read. Yet don’t think this is something only kids can enjoy; I thought the story was well-told and there are great twists and turn.
NOTE: This book was provided to me free by DC Comics and Net Galley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

2.5 stars

Kong Kenan is a bully, who doesn’t mind to use his strength on smaller kids. When the kid Kenan is bullying gets attacked by BLUE CONDOR he heroically stupidly throws his freshly stolen soda can at one of China’s infamous supervillains. This action leads to media attention but also the attention of Dr Omen, who presents Kenan an opportunity to give him the powers to match his heroic heart. And so the origin story of the NEW SUPER-MAN begins.

My previous encounters with Gene Luen Yang’s work were in the AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER comics. Since I am a huge fan of ATLA, I enjoyed those comics mostly because of nostalgia. Although I do have some problems with those comics, I do not mind them as much because I love the characters and the world of Avatar so much.

I always am a big supporter of diverse characters and stories. Thus, the combination of Yang as the writer and a Chinese Super-Man had intrigued me. It was the reason why I requested the NETGALLEY. However, after having read the first volume, I feel a bit disappointed.

From this point on there will be SPOILERS for the first volume of NEW SUPER-MAN VOLUME 1: MADE IN CHINA.

First of all, I feel like it might not have been to try to copy paste the Justice League idea to China. I will have to mention that the only superhero comics I have read before were Kamala Khan’s Ms Marvel volumes 1-4 and the Young Justice TV show tie-ins. I understand that it is probably hard to come up with ideas for new (diverse) superheroes but in this volume, Kenan is trying to be someone who he isn’t. However, I do feel like it could be so much better if new, authentic Chinese superheroes were created who would teach the readers about Chinese culture along the way ala Rick Riordan.
However, on first sight, I really thought that Wonder Woman and Bat-Man looked very cool. I just think it is too bad they are just copies. I would love to see Chinese superheroes with their own backstories and lore.

That brings me to my second problem: Kenan’s personality. He is very cocky and arrogant with daddy issues which reminded me a lot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Tony Stark. Especially, when Kenan revealed his secret identity. I do know there was a small character arc in Kenan realising how stupid it was to reveal his identity, I did not feel that he had learned a lot. Since this is only the first volume, I am okay with this because if he would have learned all the values Super-Man and JLA stood for that would have been a very rushed story.

The first plot twist, I saw that one coming from miles away. However, the other one I did not. So I was pleasantly surprised with that. Furthermore, I feel like there were some “origin stories clichés” like the father who is dying but he has time to say his last words.

“Okay” is also my overall feeling about this volume. It didn’t blow me away with new things. I don’t feel a learned a lot about Chinese culture like I would have liked to when I picked this volume up. I am not sure if I would recommend this volume just like it is. Maybe when the second volume is released, maybe it would be nicer to read them back to back and get a more in-depth read. However, since the second volume won’t be out for a while, I would say pick up another volume and wait until the next volume is out to get a more (hopefully) complete story.

ARC from Netgalley.
Even after dwelling on it a bit, I'm still not sure I know exactly how to feel about this new title.

The premise: a jokester and bully, Kong Kenan, is grabbed by an underground government organization and subjected to testing (almost like the Captain America Super Soldier serum) and is turned into Super-Man. He joins up with the (still secret) Justice League of China, which is part of the Ministry of Self-Reliance, meeting Bat-Man and Wonder-Woman. Together they fight against the Freedom Fighters of China, a rogue terrorist group, which Kenan's dad is a part of. The FFofC are using a version of Starro to control peoples minds. Can Super-Man align his Qi to that of Superman so that he can reliably use his super powers?

I almost feel like this is a way for Gene Luen Yang to stretch his Chinese roots and culture on a new story that will have a similar feel to his excellent run on Superman near the end of the New 52 lifespan. How it comes off (at least for me) is a subpar un-funny jokey action book about the Justice League, spun in the (very funny and excellent) humor of Yang's "American Born Chinese". Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman already protect the entire globe. Why the (pardon my phrasing here) Chinese knock-offs? They could be called something that didn't sound like their namesakes and it would already be a better book. I really am just confused about the author's choice of naming here.

Not horrible, but not great. Not sure if I will continue.

This Chinese Superman book was one of the few Rebirth titles that genuinely intrigued me, not least because it featured the only original new character in the entire line - I know that’s deliberate though, that Rebirth is about bringing back classic characters/timelines, etc. So it’s disappointing that New Super-Man follows the Rebirth trend of being unreadable drek.

Kong Kenan is a bully who throws a drinks can at the first of many shitty Chinese villains he happens across. This one incident somehow singles him out to be the perfect test subject to become the Chinese Super-Man who is made in a Captain America-esque machine. That might be the worst origin story I’ve ever heard.

The story? Well, what are all shit superhero comics about? A baddie wants to drink everyone’s milkshakes so the goodie sets out to stop them. Yeah, it’s that archetypical and unimaginative. And speaking of unimaginative, there’s a Chinese Bat-Man (who’s fat for no reason) and a Chinese Wonder-Woman who make up the Justice League of China, as well as a Chinese Lois Lane, a Chinese Starro, and a Chinese Amanda Waller.

Aside from it being set in China and featuring Chinese people this is your run-of-the-mill superhero comic - Gene Luen Yang is doing nothing original nor making a convincing case for why there should be Chinese superhero comics. It’s certainly not entertaining to read!

But the non-blatantly derivative characters are even worse. The villain of the book is called Human Firecracker with a henchman called Folding Paper Man. At least I think they were on the same side - there are way too many groups rolling around this wreck! I get that the Justice League of China are the heroes, but how about the Ministry of Self-Reliance or the Great Ten or the Freedom Fighters of China? I think the first two are “good” even though they fight the JLC - that’s superhero comics for you - but I’m not sure. Gene Luen Yang overstuffs the book with far too many characters to make a coherent story.

Yang’s other Superman books have been mediocre at best but I hoped, given how his other Chinese-centric comics are so good, that his Chinese Super-Man would be good too - and it really wasn’t. Chinese knockoffs are usually inferior to the original but it’s about the same quality as the rest of the current Superman line these days: utter dogshit. Awful, boring stuff - don’t do it!

Cocky, arrogant, and has a mean bite to him Kong Kenan is the new Superman on a team of new Chinese superheroes meant to be the equivalent of the justice league. Maybe some people will enjoy Kenan, but I can't say I did. I will definitely try volume 2 before coming to a final decision but right now this isn't among the top rebirth titles I'd suggest.

Although I overall enjoy the idea of the Chinese government using science to make their own Superman, I felt like there were a lot of holes in this story. The reasoning for selecting the protagonist to be this Superman felt really weak to me, and I would have liked the Chinese Justice League to have been more distinctly Chinese instead of essentially just being knock-offs of the American League's main players. There was a lot of interesting aspects to the story that make me interested to see what happens next, though, and that definitely says a lot about a story.

I am generally a Marvel fan, but I am always on the lookout for new comic titles to add to my library collection, and I like Gene Yang's work, so I snapped this up. I found it completely charming. Kenan is a funny, relatable main character, and this was a great origin story. The dialogue was sharp and witty, and I liked how Yang poked fun at genre conventions, but still made the story accessible to readers (like me) who might not be familiar with the intricacies of DC continuity. I will definitely be purchasing this for my library and talking it up to students.