The Good Asian Vol. 1 - The Library of the Uncommons

Published Jan. 5, 2021 by Image Comics.

ISBN:: 978-1-5343-2094-9

(1 review)

Following Edison Harki, a haunted, self-loathing Chinese-American detective on the trail of a killer in 1936 Chinatown, THE GOOD ASIAN is Chinatown noir starring the first generation of Americans to come of age under an immigration ban, the Chinese, as they're besieged by rampant murders, abusive police, and a world that seemingly never changes.

1 edition

Chad Jordahl reviewed The Good Asian Vol. 1 by Pornsak Pichetshote

Good noir historical fiction set in San Francisco in the 1930s

4 stars

Cool book, I liked it a lot. Interesting story and setting, good noir mystery. I had to read it closely sometimes, to slow down a bit, which I (usually) like. Good art, primarily Western style but with some manga-influenced details, especially for example the last panel of the first issue/chapter. There are some minor problems in both the writing and the art. In a few spots the characters are too quick to anger and insults, unbelievably so. And at least once it was obvious that the writer, Pornsak Pichetshote, had a morsel from his research that he really wanted to include and it didn't come off as seamlessly as he probably hoped. I liked most of the art but there was one detail that bothered me: the artist drew a hatch in a sidewalk with rigid handles sticking up from the doors, creating an obvious significant tripping hazard. I don't …

Cool book, I liked it a lot. Interesting story and setting, good noir mystery. I had to read it closely sometimes, to slow down a bit, which I (usually) like. Good art, primarily Western style but with some manga-influenced details, especially for example the last panel of the first issue/chapter. There are some minor problems in both the writing and the art. In a few spots the characters are too quick to anger and insults, unbelievably so. And at least once it was obvious that the writer, Pornsak Pichetshote, had a morsel from his research that he really wanted to include and it didn't come off as seamlessly as he probably hoped. I liked most of the art but there was one detail that bothered me: the artist drew a hatch in a sidewalk with rigid handles sticking up from the doors, creating an obvious significant tripping hazard. I don't understand why an artist would draw something like that. And then a few pages later the artist drew the same hatches with the handles at least twice as big as in the first drawings. Sure, overall quite minor, but I found it distracting.

I appreciated the pages of immigration history added at the end.