He’s been making comics for a while and no one deserved this honor more than him. Jerry Craft for breaking a literary barrier for comics and telling a story that needed to be told, with charm and wisdom.Jerry Craft for his New Kid, the first graphic novel to win the Newbery (and the Coretta Scott King award and the Kirkus Award).An honest story about how a Black student adapting to a new school without a lot of diversity, it was a tale that resonated with all readers. Jerry Craft reached a new height for comics when his book New Kid won the Newbery Award – the first win ever for a graphic novel. In a year when America finally began to confront its racial biases, two comics veterans produced work that helped shine a light on where we needed to go. While Yang was the winner, many, many others made an impact in 2020, and here they are: THE VETERANS Between Dragon Hoops, a hell of an achievement, and Superman Smashes the Klan, he’s somehow operating from the past, dominating the present, and representing the future at the same time. Let’s focus on the happy and say Gene Luen Yang.He also did a clever and fun promo via Instagram for DRAGON HOOPS where he drew himself talking about the book and drew fans asking questions. He had 2 big successful, award winning and awesome books out in 2020 (DRAGON HOOPS & SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN) as well as his new take on Shang-Chi with Marvel.Gene Yang for releasing not one, but two, of the best books of the year, Dragon Hoops and Superman Smashes the Klan (with art by the consistently fantastic Gurihiru).Not only is it a great story, it touches on social issues from the past that still plague our country today. SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN, illustrated by Gurihiru, is my favorite graphic novel of the year. TWO major graphic novels in one year – that’s amazing. The comics community is the best.”Īnd our voters agreed – all comments solicited and excerpted anonymously. Throughout the year, I turned to the comics of my peers for hope, insight, and some much-needed distraction. Reached for comment Yang told The Beat: “I’m deeply, deeply grateful to be recognized by the comics industry in this way. Like all of Yang’s work, they are both multilayered, thoughtful books that reward rereading and both won Harvey Awards. Dragon Hoops mixed the familiar tale of an underdog sports team with more personal insights. For 2020, Yang presented two books of wildly different origins but each outstanding: Superman Smashes the Klan was a timely melding of Superman’s legacy and subtext and Yang’s frequent semi-autobiography that addressed how we want to deal with racism…and how we actually deal with it. In January 2016, the Library of Congress, Every Child A Reader, and the Children’s Book Council appointed me the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.Yang won previously in 2016 (along with the March team) – that year his accomplishments included being named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and winning a MacArthur Grant. I teach alongside amazing authors like Anne Ursu, Gary Schmidt, Laura Ruby, Matt De La Pena, and more. In addition cartooning, I teach creative writing through Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. I’ve done a number of other comics, including Dark Horse Comics’ continuation of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender and DC Comics’ Superman! Boxers & Saints was nominated for a National Book Award and won the L.A. In 2013, First Second Books released Boxers & Saints, my two-volume graphic novel about the Boxer Rebellion. It also won an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album – New. It became the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award. In 2006, my book American Born Chinese was published by First Second Books. Thanks for visiting my site! I began making comics and graphic novels in the fifth grade.
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