An Evening with Gene Luen Yang at the Coolidge Corner Theatre

by | posted in: Events, In Real Life, Inspiration, It's Cultural Yo, On Asia America, On Comics and Such | 0

When I learned that Gene Luen Yang would be making a stop in my neck of the woods, you best believe I jumped on getting tickets early on. He is my hero and Brookline Booksmith hosted the event at the Coolidge Corner Theatre with a book signing after the talk back at the shop.

The weather sucked. It was super gloomy, dark and torrential downpours filled the entire day, but I didn’t care. Nothing was going to rain on this parade.

So, with the Mister, we listened to the famed graphic novelist and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature talked about how comics influenced him as a kid growing up and discussed Reading Without Walls – a new challenge for young readers designed to test their limits and expand their horizons…which we may take up as well.

An Evening with Gene Luen Yang at the Coolidge Corner Theatre | EMPTYBAMBOOGIRL by Lillian Lee

Let us all embrace our nerd. It was truly an inspirational talk – one that I needed to hear.

 

An Evening with Gene Luen Yang at the Coolidge Corner Theatre | EMPTYBAMBOOGIRL by Lillian Lee

Me being super creepy as the excitement built as I got closer and closer to my comic creator hero. FYI I tried stalking him at San Diego Comic Con many years ago, but failed.

 

An Evening with Gene Luen Yang at the Coolidge Corner Theatre | EMPTYBAMBOOGIRL by Lillian Lee

I was so nervous that I just became a super, awkward loser in front of him. Words started tripping out of my mouth about how he’s inspired my work…that I work on my own comic too. Ahhhh! But, no matter. This meeting meant the world to me. So thank you Gene Luen Yang for your work and inspiring words.

The Asian Flush in Full Effect. “Fresh Off the Boat” Tackles This…Issue

by | posted in: It's Cultural Yo, On Comics and Such | 0

Bwahahaha 😂

I posted an EBG comic strip about this tragic phenomenon a few years back. Am I plagued by this? Most certainly. Do I care? No.

 

The Asian Flush | EMPTYBAMBOOGIRL by LILLIAN LEE

Meeting Bill Amend of Fox Trot at PAX East 2017

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Bill Amend of Fox Trot and me at PAX East 2017 | EMPTYBAMBOOGIRL by Lillian Lee

I met my cartoonist / comic strip / comic art hero Bill Amend of Fox Trot last Sunday at PAX East. I knew I had a mission when I saw his tweet in my feed the day before the show:

It was the only thing I was looking forward to at PAX East to be honest. And there he was, sitting at his table as I made it past the metal detectors and security.

Bill Amend of Fox Trot and me at PAX East 2017 | EMPTYBAMBOOGIRL by Lillian Lee

I picked up one of the two pins he was selling – Quincy for the win! Of course, I asked him to sign it for me.

I told him how much I loved his work and how much he’s inspired my comic work. Right afterward, I ran away ‘cuz that’s how I do.

To read more about my day at PAX East, check out: Video games, video games and…my hero, Bill Amend! PAX East 2017!

A Toisanese Bowl of Joy

by | posted in: It's Cultural Yo, Live To Eat, The Sketchbook | 0

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It was some sort of Chinese winter holiday yesterday and there’s a special dish that’s usually served to celebrate it according to my folks. My mum didn’t make it, but she is making it today and it hales from my dad’s village of Toison/Taishan.

The star of this soup bowl of joy are the handmade rice noodles/dumplings. They’re referred to as noodles, but they’re heartier – gnocchi-esque.

It’s a dish my mum learned to make when she came over to the states. Our neighborhood had a few families from my dad’s village and so they taught her.

The soup is made with pork, dried shrimp and winter melon with some napa cabbage.

Dinner can’t come soon enough tonite.

New Comics Reading List for February 2016

by | posted in: On Comics and Such | 0

EMPTYBAMBOOGIRL by LILLIAN CHAN

I took a year sabbatical from current comic book reading. I was — and still am — reading Harry Potter for the first time. I know, I know. I’m always late to the party.

But, I’ve returned.

The titles I’m reading are:

  • Silk: continuing the series because I really enjoyed it.
  • Batman & Robin Eternal: starting at issue 13 because…CASSANDRA CAIN!!! and, that cover!
  • Velvet: again, continuing the series because it kicks ass
  • Hulk: I liked the character of Amadeus Cho and it’d be interesting to see how he is as Hulk

I’m limiting myself to four this time around just so it doesn’t get out of hand 🙂

It was great popping into my fave comic book shop and getting a, “Welcome back stranger!” greeting.

Also, I’ve got a story line planned for Empty Bamboo Girl. I think it’s gonna be fun to do so stay tuned!

What’s Happening to Chinatown? via Universalhub

by | posted in: EBG Weekly Comic, On Asia America | 0

EMPTY BAMBOO GIRL by LILLIAN CHANI sent a tweet to Universalhub with my comic “Chinatown Changes” a few weeks back. Writer sent me a tweet back and wanted to chat some more about it for a piece she was writing about what’s been happening with Chinatown.

It’s been nearly a month since Maxim’s Coffee House served its last drop of hot coffee, its famous bun pastries flying off the shelves before the local bakery lost its lease and was forced to close its doors after 33 years in Chinatown. Yet artist Lillian Chan still finds sadness as she walks past the shuttered windows of the “iconic landmark” on the corner of Beach Street and Harrison Avenue. And neither she, nor the bakery, are alone.

As Chinatown’s development spikes with high-rise luxury apartments and new commercial chains surrounding the ethnic neighborhood, many residents, visitors and small business owners are wondering one thing: what’s happening to Chinatown?

“Just visually it’s kind of jarring to see all of these high-rise building structures popping up around Chinatown,” said Chan, a Boston resident who visits the neighborhood weekly. “It feels like it’s just closing in on it.”

Read the full article.

 

Mockingbird: S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary (2015) Issue 1 PLUS Sneak Peek of “Forever Red!”

by | posted in: On Comics and Such | 0

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Mockingbird (2015) Issue 1: Variant Cover

 

My initial introduction to Mockingbird was via Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC and even then I only knew that the character’s name was Bobbi and that she was tough as steel. Did she have super powers? I didn’t know and didn’t really explore further. Shame on me.

But while noodling around Rubber Chicken Comics, a local comic book shop outin western MA, I saw issue 1 for Mockingbird. I wasn’t crazy about the variant cover which was the only one available, but I picked it up and read through a couple pages. That’s all it took to get me hooked.

She just came across smart, boss, and kickass.

An added bonus to the comic book? Getting a sneak peek into the upcoming YA novel Black Widow: Forever Red, which I am most definitely looking forward to reading.

Mockingbird has always been one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s best agents, but what happens when someone close to her is murdered? Forced to take matters into her own hands, someone is bound to pay! New York Times Bestselling Author Chelsea Cain joins the Marvel Universe to tell a story of bloody revenge! Plus! A special bonus story by superstar young adult author, Margaret Stohl (Beautiful Creatures), writer for the upcoming YA novel, Black Widow: Forever Red! READ MORE

Lois Lane: Fallout. A novel by Gwenda Bond. What?!

by | posted in: On Comics and Such | 0

Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bona

 

When did DC Comics get into Young Adult Fiction? Am I late to the party again? It doesn’t matter because it’s a fantastic idea!

I’ve never been much of a Lois Lane fan. She always seemed one-dimensional to me — just all about the story rah-rah-rah and always needed to be saved by Superman. Can we please erase the Henry Cavill Superman movie Man of Steel (2013) from our brains, please? Just bringing that up gives me the shivers.

Anyhow, I gave a couple pages of Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond a try and before you know it I was hooked. I kept turning the pages and didn’t stop until 2AM when I finished it.

Lois Lane is still all about the story but she’s more fleshed out. There’s a reason why she’s so dogged — her upbringing as an army brat and making things right with her friends. She’s plucky and strong. She doesn’t need saving…just help sometimes.

And Superman? Oh, he’s in there but we never get to actually meet him even though he’s a significant part of Lois’ life. I love how he’s weaved into the story.

Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis. An Army brat, Lois has lived all over—and seen all kinds of things. (Some of them defy explanation, like the near-disaster she witnessed in Kansas in the middle of one night.) But now her family is putting down roots in the big city, and Lois is determined to fit in. Stay quiet. Fly straight.

 

As soon as she steps into her new high school, though, she can see it won’t be that easy. A group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They’re messing with her mind, somehow, via the high-tech immersive videogame they all play. Not cool. Armed with her wit and her new snazzy job as a reporter, Lois has her sights set on solving this mystery. But sometimes it’s all a bit much. Thank goodness for her maybe-more-than-a friend, a guy she knows only by his screenname, SmallvilleGuy…READ MORE

I can’t wait to find other DC Comics and Marvel Comics novels. Word on the street is that there will be a Black Widow novel coming out in Oct 2015 called Forever Red! I will be for sure all on that!