Asian Identity Is Multifaceted In Marvel Voices: Identity #1

Marvel Voices is a comic book anthology series that is inspired by the podcast series Voices of Marvel hosted by Angélique Roché. Both media discuss diverse comic book characters and creators, but the comic book anthology series takes it a step further by giving certain characters a chance to shine in their own stories. In the latest entry to the series, Marvel centers Asian characters and creators.

This installment begins with a moving introduction by Isabel Hsu, Taiwanese senior manager of Marvel video games. She discusses her personal history with comic books, Marvel Comics and the impact of newer Asian characters on herself and others.

Afterwards, there is a comic story titled “Secrets”, featuring the characters Shang-Chi and Jimmy Woo. It is written by Pornsak Pichetshote with art by Crees Lee, colors by Bryan Valenza and lettering done by VC’s Travis Lanham. Shang-Chi and Jimmy Woo infiltrate a racist gladiator ring run by William Cross and speak aloud some hidden thoughts while under the influence of an aggression heightening drug. 

These hidden thoughts interrogate the difference in values between Chinese and Chinese Americans and are communicated through action and conversation.  The action is a highlight not only due to the fighting styles of each character and the art, but also the colors and lettering. The colors of each panel’s background change as the two trade blows, heightening the action. Woo’s inner monologue has green speech bubbles and black text that compliment Shang-Chi’s spoken black-and-white speech bubbles. The emotional impact of each character’s words is heightened through the use of bold text and italics.

Following “Secrets” is the story “Fool Me Twice”, which is created by writer Sabir Pirzada

artist Eric Koda, colorist Brian Reber and letterer Travis Lanham. Centered on the characters Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel), Kamaran, and Shang-Chi, the story has Kamala’s ex-crush Kamaran attempting to manipulate Kamala with words that leverage their shared identity as Pakistani Americans. 

Once Shang-Chi comes into the picture, the story examines what happens when you deal with toxic people who share your identity and keep trying to come into your life. This is notable because both Shang-Chi and Kamala Khan have different identities as Asians but have similar experiences with crappy family members who have harmed them. It’s relatable to me as a Black-Asian person who has dealt with a situation similar to this and commiserates with other Asian people. 

Not only is the story itself poignant, but the artwork is good as well. A notable image is that of Ms. Marvel reflected in Kamaran’s blue, glassy face. It conveys body language and panels in various layouts. One page has their conversation in a 3×3 panels that features headshots & angles that focus on hands.

Serving as a breather after “Fool Me Twice” is Angélique Roché’s interview with comic book letterer Janice Chiang. It discusses Chiang’s career, how she got her start and how her comic book interests and personal life influenced her career. Not only is it fascinating, but has the potential to pique the interest of anyone who may want to work as a comic book letterer.

Following the interview is the story titled “The Primeval Paradox”, which is written by Jeremy Holt, drawn by Kei Zama colored by Irma Knivila, and lettered by Travis Lanham. Starring Mantis, it features her confronting a shape-shifting root being that morphs into various people from her past including her father Libra, her uncle Kruul, her husband Swordsman, Thanos and her son Quoi.

Since my only exposure to Mantis was the submissive Asian depiction of her in the movie Guardians of The Galaxy 2, it felt satisfying to see her written as a fully fleshed out character with humanity. By confronting the shadows of her past, we get a glimpse of the various roles she has taken on: daughter, mother and hero. 

In addition to Mantis’ character development, the artwork is great. The character design for the shapeshifting root organism feels like a metaphor for Mantis’ own personal roots. Moreover, the threatening nature of the root organism is displayed in eye-catching sound effects that go “Tha-Thoom!” as well as the colors of the panels background.

Last but not least is “While You Were Out” and is created by writer Emily Kim, artist Rickie Yagawa, colorist Sebastian Cheng and letterer Travis Lanham. While Doctor Strange is away, his companion Wong has a pretty eventful day involving cleaning with a spectral dog, buying girl scout cookies and fighting an unexpected threat.

Out of all the stories in this issue, this one is the most humorous, and it comes across in all aspects of the comic. The art seemed literally magical in some places, particularly with the glowing colors of a magical quill and Bats the spectral dog. There is also a good use of 3 x 3 panels that comically display the persistence of the girl scout as she keeps knocking on the door of the Sanctum with different items for sale. Even the lettering has a sense of humor that shows the passage of time with white text in black boxes that read “Later” and “Even Later 2.0”.

While this was a good collection of stories, it would’ve been nice to see a wider selection of characters used, especially since Asian Pacific Islanders are pretty overlooked, and characters like Filipino superhero Wave don’t get a chance to shine often. Regardless, I enjoyed reading this issue. With heroes new and old, it showed how multi-faceted Asian identity and experiences are with stories of honesty, humor and heart.

Latonya Pennington

Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.