WOW.īoxers is told from the point of view of Little Bao, a young Chinese peasant who experiences the powerlessness of poverty and subsequent empowerment brought by his fight to free China from foreign influence. Although each volume could be read as a standalone, the reading experience is enriched when both volumes are read together – so I highly recommend getting both.

īoxers and Saints is a graphic novel in two volumes that tell the intertwined stories of two young people on different sides of the Boxer Rebellion in China at the end of the 19th century. I vaguely remembered seeing it connected to the National Book Award (it’s a finalist). Why did I read this book: This managed to escape our attention until we visited the publisher’s booth at NY Comic Con last week. Or maybe two stories, sort of one book? You decide. Stand alone or series: It’s one story, two books. Gene Luen Yang is rightly called a master of the comics form, and this book will cement that reputation. It offers a penetrating insight into not only one of the most controversial episodes of modern Chinese history, but into the very core of our human nature. As the Boxer Rebellion gains momentum, Vibiana must decide whether to abandon her Christian friends or to commit herself fully to Christianity.īoxers & Saints is one of the most ambitious graphic novels First Second has ever published. A girl whose village has no place for her is taken in by Christian missionaries and finds, for the first time, a home with them. Against all odds, their grass-roots rebellion is successful.īut in the second volume, Yang lays out the opposite side of the conflict. Little Bao, inspired by visions of the Chinese gods, joins a violent uprising against the Western interlopers. The first is of Little Bao, a Chinese peasant boy whose village is abused and plundered by Westerners claiming the role of missionaries. In two volumes, Boxers & Saints tells two parallel stories. One of the greatest comics storytellers alive brings all his formidable talents to bear in this astonishing new work. Genre: Historical, Fantasy, Graphic Novel

Boxer rebellion graphic novel