“Nanjing: The Burning City” and “The Battles of Bridget Lee” creator Ethan Young turns his attentions to the realm of high fantasy in his latest graphic novel, “The Dragon Path” (published by Scholastic Graphix). Unsurprisingly, it’s a beautifully illustrated hero’s journey, that successfully combines the scope and worldbuilding of western fantasy works, with the steampunk sensibilities of East Asian sci-fi.
Created by Ethan YoungCover by Ethan Young
Colored by Fernando ArgüelloIn this action-adventure fantasy, young Prince Sing must overcome monstrous obstacles to help his clan return to their homeland. The Wong Clan must leave their ruined homeland for a better life in the mythical Old Land, but to get there they must follow the dragon path, where their sworn enemies, the Dragon Tribe, rule. During a surprise attack, Prince Sing is separated from his clan. With the help of Ming, a powerful mystic from the Old Land, and Midnight, a monstrous warrior beast, Prince Sing must do all he can to save both his family and the Dragon Tribe from mutual destruction.
Young is simply an incredible artist, whose expressive and dynamic work is filled with so many lines of details that it seems like it was etched and carved out of woodwork. It can so tactile and earthy, that you may start to imagine yourself touching the rocks, the bark on the trees, or smelling the leaves and grass, and the metal tiles. He particularly gets to show off his eye for great texture during the segments establishing this world’s backstory, which are rendered entirely with inked hatching against a blazing orange background.
His lettering is fantastic as well: it’s written in beautiful flowing lines, that bring to mind Thai or Chinese calligraphy, but they are still easy to read. Intriguingly, the diameter of the text is always smaller of that of the speech bubble, adding to the sense that this is an old recorded saga in spite of some of its modern trappings. The sound effects feel incredibly authentic as well: they’re always rendered as white, like clouds, reflecting how they’re invisible objects in the air, and as a result the effects in other comics now really look like random, giant graffiti.
The book’s world is strongly reminiscent of Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki, and “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama: instead of riding on horseback or carriage, Prince Sing’s tribe travel on bulbous vehicles similar to the cars from Toriyama’s universe, and covered in nuts and bolts that evoke Miyazaki’s fascination with World War II era aircraft and machinery. This anachronistic aesthetic suits the turn-of-the-century Chinese atmosphere perfectly: Sing’s family wear ornate clothes and armor worthy of the wealthiest nobles, while the rest of the clan wear parkas and cowboy hats, as if they were ready to move to America.
Miyazaki’s influence is also keenly felt with the design of Midnight, Ming’s feline warrior beast, who, instead of resembling a Chinese guard dog/lion or tiger, looks like a giant black-and-white cat with a horn. This disarmingly cute appearance makes a surprising amount of sense, lending Midnight a sense of weight and heft that’s somehow lacking from the real world’s big cats (not to mention it endears the character to us a lot faster). Midnight is a formidable creature to behold, as beautiful as their name implies, and like the Dragon Tribe, a strong reminder of the book’s theme that not everything is as it seems.
This is a coming-of-age story, and Sing’s “path” is a refreshing one for several reasons: firstly, there’s a lot of emphasis on his relationship with his entire family, particularly his deceased mother, and not just his father. Secondly, he’s an Asian protagonist whose arc doesn’t revolve around martial arts, and becoming strong enough to beat the villain in a fight. Young’s book is instead about a boy discovering the world is far more complex, and murkier than he thought, as the whole history of the Wong Clan, Old Land, and Ming’s order of mystics is gradually revealed, and no one emerges looking particularly great.
This is, in many ways, only a story a Chinese American author could tell: the parallels with China’s history are pretty plain to see, as we learn why the Wong Clan were banished from Old Land, but are also left unable to condone the extreme response of their enemies. The American side of AAPI heritage is particularly felt with the Dragon Tribe, a proud people whose history brings to mind the displacement and genocide of Native Americans: just as the Wong Clan reckons with their history with the Dragon Tribe, it seems Asian Americans (or any Asians anywhere, really) need to acknowledge how they also benefit (however small) from their country’s violent history.
All in all, “The Dragon Path” is an epic tale that should leave kids and parents alike reflecting on its moral messages. For now, it’s a gorgeous standalone story about people learning from their dark history, but hopefully this is only the start of Sing’s cycle: it’s certainly left me eager to see if or how his story continues.
