When the Cross Came to China

Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese was a remarkable graphic-novel debut blending Chinese history and mythology into a contemporary story about adolescent identity crisis, but Yang’s latest project flips that formula to bring a modern sensibility to a story of history of myth. Boxers and Saints (First Second) are two companion graphic novels detailing the Boxer Rebellion from two different angles; Boxers is an expansive story about one boy’s rise to a leadership role amongst the rebels, while Saints takes a look at how the conflict affects the life of a young girl who finds hope in Christianity. There’s no specific reading order, and the choice of which book is read first dramatically changes the context of the other. (Boxers spoils the ending of Saints, so I’d recommend reading Saints first.)