"My mom used to warn my brother and me to never argue while eating," Gene Yang says, musing on the inspiration for his new graphic novel
Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order. "Otherwise, the food would turn into insects in our bellies. I was convinced from an early age of the mystical powers of food."
Yang explored this theme in his previous graphic novel
Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, published earlier this year, but he uses it to explore more deeply into questions of faith in
Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order. The graphic novel, which will be released in December from AmazeInk comics, tells the story of a high school sophomore who discovers a way to visit other realms through what she eats before sleeping. On one of these sojourns, she meets a mysterious man named Saint Danger – a saint who has lost his faith – who has a plan to save humankind. Loyola must examine her own heart and what makes us better human beings – our intelligence, or our compassion?
"I wanted to delve into religion, evolution, and the concepts of strength and weakness," Yang said. "Religion, especially, is rarely talked about in comics in a realistic way. Comics that actually deal with faith as believed and lived by flesh and blood people are few and far between." He cited Craig Thompson's
Blankets as an example of a graphic novel that depicts faith realistically.
The world in which Gordon Yamamoto and Loyola Chin live, however, is not quite the world as we know it. Micronauts inhabit people's noses, televisions show visions of the future, and eating cornbread before bedtime can change a teenaged girl's life forever. "Derek Kirk Kim called
Gordon Yamamoto 'magical,' in his introduction to that book" said SLG Publishing editor-in-chief Jennifer de Guzman, "and that description fits
Loyola Chin just as well. It's a whimsical and charming book even while Gene is exploring some heady themes."
Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order, a 104-page graphic novel, will be published by AmazeInk Comics, the all-ages imprint of SLG Publishing, in December 2004. It is available for order now through Diamond Comic Distributors. A preview of
Loyola Chin is available at SLG Publishing's website,
www.slavelabor.com.
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