People never know what they signed up for at a panel they attended at Comic-Con. Some panels repeat mind-numbingly boring content. Some of the group members lacked chemistry or enthusiasm, resulting in a lot of pain and little gain over long agonizing hours. Others bring infectious chemistry, enthusiasm and comedic gravitas to the plate. At San Diego Comic-Con on July 27, 2024, “Inheritance and Legacies: Nonfiction Comics” ticked all of these boxes, and a handful of attendees enjoyed a time of conversation filled with friendship, community, and culture.
Yang Ji’en (Lunar New Year Love Story) hosted a fun group that included friends Briana Lovinson (ephemera), newly crowned Eisner Award winner Fan Tian (Family Style: Memories of Vietnamese Americans), and the new kids, maria rose mary (Cook Like Your Ancestors: An Illustrated Guide to Intuitive Cooking, Featuring Recipes from Around the World). Young called Lowenson’s book “shocking” and Marie’s book “compelling,” much to the undue chagrin of Pham, who found “delicious” to be disappointed by the glowing praise his panelists received.
Young asked the panelists to discuss a common theme across the three books—the people who came before them (the families) and how the stories reflected their relationships.
Mary’s book collects recipes from around the world and compiles ancestral cooking recipes that the contemporary generation can replicate, and she talks about the fear of taking these classic recipes and adapting the ingredients to suit modern tastes. One example Mary discusses is the vegetarian version of pho ga, or chicken pho. The friend who provided this recipe is a home cook and has posted this recipe before. Mary sought confirmation from her friend’s mother, who burst into tears.
“Her reaction was representative of others. “I really appreciate your perspective on the recipe and the history of the recipe, especially, she said it was from her own material, but the recipe is similar. “As long as people feel respected and represented,” Mary said.
Van was determined to hate the chickenless pho recipe because “there’s no chicken in the chicken,” but to his surprise and amazement, he ended up liking the recipe, as did his mother, who privately quipped that Van might want to reconsider His recipes.
Despite Van’s success as a cartoonist, his parents insisted that he keep a day job, even though they believed he was the best cartoonist in the world. But Fan’s mother wasn’t too keen on his idea for a sequel.
“I had this idea for a sequel. I went back to Vietnam and it was the exact opposite family style“I didn’t come to the United States from Vietnam, but I went back to Vietnam to experience the food and culture,” Pham said. “I told my mom about it and she said, ‘I can’t wait,’ and the next thing I knew, they were planning a whole family trip!
What made me want to go back to Vietnam was that my mom told me that we still had the same house where I grew up before coming to the United States. That inspired me and I thought, I need to go there and see where I grew up. Then, before we had a chance to go back, it was COVID time and unfortunately, my grandma passed away. leave. Now, I love my grandma. I was so sad that she passed away. She is 98 years old. This will sell some books. So, I took this to my mom, but my mom said, no one wants this. We don’t do that; these people don’t scatter ashes. But yeah, my family is ecstatic and very excited about the book.
Like Fan, Lowenson’s parents supported her artistic ambitions but were happy for her to keep a day job “just teaching comics with these clowns.” However, Lowenson’s work was hampered by her mother’s mental illness. affected.
“If you’ve ever dealt with someone with mental illness, it can be a very complex relationship, sometimes it’s like your deepest love and sometimes it’s your biggest monster. There was no way I could have written before she passed away story, because I was so scared of what she would think. But since she was gone, I really felt the need to write a story about us. Every time I draw her portrait, I do. Almost sick to my stomach because she is such a horrible person.
then what i did ephemera I took it completely out of touch with reality. It doesn’t look like me. This doesn’t look like where I live. As far as I could tell, all I did was try to feel what it was like to have her as a mother, with very few words. If you notice, the words were actually directed at her, so I spoke to her in the book and tried to communicate with her. I tried to be very honest about how I felt at the end of the book, wrestling with these two very strong feelings I had for her. So, I hope her ghost who follows me will be pleased with this book.
Young draws important conclusions from these stories, which emphasize community over individualism, which goes against the comic’s overall theme of individuals finding their own strength and making their way in the world.
“That’s a very good question,” Fan said, somewhat sarcastically. “Like, I’m impressed with that.”
Then in his answer, Fan explained his need to always find community while in high school and creating comics. Pham discovered the community in Yang, Loewinsohn, Jason Shiga and Derek Kirk King. The community provides Fan with inspiration and support for his writing family style.
“I reread the book and I realized that every step, every chapter, is not just about one food and something. Every chapter is about a different community that I’m a part of. I need this in my life,” Fan said .
“When you’re a refugee and you’re in a refugee camp, you need that community. When you come to the United States, you go to a community that you need. When we first came here, we were all latchkey kids. .In kindergarten, my brother and I were home alone from school until about eight o’clock in the evening, so this community was what kept us alive, and then when my parents came home, they would check on us. All the other kids. So, when I was growing up, we needed that community. That’s why I always needed that community. I just felt safer when people were around me. I’m a super extrovert. I need that energy.
Mary, who had no relationship with her parents, found the process of collecting recipes soothing.
“I hope this book completely invites you to make your own connection to a place, and it’s a way for me to tell them something,” Mary said.
Lowenson’s exploration of community emerged from different situations. Left to her own devices for much of her childhood, with her family “all living parallel lives in separate spaces,” Lowensohn spent a lot of time alone developing her art. Art led to a connection with the comics world. It’s the community that keeps her going.
The conversation then turns to the use of metaphors, such as gardening (Loewinsohn) and food (Marie, Pham), as stand-ins for human relationships. Loewinsohn emphasized the importance of creating art that people love and that plants represent life. She described her attempt to create an atmosphere similar to the dramatic opening of the film adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier. Rebecca.
“it [the film] The narrator says “Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again” and then a door opens in the house and mist flows through these gardens. what is this for me ephemera yes. It’s like you’re entering memory. I think the same goes for plants. So, we used plants to show that my mom didn’t give me enough love. Then you realize that the juxtaposition of those two things is much more interesting than just looking at the direct image.
Fan uses food as a surrogate for human emotions simply because emotions are harder to write about than food.
“I’m like a boy, so I can’t really process connections clearly,” Fan said. “I had to deal with metaphors, so that’s it. Even though it’s a food, that’s what happened in that chapter. I had a chapter about being a kid from Vietnam and fitting into American life. So, I chose Talk about my experience with Salisbury Steak. When we first came to the US, I went to school and we had a free lunch program and that was the only thing we ate most of the time. Salisbury steak, I thought, This is disgusting. Ultimately, I love Salisbury steak. That’s my metaphor for being American.
Finally, the three discussed upcoming projects, with Loewinsohn anticipating the release of Raising by Ghosts and Marie’s children’s book in early 2025, with Random House publishing in 2027.Illustrated, the author of the novel is Steve Sheinkin. But then Fan teased a new project, earning applause from the audience but Yang’s skepticism.
“Are you ready? Thien Pham, Gene Yang and Briana Loewinsohn are publishing a book together.
“No! Dude, you say, let’s think about it,” Yang protested. “This is not something we want to announce on the panel!”
So ended the three friends’ panel, where old-fashioned quips, offbeat humor, and friendship combined to provide a fascinating respite from the craziness of Comic-Con.
Please pay attention for more SDCC ’24 The Beat reports.
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