Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology

This second anthology of comics by Asian-American creators focuses on genres from science fiction to fantasy, superhero to historical, slice-of-life and more—a few stories stand out, and a prologue and epilogue tie some of the individual stories together, but the overall quality is uneven. Contributors include such mainstream mainstays as Cliff Chiang, Larry Hama, Sonny Liew, and Sean Chen. The more polished pieces are often a five-to-10-page introduction to a setting and new characters rather than a complete story with an ending.The variety of styles of art is impressive, with some influenced by American comics from all eras of the 20th century, some more evocative of manga, and some more cartoonish. Overall, the impression is more of a collection of portfolio pieces than a tightly edited anthology despite the talent on display. (Nov.)