While the job satisfied him professionally, it did not directly nurture the comic-book-making habit he’d picked up as a kid -- nor did the daily obligations of employment entirely suppress it. Yang still wanted to make comics. But now he had less time to do it. His solution was just to work harder, and while most comic geeks have read Yang’s breakthrough work American Born Chinese, very few know that it, like most of the work to preceding it, was written around the margins of Yang’s academic work schedule -- early in the morning or late at night.

It’s safe to say that Yang’s most recent multi-volume graphic novel Boxers and Saints, which got named as a finalist for the National Book Award, is what finally pushed him into the mainstream - or at least gave booksellers across the country the impetus to pluck his books from the graphic novel section and lay them alongside other mainstream fiction. In it Yang explores themes common to many of his pieces: identity, family, faith, and the inherent promise (and tension) that emerges when different cultures attempt to occupy the same space.

Just recently, Yang chatted with LBP about his career, and memories associated with his comic book collection.

LBP: Tell me about the comics you read when you were growing up, specifically any titles that you felt passionate about.

I started collecting comics in the fifth grade. Back then, most of the comics available were superhero comics, so that's what I read. I was a Marvel guy because I thought DC was kind of silly, with their lads and lasses. The exception was their Justice League stuff. This was the J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen run, where things were intentionally, brilliantly silly.

As I got older, I discovered comics outside the superhero genre. I loved Jeff Smith's Bone, Lynda Barry's One Hundred Demons, Art Spiegelman's Maus. Those books really demonstrated to me the storytelling potential of comics.

In the past you’ve spoken about your belief that superhero comics, with its focus on dual identities and characters who must negotiate different worlds is uniquely equipped to speak to readers familiar with the immigration experience. I’d love to hear what life experiences you’ve had that’s helped shape this belief.

I grew up between two cultures. I spoke one language at home, another at school. I had one name at home, another at school. I had to figure out two different sets of cultural expectations.

As an adult, I look back on my childhood and wonder if that's why I was so drawn to superhero comics. Almost all the big, mainstream superhero characters were created by the children of immigrants. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Stan and Steve Ditko created Spider-man. Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel created Superman. Bill Finger and Bob Kane created Batman. Every last one of them had immigrant parents. They may not have been conscious of this, but I think the genre they established expresses something deep within their family histories. Each of their characters lives two different lives, has two different names, maintains two different personas. They have to figure out how to exist in a culture that doesn't completely understand them.

Speaking of your work, you’ve shared that when you first started making comics you were a discovery writer, but that as your career progressed you shifted towards outlining. Would you mind expanding on these two methods a bit?

Discovery writers make up stories as they go along. Their stories surprise them. When they're writing one chapter, they don't really know what's going to happen in the next chapter. I started my comics career as a discovery writer.

Outliners are the opposite. They outline their story first so they know all the major plot points before they start their first chapter. I'm now an outliner.

I switched from discovery writing to outlining because I kept writing myself into these corners. I find that outlining first helps me figure out what the themes of my story are. Often, my final story will deviate significantly from my outline, but having the outline gives me the confidence to move forward.

I should say, there are successful writers in both camps. A friend of mine, YA novelist Gary Schmidt, is a discovery writer. He's won the Newbery Honor and been nominated for the National Book Award. His stories a beautifully structured, despite the fact that he never knows what comes next while he's writing. I wish I could do what he does. I can't, so I outline.

We’ve already talked about the impact of the five-day a silent retreat had on you. How do you feel your faith has impacted the comics you produce?