Next February, the superhero Shang-Chi will become part of the extended Marvel Studios film universe when “Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings” arrives in theaters. Before that, though, the character, a martial arts expert, will have a five-issue comic book series beginning in June from Marvel Entertainment.

The series will be written by Gene Luen Yang, a comic book writer and cartoonist making his Marvel debut. It will be drawn by Dike Ruan, for the present-day scenes, with Philip Tan drawing for the flashbacks. Yang is a prolific cartoonist whose most well-known work is perhaps “American Born Chinese,” which explores issues of identity. He was also named the national ambassador for young people’s literature in 2016 and won a MacArthur fellowship the same year.

Yang could not be more excited. “I mean, it’s Shang-Chi,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “He’s probably the most prominent Asian — I guess he’s Asian-American now since he’s moved over here — Asian-American superhero.”

When the slate of upcoming Marvel Studio films was announced last summer, the diversity was noted: an Asian lead, an openly L.G.B.T.Q. superhero and a hero with a disability were all part of the mix.