With so many books and articles on the topic of modern China, one trying to understand this complex country can almost get lost in the sea of competing words. China is not easy to describe, with so many old stereotypes mingling with constant change. Photography and film help to fill the gap, but there is also an under-appreciated medium for capturing and articulating the actual experience of being in China – comics, or graphic novels or other forms of sequential story-telling. As someone currently working on a comic about China, I am curious about how the country and culture has been depicted by others. Here I have looked at three such books* – a memoir, a biography, and fictional story, all written and illustrated by non-Chinese artists, like myself.

SHENZHEN by Guy Delisle

Shenzhen is structured around French-Canadian Guy Delisle’s stint as an adviser for an animation project in the southern city of that name. A few decades ago Shenzhen was essentially nothing but a village, but during the 1980s it was designated a special economic zone and has since exploded into one of the largest and most dynamic cities in China. Delisle shows the city in the 90′s, still fairly early on in its development, though already a hectic boom-town. Clearly labeled a travelogue, the book progresses mainly through anecdotes, with some full-page pictures helping to break up the story. He attempts some insight into the chaotic place but doesn’t take it very far – a few comments about life under communism versus life in the West, which seem odd in a book about one of the freer, less restricted places in the country.

Despite its lack of cultural insight, Shenzhen offers an accurate image, with much thanks to the grainy, gray tones of quick pencil. The comic facilitates the expression of abstract ideas and allows things to be broken up into parts, such as a description of the process of making street popcorn. Readers familiar with being in China will not be too surprised by Delisle’s observations, however, most of which are common to all foreigners, but they might find a kind of delight at seeing them laid out in panels.

MAO FOR BEGINNERS by Rius & Friends

Mao For Beginners, drawn and put together by Mexican comic Ruis, is one of the strangest things I’ve ever read. While at first look it appears to be a simplified, somewhat amusing history of modern China and its biggest icon, Mao Zedong, it slowly unfolds into a bizarre one-sided celebration of the chairman and all his disastrous campaigns. I found myself wondering if there was some ironic undertone I was not fully understanding. Here are some of the glaring omissions: any mention of the massive number of deaths during the Great Leap Forward, any serious mention of the extreme destruction and shamefulness of the Cultural Revolution, and any real objectivity. Chiang Kai-shek is portrayed as pure monster, while Mao comes out as hero – a peculiar take by a foreigner. Perhaps some of the book’s oddness could be attributed to its time of publication, 1980, when less was known about the decades of pain under Mao. But that can’t explain it all.

The illustrations are mostly fast scribbles; mashed up alongside old photography and artwork, the drawings add little. Cartoon characters provide mostly unhelpful comments and rhetorical questions from the sides, leaving the real work to the text and other images. The silly, detached style and tone are often undermined by a pro-socialist voice, which might be fine if it took a more objective look at the history. The book as a whole is inconsistent and misleading, not at all what I would hope for an overview for “beginners.” Wikipedia is probably a better option.

THE BLUE LOTUS (THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN) by Hergé

In Hergé’s cleanly executed depiction of China we see a fairly typical image of WWII-era Shanghai: red lanterns, painted characters on the walls, rickshaws, skinny Chinese citizens. At times the more scenic shots resemble the style of traditional Chinese landscapes. As for the people, his characterizations clearly demonize the Japanese occupiers (as well as most of the Westerners); one of the Japanese, the main villain of the story, is distinguishable by a profound pig nose and buckteeth. He is somewhat more respectful of his Chinese characters, drawn stereotypically but with dignity (more than the Japanese, anyhow).

The plot of The Blue Lotus is silly and repetitive, with the irrepressible Tintin and his dog, Snowy, bouncing back and forth between troubles and narrowly avoided death and imprisonment again and again. In the process of solving a web of international crime, Tintin visits an opium den, dresses in traditional clothes, hijacks a tank, raises hell in the international settlement, and treks through the Chinese countryside. Hergé’s ending offers an alternative outcome to history, with the Japanese shamefully admitting their mistakes and peaceably withdrawing from the country.

All three are available through BetterWorldBooks.com (you can also arrive there by clicking any of the titles or covers above), which happens to offer free shipping for all international orders, including to China.

*Note: I realize that this is only three examples of many. If you know of any other graphic novels or comics, please leave a comment with the title. In the future I plan to look at different categories, including books about China by Chinese-Americans and books by Chinese nationals (漫画/mànhuà, 连环画/liánhuánhuà, and other styles). My knowledge is very limited with regard to the latter, so any recommendations would be appreciated.