Chinese-American comic book artist Chu F. Hing’s The Green Turtle in Blazing Comics may have been the first Asian-American superhero.
The featured star of the short-lived title Blazing Comics from Rural Home Publications in 1944-1945, the Green Turtle was the creation of Chinese-American artist Chu F. Hing. The five-issue run of the character in Blazing Comics featured the Green Turtle’s adventures take place in China. It depicted the Chinese as heroes fighting against the Axis, a rarity in American comic books and the U.S. media in general during this period. Chu F. Hing’s work on this series is an underappreciated moment from the Golden Age of comic books. There are copies of Blazing Comics #2 and #4 featuring the Green Turtle up for auction in the 2023 April 16-18 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122316 at Heritage Auctions.
In 2014, cartoonist Gene Luen Yang revived the Green Turtle character in collaboration with Sonny Liew for the graphic novel The Shadow Hero. Yang’s research makes a compelling case in regards to Chu F. Hing’s intent for the character:
“When you look at [the] original pages [of the comic series], you kind of see this fight between Chu and his publisher,” says Yang, who also relied on graphic designer Alex Jay’s research on Chu’s background.
Rumor has it that the publisher thought a series about a superhero of Asian descent wouldn’t sell. Fear of the so-called “yellow peril” was alive and well as World War II raged on in the Pacific.
So the Green Turtle’s skin was colored a pinkish hue, unlike the light orange-y skin tone of the Chinese and Japanese characters. Still, readers never got a full look at the Green Turtle’s face in the original series, which always showed the superhero in a mask.
Yang elaborates on the matter in the afterword of The Shadow Hero:
[Chu] wants to unite East with West. The Green Turtle’s costume is typical of American superheroes of the time, yet it incorporates Chinese elements. Blazing Comics #4 begins with a phrase in Chinese: 美國及中華民國 (the United States united with the Chinese Republic). In that same issue, an American general fights alongside the Green Turtle’s team of Chinese guerrillas. In Blazing Comics #3, [Chu] presents us with an old proverb that expresses humanity’s connectedness: 四海一家 (four oceans, one family).
Chu F. Hing went on to a career at Timely/Marvel, among other publishers, and employed his artistic skills in other entrepreneurial endeavors. His creation of the Green Turtle during the Golden Age is a fascinating moment in American comic book history, and there are copies of Blazing Comics #2 and #4 featuring the Green Turtle up for auction in the 2023 April 16-18 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122316 at Heritage Auctions.
Affiliates of Bleeding Cool buy from and/or consign to Heritage Auctions.
Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!
