In Powerhouse Season 4 Episode 3 entitled “Honey, I Shrunk the Dudes”, the Roach returns to the guy’s pad with his homemade shrink ray gun. He zaps Tim, Rick, and Pedro so he can pick on somebody his own size and have his sweet revenge. With Tim’s superpowers, the roach and the guys have a battle of the sizes. Who will get the upper hand?
Three years after the publication of the groundbreaking Asian American comics anthology Secret Identities, the same team is back with a new volume—bigger, bolder, and more breathtaking in scope.
While the first collection focused on the conventions of superhero comics, this new book expands its horizon to include edgier genres, from hard-boiled pulp to horror, adventure, fantasy, and science fiction. Using this darker range of hues, it seeks to subvert—to shatter—the hidebound stereotypes that have obscured the Asian image since the earliest days of immigration: the stoic brute, the prodigious brain, the exotic temptress, the inscrutable alien, the devious manipulator. The eclectic and impressive lineup of contributors includes leading Asian American comics creators Bernard Chang (Supergirl), Sean Chen (Iron Man), Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman), Larry Hama (G.I. Joe), Sonny Liew (Malinky Robot), Takeshi Miyazawa (Runaways), Christine Norrie (Hopeless Savages), Greg Pak (The Hulk), G.B. Tran (Vietnamerica), Gene Yang (American Born Chinese), and many others, as well as such film and literary standouts as Tanuj Chopra (Punching at the Sun), Michael Kang (The Motel), Jamie Ford (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet), Gary Jackson (Missing You, Metropolis), and Bao Phi (Song I Sing). Their original graphic short stories cover topics from ethnic kiddie shows, China’s AIDS policy, and airline security procedures to the untold backstory of Flash Gordon’s nemesis Ming the Merciless and the gritty reality of a day in the life of a young Koreatown gangster.
Shattered incorporates thrills, chills, and delights while exposing the hidden issues and vital truths of the nation’s fastest-growing and most dynamic community. You can get the book on amazon.
SHATTERED: The Asian American Comics Anthology Teaser
Parry Shen interview about Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology
In Powerhouse Season 4 Episode 2 entitled “Man Lessons”, Tim teaches his child “Fly Baby” how to be a man. With the help of Rick and Pedro, Tim educates his son on fighting, shaving, and hitting on women. It’s a round of Man Lessons. Maybe, Fly Baby should also learn some tips from Rick’s Man Tutorial: Working Out Gets Girls, Good Hygiene gets Girls, Good Cooking Gets Girls, and 5 Perks of Having a Girlfriend
Actor John Cho takes a walk down memory lane to tell a story of his early love of the Smiths, and how he was shocked to one day encounter his musical idol, Morrissey, at a Filipino gangster pool hall in Los Angeles. Cho worked up the courage to share his deepest feelings with the singer and how much his music has meant to him. He got a very Morrissey-like response that gave him an important lesson on celebrity behavior that would serve him well later in life. What’s been your experience meeting John Cho?
In the Powerhouse episode “Die Hard On”, Tim and Pedro go to Butterface’s house party. When The Masked Bandito shows up, Tim has to go John McClane on his ass. Who will win The Masked Bandito or Tim?
In the Powerhouse episode “Modern Fart”, Rick’s artistic hobby rubs off on Tim and Perdo. Inspired by the idea of nude models, Tim and Pedro decide to become famous painters leveraging the techniques of artists like Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock. Rick can’t believe their tag team efforts will pay off. How far will Tim and Pedro’s abstract art take them?
