The Cross-Cultural Inclusivity of Gurihiru’s Artwork in “Superman Smashes the Klan”
In advocating for inclusivity, “Superman Smashes the Klan” draws (quite literally) on an internationally-inflected style that brings manga, Max Fleischer, and DC house style together to create a charming mosaic that advances the themes and meanings of the story. #Superman 1/12
In their review of SStK, The New York Times notes: “Gurihiru’s rendering is a mash-up that pairs contemporary Japanese manga, with its conventional large eyes, and clean-lined, charmingly retro figuration reminiscent…” 2/12
“Despite the hilarity of Superman’s enormous, almost frame-breaking body, Gurihiru’s cross-cultural artistic approach avoids the gimmicky.” 4/12
Gurihiru isn’t a pen-name, per se, but the name of a studio built through the collaboration of Japanese illustrators Chifuyu Sasaki and Naoko Kawano. After being told their work was inappropriate for the manga marketplace, Gurihiru broke into the US market instead. 5/12
Interestingly, the liminal status of the Gurihiru style can be seen to contribute quite directly to the cultural motifs of SStK quite admirably. The work is neither Japanese nor American, representing a true intersectional style. 6/12
This, of course, speaks to the texts’ emphasis on inclusion, diversity, and a powerful underlying intrinsic suggestion that Superman can be an American icon, but also an IP that belongs, fundamentally, to the world (and has since at least WWII). 7/12
At the same time, the choice of situating our Chinese-descended main characters within a largely Japanese visual style can be seen to help naturalize the characters within the largely White community they inhabit. Simply put, the visual style doesn’t Other them to the same extent. 8/12
Finally, the Gurihiru style can be seen to add an emotional expressiveness characteristic of shojo style manga with its emphasis on what Jennifer S Prough identifies as “concepts of emotion, intimacy, and community” in said shojo style. 9/12
Where the house style of superhero comics (and Fleischer animation) tends to emote more through body language, the shojo style seen in SStK places emphasis on nuanced human facial expression, as clearly indicated in the sheer number of close-ups throughout. 10/12
The result is a Superman comic that has a rarer capacity to explore the emotions, intimacy, and community themes that Prough speaks to in shojo. Clearly, these same themes are deeply important to SStK. 11/12
The broader result is a style of illustration that is original, dynamic, and deftly synchronized to the thematic needs of Yang’s story, a visual contribution that accelerates the comic to a level of success that might not be possible without the Gurihiru approach. 12/12