My thesis explores how illustration actively shapes textual narratives to foster emotional connection and deeper understanding. This is demonstrated through my adaptation of Ken Liu's short story collection, "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories," inspired by Folio Society and Beehive Books. The stories are filled with Asian American themes of family, identity, and myth, mixed with sci-fi & fantastical elements.
illustrations
Page layout
The Regular
Sci-Fi, Family
A cybernetically altered detective chases a serial killer who murders prostitutes so he can steal the hidden cameras in their eyes & use them to blackmail clients.
Simulacrum
Sci-Fi, Family
The estranged relationship between the inventor of human replicas and his daughter.
The Waves
Sci-Fi, Family
A woman on a generation space ship is offered the chance of immortality & lives long
enough to become part of subsequent ‘waves’ of human evolution–from man,
to immortal, to machine, to pure energy– over countless millennia.
The Literomancer
Mythical, Cultural
A young American girl befriends an elderly Chinese calligraphy teacher who teaches her the magic of Chinese characters–but the story takes a dark turn when her diplomat father finds out.
All the Flavors:
A Tale of Guan Yu, the Chinese God of War, in America
Mythical, Cultural Ties
In the Old West, after witnessing a Chinese prospector win a fight against a couple of oulaws, a young girl forms a deep bond with him, learns that he may
be a god in disguise, and defends him when he is called to trial.