Boxers (Boxers & Saints, 1)

One of the strengths of a graphic novel is the author's ability to literally show readers how characters see the world. Little Bao is at the cusp of adolescence when he first begins to understand the profound ways in which China is being changed through the growing imperial presence of the West. In his child-like imagination, he sees heroes and gods working around, with and through him. As he enters adolescence, these characters inspire him to first join and later lead members of the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious First - the "Boxers." Yang does a tremendous job of showing the causes of the Boxer Rebellion through the eyes of Little Bao - the humiliations suffered not only by the Chi'ng dynasty, but by average Chinese as well at the hands of Western imperialists. The tragedy for all concerned (both Westerners and Chinese) is graphically (pardon the pun) illustrated. (Sorry - couldn't help it.) It is a great introduction to an event that to many outside China is sadly unfamiliar. For those seeking a more detailed historical account of the Boxer Rebellion, I recommend The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic Story of China's War on Foreigners that Shook the World in the Summer of 1900 - although it has a decidedly "western" orientation.

Love this book. Illustrations make this book a quick and easy read, while the story itself is very moving. Glad I read it.

This is a great graphic novel. The story is historical, but told in such a contemporary way. Wonderfully written.

Interesting stories, good art work.

An amazing book with great cliffhangers! I 100% recommend. I was reading it for book group and I honestly underestimated it. Truly fantastic.

The Kindle version of this book is set as a 2 page spread without a single page version as an option. If you are farsighted you may find the 6pt type size on the 2 page spread near impossible to read. There was a chance that the point size increase may have made the digital book readable but there was not an option for a single page by page read. As a result, I had to eat the digital cost $9.99 and order the printed paperback version. If you have great eyesight the KIndle version is fine... for those vision challenged I suggest the paperback

The story was beautiful. It is a great representation of a hero’s journey, and you really get connected to the characters and the story. Each page is beautifully illustrated. And the way the story was told was fantastic.

I gave this 3 stars, which means that I liked it but didn't necessarily fall in love with it. I'd never really read anything about the Boxer Rebellion before and to be honest, I didn't even know all that much about it either. This graphic novel gave a really nice overview of the Boxer-side of the rebellion. The artwork was beautiful and the story itself was also enjoyable. I just didn't find it as engrossing as others. I will read the Saints-sequel to this, because then I will have seen the two sides of the story.