We're suckers for any story about the Monkey King, and we also love the cozy art and fierce personality of Oakland-resident Gene Yang's "American Born Chinese." The six-book series explores Asianness, whatever that is, through tales of modern cultural assimilation, over-the-top stereotyping, and ancient mythology. We couldn't put down Book 3 (fortunately it's a mini-comic, so it didn't eat up a huge chunk of the day), which tells the story of how Lai-Tsao, an unremarkable monk, convinced the trapped Monkey King to join him in his quest. Gene's cute, expressive line-drawings make the story look like it's being told by lively stuffed animals, and his dialogue is Whedonesquely pert: "Why do you come here day after day to feed us and dress our wounds? Are you too stupid to get a real job?" Hee.

The Monkey King's stories (part of the epic ) are hundreds of years old, and have been translated and retold by, what, like, billions of authors? Whatever the number, Gene's graphic adaptation surely ranks up there among the most gripping. His art's on display at the Cartoon Art Museum for at least another week -- go go go and look.

After the jump: robots in love, and a scorpion in a cowboy hat.

Journey to the West