Coming of age, as it were, during the days of World War II, comic books have not always presented progressive models of the Asian American experience. In fact, they could be downright racist in their heyday back then. And while much has changed since then, one thing that hasn't is the blatant underrepresentation of Asian characters in comic books.

Enter Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology, a broad collection of 26 stories featuring Asian protagonists. The timing is right for such a book, and it capitalizes on it nicely. The method of delivery the book often employs is satire, chronicling a "shadow history" of the United States but with Asian players. It works quite well most of the time (the biggest drawback of the book is the cover itself; the bright green cover doesn't do justice to the entertaining and provocative stories contained within).

Four editors worked on bringing Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology to press. Within, a multitude of writers and artists lent their talents to the storytelling. Some of them are big names in the industry, including Gene Luen Yang, Greg Pak, and Christine Norrie. It's a superhero anthology at heart, through and through, which works for the shadow history format. Parallelling the secret, hidden lives of Asian Americans with the hidden identities of superheroes makes sense, as does using comics to redress the glowering oversight of one of the country's largest population groups.

The stories are as powerful as the superheroes within, and they deal with pivotal events ranging from the birth of the country up to modern times. A particularly moving story focuses on James Kim. You may not remember the name, but you probably know the story of the family who was stuck in their car for a week during a horrific snowstorm in late 2006. Kim left his wife and two children in the car while he walked to try to find help. He made it approximately 16 miles before succumbing to hypothermia. That Kim's story, one that the entire nation felt and mourned, is told in Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology is apt and moving.

Happier stories are found inside its pages as well. All kinds of stories, and all kinds of art styles, make it in, in fact. All of which makes Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology such an enjoyable experience. It's never heavy-handed, nor does it take itself too seriously. Its characters, much like its creators, see the format for what it is and they want in on the fun. Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology lets them, and it lets the rest of us in on the fun too.