Graphic Novel Review: Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma by Melanie Lee & Arif Rafhan

Posted on November 28, 2023 at 6:19 am by Gene Ambaum

Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma by Melanie Lee & Arif Rafhan. Difference Engine, 2020. 9789811450440. 212pp. Contains discussion questions and a short explanation of dementia at the end.

Ash’s life sucks — her mom just took away her phone because her math scores are dismal, and her grandma needs help and supervision because she’s losing her memory. But when a laundry pole is about to fall from a neighbor’s balcony and hit Ash on the head, Ah Ma saves her by flying through the air and kicking it to splinters. She seems to forget it happened, then tells Ash her secret — she has superpowers. Her daughter, Ash’s mom, doesn’t know. Ash soon discovers she may have powers, too, when she and her friend Zoe face bullies outside the elevator in her apartment building. Not too long after that Ash and Ah Ma are fighting crime and helping folks as costumed heroes despite Ah Ma’s memory problems. (Secrets don’t last long in the book, and the whole story has an upbeat ending.)

Thanks to my friend Sarah who got me a signed copy at an academic conference in Singapore!

If you’re wondering how to get one of your own, the publisher’s website has a list of retail and academic partners at https://differenceengine.sg/comics/amazing-ash-superhero-ah-ma/ The book and its sequel seem to be available in the US for Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and Google Play.