San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jeff Yang has interviewed comic book writer Greg Pak about Amadeus Cho, Hercules, and the “Heroic Age: Prince of Power” miniseries that begins in May. Here’s an excerpt:

Cho’s Korean identity is essential to his reality; when he meets his dead parents in a journey to the afterlife, the first thing his mother does is remark how skinny he is and offers him food. “Umma made mandoo and miyukguk,” says his mother. “Sweet! They have a Korean grocery down here?” asks Cho. “That’s why they call it Heaven,” says his dad. But at the same time, he’s more than just his race, or his funny name, or his big brain.
“He’s totally a Korean American kid; that’s who he is,” says Pak. “At the same time, he happens to be spending a lot of time with Greek gods, so his ethnicity isn’t necessarily the first thing on his mind all the time. There’s a whole wealth of stories we have set up — a whole lot he has left to learn and deal with.”
With any luck (and a little reader support!) Pak will be able to tell those tales. And if he is, maybe Marvel’s new owner, the Hercules of childhood known as Disney, will realize what it has on its hands and bring young Amadeus to a much bigger audience.
After all, in the saga of Amadeus Cho, Pak has created the rich, funny, deeply engrossing tale of an ordinary, yet extraordinary boy who stumbles into a destiny of limitless power, and must learn step by step how to wield it — while dealing with loss and love, encountering friendship and rivalry, and going through the entire painful, wonderful process of growing up.

Click here to read the whole thing.
And ask your local comic shop to order a copy of “Heroic Age: Prince of Power” #1 for you today! The book hits stores on May 12.