The pandemic inspired a cartoonist to explore their Wuhanese roots and queer identity

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/04/24/ [login to see] /the-pandemic-inspired-a-cartoonist-to-explore-their-wuhanese-roots-and-queer-ide
In the early months of the pandemic, Wuhanese American illustrator and writer Laura Gao drew a life-changing comic.

Gao, who goes by the pronouns they/them and she/her, wrote and drew "The Wuhan I Know," a cartoon about the Chinese city behind the coronavirus headlines. They wanted people to know that Wuhan, where they were born, is home to a rich culture, a caring people and great breakfast noodles – not just the starting point for a global pandemic.

The comic went viral on Twitter and was covered by multiple news outlets, including NPR, sparking the interest of an agent and eventually landing them a book deal. Fast forward two years, and Gao is the author of a hilarious and heartfelt new book, Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American.

Gao expands the pandemic cartoon into a full-on exploration of their Wuhanese American identity – growing up in a mostly white town in Texas with Chinese immigrant parents, struggling to fit in at school and re-visiting Wuhan as a teen for the first time since leaving for America at age 4. In the process, Gao unpacks another important aspect of their identity – their queerness.