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In 2012, then-President Aquino declared that the the Lunar New Year would be a work holiday for all Filipinos, finally recognizing a celebration that had been a part of life in Manila for over five centuries. In the Philippines, Lunar New Year festivities center around Binondo, the world's oldest Chinatown, located in the heart of Manila. Binondo was created in 1594 under Spanish colonial rule, and was designed to isolate anyone of Chinese descent from the rest of Manila. Residents were subjected to brutal pogroms over centuries, but the community has continued to thrive and its vibrant celebrations have become famous the world over. Filipinos of all backgrounds gather here in the thousands to celebrate every year. As in Malaysia, the Tsinoy (Filipinos with Chinese heritage) also speak Hokkien, a dialect of Chinese, and greet the new year with "Kiong Hee Huat Tsai" (or "congratulations, and be prosperous!"). It is traditional to see dragon dances and lion dances line the streets of Binondo, and residents will leave red envelope offerings at the entrances and doors of their homes along the dance routes for the lions to "eat." The dragon represents power, auspiciousness, and strength, while the lions that accompany it represent safety and luck. All doors in the home must be left open when the clock strikes midnight, to allow good luck to enter, and in order to help scare away the mythical Nian, folks will also use horns and bang cooking pots to add to the din of the New Year's fireworks and firecrackers. It is extremely important for all family members to be present for the New Year's eve dinner, and families will traditionally prepare 12 different kinds of lucky or fortunate fruits for their families to eat that night. Speaking of food, tikoy, or sticky rice treats, are a huge favorite in stores across the Philippines, and are only sold during a small window around the Lunar New Year. Unlike in China and Malaysia, some communities in the Philippines deliberately avoid eating fish during days around the Lunar New Year, believing it to be associated with food scarcity instead of abundance. Though celebrations across the Philippines were cancelled last year due to COVID, they are back on this year, and we hope that everyone will be able to safely gather with their families after a very, very long year. by S. Sifton Immortal Staff If you like our articles, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter (click the button at the very bottom of this page), or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more! Image sources: please click the photos for links to their original pages.

The Spring Festival is a holiday celebrating family as much as it is about bringing good fortune, and what better way to do that than through food? Traditionally, almost everything eaten over the course of the Spring Festival represents something auspicious. Long noodles represent a long life. In the local Hokkien (a dialect of Chinese), tangerines are a homonym for ‘luck’ and oranges are a homonym for ‘wealth’. There exists a very long list of auspicious foods commonly eaten over the Spring Festival, but in Malaysia, there exists a very special food tradition called “Yusheng”. This tradition is both fun and accessible, even to those not living in Asia. Although most commonly eaten on the seventh day of the Spring Festival, it’s eaten any time before Chap Goh Mei, the Hokkien name for the Lantern Festival. Yusheng, also known as Yee Sang or the Prosperity Toss, is all about throwing food as high as possible. This dish is made up of many raw or pickled vegetables and seasonings, topped with raw fish. Every single ingredient has a connotation of good fortune to it, for example the fish being a homophone for ‘abundance’ or sesame seeds representing a prosperous business. Even the color of the spices carries symbolism, such as red pepper being lucky. Some of the more common ingredients include peanuts, carrots, radishes, five-spice powder, leeks, pepper, sesame oil, plum sauce and raw salmon. The assembly of this dish is very simple and very fun. One person is chosen to lead the meal, and adds ingredients to the dish one at a time. Each time an ingredient is added, a wish is made for the new year, typically related to the meaning of the ingredient. When everything has been added, all diners stand and toss the dish into the air shouting “Lo hei!” and making wishes. The tradition is that the higher one tosses the food, the more prosperous their year will be. As difficult as meeting friends and family might be right now, we wish everyone many joyous meals this Spring Festival: 恭喜发财 (Gong hei fat choy, or "wishing you prosperity and wealth")! by S. Howie Immortal Staff If you like our articles, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter (click the button at the very bottom of this page), or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more! Sources: https://www.wonderfulmalaysia.com/attractions/chinese-new-year-in-malaysia.htm https://www.travelfish.org/beginners_detail/malaysia/147 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusheng https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14168597/what-does-chap-goh-mei-mean/ https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/malaysia/experiences/news/the-salad-that-invites-wealth https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7888718/lunar-new-year-lucky-citrus-fruits/ Image sources: click photos for weblinks to their original pages

The Spring Festival - also known as Chinese New Year - is the biggest festival in Asia. It is a time to celebrate family and encourage good fortune for the new year. Fireworks light up the night sky, the sound of laughter and the smell of warm food fills the streets. Billions of people take a week off of work or school to enjoy spending time with family. We at Immortal Studios are proud to join the celebrations with a week of posts highlighting the best parts of the different Spring Festival celebrations across Asia! Traditionally, the spring festival is a two- week celebration, but three days of the celebration hold the most excitement: New Years Eve, New Year’s Day and the Lantern Festival, which is the last day of the celebrations. Festivities begin on New Year’s Eve as families get together for a meal. Older generations will give red envelopes of money to younger ones, and employees might be given some from their employers as a New Year’s bonus. Parties last late into the night, and then on New Year’s Day, people set off fireworks and make offerings for their ancestors. The day after New Year’s Day until the last night of the festival is a time for visiting relatives and enjoying the holidays. To end the Spring Festival with a bang, the Lantern Festival marks the end of the two-week celebration with a dazzling display of light. People enjoy tang yuan, a kind of rice ball soup, under displays of paper lanterns and fireworks. The Lantern Festival is also known as Chinese Valentine’s day, though the night’s romantic associations have faded over time. New Year’s celebrations are a period of excitement for what the new year will bring and a period of celebrating one’s community. This year, 2022, is the year of the tiger. In China, the tiger is a symbol of strength and bravery, and is said to have the power to exorcize evil. Immortal Studios aspires to a year just like the tiger - with stories of strength and bravery. We at Immortal Studios wish everyone a happy new year and look forward to the exciting next steps the new year will bring. by S. Howie Immortal Staff If you like our articles, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter (click the button at the very bottom of this page), or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more! Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/chinese-new-year#spring-festival https://www.chinatravel.com/chinese-new-year/lantern-festival https://www.history.com/news/symbolic-foods-of-chinese-new-year https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/new-year-facts.htm https://chineseparade.com/ https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/chinese-new-year-traditions Image sources: click photos for weblinks to their original pages

Today we wanted to talk about one of the weirder weapons we see in wuxia stories: paper fans. If you’re new to wuxia, you might be (understandably) confused how this could be a weapon…but in wuxia, everything can be a weapon if you can infuse it with qi. In the same way one can make their body hard enough to repel bullets, or light enough to float through the air, in wuxia you can infuse your weapons to give them similar properties. To a master, their weapons are but an extension of their body, after all. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if the fan is made of metal knives instead of paper, and the imagery of this weapon has taken off outside of wuxia as well, seeing appearances in everything from anime and manga in Japan, to children’s cartoons, superhero comics, and arcade games in North America. Here are some fun DIY videos on how to make a beautiful paper fan of your own, or a metal death weapon, totally your choice: Paper fans by SK Academy of Fine Art: Kitana’s War Fans (from the Mortal Combat series) by Man at Arms: Reforged: If you enjoy these articles, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter (click the button at the very bottom of this page), or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more wuxia. by S. Sifton Immortal Staff Image sources: https://thirdmirage.wordpress.com/tag/wuxia-weapons/ https://www.buzzfeed.com/candicedarden/jackie-chan-adventures-was-the-best-cartoon http://www.chinesedrama.info/2015/12/drama-legend-of-condor-heroes-2016.html

This week we decided to revisit a classic. Since its debut in 1999, The Matrix has been heralded as groundbreaking, famously combing elements of wuxia and kung fu movies with a cyberpunk setting to make a dystopian masterpiece. I gave it a 13 out of 15 for our Essential Wuxia, a silver! Is Neo a Wuxia Hero? I gave this section an 8 out of 8, full points! Like many dystopian movies, its setting relies heavily on the audience cluing into Neo’s sense that “something is wrong,” and spring boarding itself through the plot with that same innate sense of justice and courageous do-goodery that defies the logic the world is trying to force on our reluctant hero. Before leaving the Matrix, Neo’s generous nature is shown as he goes out of his way to help others, and once outside it he go so far as to repeatedly risk his life for those around him. The characters around him serve as foils for his dignity and discipline, and make his individual choices stand out all the more. Is the movie Essential Wuxia? I gave this section a 5 out of 7. We watch as Neo and the crew discover many things about themselves and their human nature as he struggles to adjust to life in the hidden world outside the Matrix. These human elements compliment the surreal nature of the training montages perfectly, as Neo learns he can literally download any program he wants in order to improve his knowledge, training, and reflexes; they showcase a variety of martial arts to great effect. And as disgusting and distressing as it is, the world does literally run on the life energy of the human race. Essential Wuxia Score: 13/15! Missed points: While the movies’ directors have been very open in acknowledging the influence of wuxia, kung fu, and other East Asian films, we cannot avoid the fact that much of the plot revolves around Neo’s Chosen One status. Morpheus says early on that only people below a certain age can adjust, which keeps the viewers in suspense while also leaving the door open a crack to other possibilities later in the movie, but the crux of the movie hinges on “Only Neo can beat the Matrix.” Additionally, there is no element of cultivation or sorcery. by S. Sifton Immortal Staff

This week, we’re taking a look at Netflix’s adaption of The Witcher (just Season 1 though, no spoilers!). Are you guys surprised? Well, we will be doing an article on the crossovers between wuxia, samurai, and knights real soon! So today, in honor of the release of Season 2, we’re looking at our favorite mutant monster hunter. I gave the first season a 9 out of 15, a bronze! Is Geralt of Rivia a Wuxia Hero? I gave this section a 5 out of 8. Mutations aside, Geralt’s story reads like that of a self-interested knight-errant; we cannot call him altruistic (by any stretch of the word), but for some poor souls he is still their knight in shining armor…or their knight in dripping monster guts, either way. He's got courage in spades (he would have to, with his job), and is strangely loyal to those he finds worthy. Though a clear example of an anti-hero, he nonetheless sticks to his own sense of justice, even when it makes his life harder or puts him at odds with the folks around him, and part of his individualism is that he does not shy away from giving voice to the harsh reality of his situation. While not truthful for the sake of it, he is disinclined to lie for his employers’ sakes or for anyone else’s peace of mind. Is the series Essential Wuxia? I gave this section a 4 out of 7. To start with, not everyone can be a hero. Those who fail to become Witchers die horribly, as do those who are born with the ability to use magic but fail to ascend. Yet many elements of the show are very similar to wuxia. Gerolt’s unique style of fighting was taught to him as part of the School of the Wolf, one of several different Witcher schools of combat. Each school was headed by a Grandmaster and had its own techniques and codes, or morals. With the addition of the various schools of magic, and other covert organizations, this series is full to the brim with secret societies of one sort or another. Essential Wuxia Score: 9/15! Missed points: As stated, Geralt is not altruistic, he certainly has his moments but ostensibly works for coin and is always on the lookout for himself first and foremost. No one could accuse him of being generous, and we certainly cannot say he is morally disciplined or dignified. As said, not everyone can be a hero in this series, and it often falls flat on the themes of empowerment and self-discovery in favor of dramatic combat or sex scenes (this may be a point of contention between the books and the TV series). The chaos/power used by mages is not present in all beings, and though there are certainly creatures in the Witcher bestiary that suck the life out of their victims, we cannot say there is a universal life energy or chi present. by S. Sifton Immortal Staff

Named weapons have a long tradition in wuxia stories. In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the famed Green Destiny is one such sword. Green Destiny is a jian sword. Unlike the dao sword, the jian sword has a double-edged blade and a straight grip. Jian swords are traditionally known as “the gentleman of weapons.” Though two-handed jian swords exist, they were designed for martial arts rather than as combat weapons; one-handed jian swords were the norm. Throughout the course of the movie, we learn that this exquisitely crafted sword is 400 years old. Its custodian tells the audience that it is “seven-tenths of an inch thick” and was crafted with techniques that had been lost to time. Though not usually as thin and flexible as Green Destiny, jian swords are quite light compared to dao swords. Jian swords date back four-thousand years to the Shang Dynasty, and were used by everyone from merchants to emperors. Today, they are still a treasured part of Chinese culture. If you’d like to check it out, Man At Arms did a replica of Green Destiny using the precise descriptions used in the movie: Be sure to keep an eye out for a uniquely colored jian sword in our Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen! by S. Sifton Immortal Staff Top image source: https://za.ign.com/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-sword-of-destiny/98246/review/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-sword-of-destiny-review

Our final interview with the creative team that made our upcoming Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen possible is with Hank Kanalz, the comic's editor. Balancing script reviews and storyboard checks and artwork assignments, Hank Kanalz has helped us bring all the pieces together. He has previously worked for WarnerMedia and DC Comics, and is now Immortal Studios' Head of Publishing. When did you first become an editor? Hank Kanalz: Hahaha, a very long time ago. I started as a writer in 1988 for DC Comics, and after hopping around, ended up taking a staff position, editing comics. That led to a long career at Warner Bros and DC Comics, always keeping a finger or two on the editorial side, but also focusing more on the planning part of the business. Working with Immortal is bringing me back to hands on editing again, along with the long-range planning of what we plan to do in publishing. How did you get into the comics industry? Hank Kanalz: I was fortunate to “break in” during a time where there was an influx of new talent while the industry was experiencing rapid growth. I sent pitches to editors I met at comic conventions, listened to their feedback, then re-pitched follow-up stories in line with what they were looking for. Do you listen to music while you work? What music do you listen to? Hank Kanalz: Not so much, as I’m constantly on the phone, and when not, reading a tremendous amount of material. I find it hard to focus with music playing, as it’s usually awesome ‘80s, and I find myself humming along with those tracks, so it’s better for me to turn it off. What is your favorite food? Hank Kanalz: That’s a toss-up between sashimi and fried chicken. The perfect meal for me is a selection of sashimi served with an order of chicken karaage (Japanese fried chicken). I could eat that every day (but shouldn’t). In wuxia stories, special weapons are often given names. If you had a special weapon in real life, what would it be (and what name would you give it)? Hank Kanalz: Obsidian Shards, allowing me to better multitask and get my “To Do List” done. What was the last video game you played? Hank Kanalz: Clash Royale and Mario Kart, with my kids. If you could go back in time, what positive advice do you wish you could give yourself when you were first starting out? Hank Kanalz: Bring balance to your work and personal life. Early in my working career, I worked a graveyard shift with an older, former Olympic Silver Medalist, who said “Work hard when you’re young, so you’re not working a graveyard shift when you’re my age.” He used more colorful language, but it stuck with me, and it was solid advice – but I think I balanced things more heavily on the work side, so my advice would be to balance that out a little bit better.

We are down to our last two interviews for the creative team of Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen before we launch the comic! Rex Lokus is a professional colorist from Mexico who has done some incredible work for Marvel, DC Comics, Capstone, and Furylion, and soon you'll be able to see his vivid coloring work in our Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen! When did you first know you wanted to be an artist? Rex Lokus: I have loved to draw ever since I was a child,but the moment I saw a comic book, I got intrigued: how do they do the comics? Who were the people working on them? At the age of 24, I met some friends working in the industry, and since that day it has been 15 awesome years of me doing comics! How did you first hone your artistic skills? Rex Lokus: I am a combination; I am self-taught, but also had some great mentors like Dono Sanchez, Raúl Treviño, Marte Gracia, and José Ladrönn. I was really lucky to be among these great artists, who guided me at the start of my career. What’s your favorite music to listen to while you work? Rex Lokus: I consider myself an eclectic person. I listen to soundtracks, rock, metal, electronic, hip-hop, and even reggaeton sometimes. I also like to listen audiobooks and podcasts while I'm working. What was the last video game you played? Rex Lokus: The last game I played was Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Spider-man for PS4, though I have not finished it yet, since I have more worlds to color in the comic space. If you could play Phil’s VR game in CIS, what class would you play? Rex Lokus: I think I would play a warrior. Did you know about wuxia before you worked on CIS? Rex Lokus: I didn't know about wuxia, but I am definitely a fan of The Matrix, Batman Begins, and Kung Fu Panda. In wuxia stories, legendary weapons are often given names. What tool would you consider to be your favorite instrument/legendary weapon of creation, and what name would you give it? Rex Lokus: Mine would be a giant ink pen, and I'd call it "the Story-Bending Sword." If you could go back in time, what positive advice do you wish you could give yourself when you were first starting out? Rex Lokus: I would tell myself: listen more to the feedback and be patient, you will make it.

We have been teasing you guys with Pop Mhan's dynamic art for ages now, and now that our launch is so close, we're here to interview him as part of the creative team that made it all happen! Pop has done some amazing work at Marvel, Darkhorse, and DC Comics, and did all of the pencil and ink artwork for our upcoming issue of Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen. When did you first know you wanted to be an artist? Pop Mhan: I realized I wanted to be an artist after coming across Jim Lee's X-men #4. How did you first hone your artistic skills? Pop Mhan: I was apprenticed first with Hoang Nguyen for a bit, and then with Jim Lee at WildStorm Productions. What’s your favorite music to listen to while you work? Pop Mhan: I like to listen to a lot of audiobooks when I draw, but when I get bored of those, I defer to the Emo-y punk, scream-core or whatever bad music from the 90's and early 2000's. What was the last video game you played? Pop Mhan: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I'm only able to play on my Nintendo Switch nowadays, it’s so great to pick up and put down! If you could play Phil’s VR game in CIS, what class would you play? Pop Mhan: I would play the NPC that gets slaughtered over and over again. Spawn, get blasted, repeat. Did you know about wuxia before you worked on CIS? If so, what was your favorite book/movie? Pop Mhan: I'm a HUGE fan of wuxia! I grew up watching old Chinese/Taiwanese Condor Heroes TV serials dubbed in Thai. My whole family would watch that all the time on VHS. In wuxia stories, legendary weapons are often given names. What tool would you consider to be your favorite instrument/legendary weapon of creation, and what name would you give it (and why)? Pop Mhan: The Heavenly Dragon Saber! That or the Beggar's staff (dog smacking stick) Classics, those. If you could go back in time, what positive advice do you wish you could give yourself when you were first starting out? Pop Mhan: Stick with it, straighten up and stop getting distracted!

As we get closer and closer to the launch of our first issue of Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen, we are continuing our interviews with the creative team that made it all possible. Today we interviewed Bernard Chang, the incredibly talented artist who designed and drew the alternate cover art for this issue! Bernard has worked for Walt Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, and Valiant, and is currently on the advisory board of Immortal Studios. When did you first know you wanted to be an artist? Bernard Chang: I have been drawing ever since I can remember, so around the age of three or four. At a young age, I got into comic books and cartoons, and those drove my desire to create and tell stories. When my family first immigrated from Canada to the United States, I really couldn’t speak English at first, so I brought in a drawing of Superman for “show and tell,” and it was a great way to communicate and share my passion with the other students! In many ways, being a professional comic book artist is like living out my childhood dreams. How did you first hone your artistic skills? Bernard Chang: I started out just drawing by myself. I would watch shows, or read books, and then draw my own additional scenes for those stories. During elementary school, my mother hired an art tutor for me, who pushed me to draw from real life; things like hands, still lifts, or even going to the zoo to draw animals. I auditioned and was admitted to a magnet high school in Miami, Florida, that specialized in the arts, and the teachers there pushed us towards a fine arts foundation of figure drawing, painting, sculpture, and printmaking. It wasn’t until I was in college at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, studying architecture, that I rediscovered my passion for comics and began my journey towards achieving that goal. What’s your favorite music to listen to while you work? Bernard Chang: I listen to a variety of things while I work: various podcasts, documentaries, radio shows, music, or audio books. During the layout design phase, I usually listen to things that are melodic, with little to no dialogue or words. But when it’s time to begin the technical phase of drawing, I can listen to anything! What was the last video game you played? Bernard Chang: I don’t play many video games; they are really time consuming and very addictive. When I do play, I usually play sports games like the basketball NBA 2K games, or football Madden NFL, and I usually like to play them online with my friends. I do have some Twitch streams of different games on in the background sometimes when I work though. If you could play Phil’s VR game in CIS, what class would you play? Bernard Chang: Hahaha, I wouldn’t even know where to begin! Did you know about wuxia before you worked on CIS? Bernard Chang: Growing up in the United States during the 80s and 90s, there was not a lot of access to things like wuxia. I would usually get my fix from the Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theatre on the local TV stations, with those heavily dubbed flicks? Or sometimes when my relatives in Taiwan would send care packages, they might include some wuxia comics or VHS tapes of different wuxia shows. In wuxia stories, legendary weapons are often given names. What tool would you consider to be your favorite instrument/legendary weapon of creation? Bernard Chang: Most people probably would say their pencil is their favorite weapon, but for me it’s really the eraser that counts. The eraser allows me to make as many mistakes as I need to, in order to create the most perfect drawing. If you could go back in time, what positive advice do you wish you could give yourself when you were first starting out? Bernard Chang: I would tell myself to drink more milk, so that I could’ve played in the NBA!

Ahead of the launch of our first issue of Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen, we sat down with the creative team that made it all possible. Here is our interview with one of the comic’s writers, and our own Founder and CEO, Peter Shiao. In Peter's own words: "We are all living during a challenging time, and the enormity of the tasks and difficulties at hand can feel dispiriting and overwhelming. These are also EXACTLY the backdrop for the emergence of heroes. I believe that stories can be an ignition to help us meet the challenges of our lives with courage and grace – and that Wuxia, and its heroes of all sizes, shapes and colors -- are its vanguard. In re-awakening my own hero to create a modern and elevated home for this timeless genre, we hope to awaken – and unleash – yours too. Here, I also dedicate Immortal to the memory of my father, who awakened my hero." What made you decide to be a writer? Peter Shiao: Even though I do function as a writer, I still have not made a decision to be a "writer," except in the case of Chronicles of Immortal Swordsmen. I felt very committed to my vision for the story and everything that I wanted it to be, and after trying for an extended period of time working with various writers, I ultimately decided to just put pen to paper myself. What sort of stories inspire you? Peter Shiao: Stories of people becoming the greatest version of themselves have always inspired me. For this reason, I have always been a fan of wuxia stories, because this thread is omnipresent in wuxia. The original Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen books inspired me a great deal when I first read them as a kid, and that inspiration has stayed with me through all the years since. In Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen, we see Phil competing in his favorite video game. What was the last video game you played? Peter Shiao: I am a bit out to lunch on this -- my latest, latest, video game was actually a game of Tetris, which I always enjoy. You’ve said in the past that Shiao Yi’s Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen trilogy was your favorite wuxia story growing up, what made it your favorite? Peter Shiao: I really liked Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen because it was the first book that introduced me to a world of Asian fantasy that so vast and awesome, and that was just really interesting to me. Behind all the great powers and cool energies was this simple idea that we all have this untapped potential in us, and that really resonated with me. There was something that was just so cool about the trials of Ironpond Du, and that feeling of being connected to a purpose that was larger than I had words for, and seeing everything come together for him…I really identified with his character, and that experience was a massive form of wish fulfillment for me. What are some of the adaptations you’ve made from Shiao Yi’s original work? Peter Shiao: As a lifelong Angelino, we moved the whole story to modern day Los Angeles. It was originally set in Yandang Mountains of ancient China, so that decision to bring it forward into the modern day was one of the major choices we made to the adaptation. The other very significant element is the introduction of technology, and especially the world of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) as a central element. We tied all of this together with the traditional immortal elements of the story, and that was another way that we tried to make Phil Du/Ironpond’s world in Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen uniquely relevant to today’s world. Who is your favorite character in Chronicle of the Immortal Swordsmen? Peter Shiao: Well, in my experience writing this, I have definitely developed a relationship with all these characters in many different ways. Ironpond Du would be much too easy of a pick (as I said earlier, I can certainly relate to him), but I would have to go with with our heroine, Ying Ying. She has the most intense and provocative arc, as both a human person and a character in the game. Her journey to ultimately join her heart and mind into one whole badass immortal is very different and fresh for comic books like this. In wuxia stories, special techniques/abilities are often given names. If you had a special ability in real life, what would it be (and what name would you give it)? Peter Shiao: One of my gifts is the ability to bring people together in common action - so how about something like the Unity Sutra or something like that? Having grown up with wuxia stories, what’s your favorite part of the genre? Peter Shiao: Haha that is an easy one. It is the underestimated underdog who ultimately becomes a hero.