Artist: GB Tran
Born in America one year after his family fled war-savaged Saigon, Gia-Bao (GB) Tran grew up in South Carolina, blissfully unaware of the sacrifices and hardships that marked his parents’ harrowing escape from Vietnam. It wasn’t until his late 20s, after losing his last surviving grandparents, and realizing he lost swaths of his own history with them, that Tran begins to dig into his family’s past. He uncovers personal tragedies, everyday heroism and small moments of courage that have lasting effects. Though Tran’s journey began as a means to better understand his parents, it quickly becomes evident that it’s also a way for Tran to better understand himself. Often compared to Maus, Vietnamerica was recently nominated for an Eisner Award—an Oscar for graphic novels.
MORE: Read “Comic Relief,” TIME’s profile of Alison Bechdel