Derek Kirk Kim on "The Last Airbender" Casting

Cartoonist Derek Kirk Kim (who isn't in Secret Identities, though we wanted him badly--there's always a chance for Volume 2!) has a brilliant post on his blog about the casting of M. Night Shyamalan's live action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

While this post isn't necessarily about the book, it does indirectly illustrate why Secret Identities is so important.

Quick primer if you're unfamiliar: Paramount is producing a live action adaptation of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon; however, it is populating the film with Caucasian actors. Why is this problematic? Well, anyone familiar with the show knows that the setting, characters, and mythology are heavily influenced by Asian cultures. Needless to say, there are a lot of people who are not happy with these developments.

Read Derek's post, and make sure to leave your name in his comment thread.

UPDATE: Our very own Jeff Yang chimes in on "Avatar-gate" at his "Asian Pop" column over at SFGate.com. Award-winning cartoonist, and Secret Identities contributor, Gene Yang shares his thoughts on his blog as well.