My Parents Got Isekai'ed to America

Published in Lunchbox Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 1: Echoes.



A 4-panel comic page. Title: 'My Parents Got Isekai'ed to America' Subtitle: 'Ning Chen. Isekai: a fantasy subgenre where the protagonist is transported into a new and unfamiliar world.' Panel 1: A cartoon pig stands in front of the Golden Gate bridge. Textbox: 'My dad got isekai'ed to San Francisco when he was thirteen. And he found...' Panel 2: The pig looks at an eagle holding an American flag. Textbox: 'Strange creatures!' Panel 3: The pig looks at a burger. Textbox: 'Weird food!' Panel 4: The pig stands before the University of Illinois. Text: 'Magic school!'
A 2-panel comic page. Panel 1: A cartoon pig talks to a cartoon cow. Textbox: 'My mom got isekai'ed when she was eighteen.' The pig says, 'You got isekai'ed from China? I was also isekai'ed from China!' Panel 2: The cow and pig hold hands as flowers fall around them. They say in unison, 'Let's get married!'
A 3-panel comic page. Panel 1: The cow and pig hold a dragon, who is breathing fire. Textbox: And soon, they had my sister.' Panel 2: The cow and pig hold a sheep. The dragon flies in the background. Textbox: 'And then, me!' Panel 3: The sheep and dragon stand in front of a light yellow and yed suburban house. Textbox: 'And we got isekai'ed to...' Bold text exclaims, 'Upstate New York'.
A 1-panel comic page. An abstract hallway connecting a bedroom, living room, and kitchen. The cow, pig, and dragon all lounge around the space. Textbox: 'We stayed there for a while.'
A 6-panel comic page. Panel 1: The sheep sits in their bedroom. Textbox: 'Then one day...' Panel 2: The cow and pig barge into the sheep's room. The cow and pig say, 'Surprise!' Panel 3: The cow and pig say cheerfully, 'We're getting isekai'ed to China!' Panel 4: The sheep looks sad. Panel 5: tears begin to form in the sheep's eyes. A text bubble reads, 'Oh...' Panel 6: The sheep begins crying. A text bubble reads, 'Oh no...'
A 3-panel comic page. Panel 1: the sheep looks at noisy eagles firing guns and flying American flags in their pickup truck. Textbox: It's okay, I learned to cope. The people sucked, anyways. Panel 2: Three consecutive burger joints. Textbox: 'And there was nothing to do.' Panel 3: The dragon sits on the Golden Gate bridge and talks to the sheep, who stands on a hill. Textbox: 'I even got some advice.' The dragon says, 'Getting isekai'ed isn't too bad. It's pretty nice, actually.'
A 4-panel comic page. Panel 1: The sheep stands with a suitcase. Overhead, a plane flies. Textbox: My parents are back in China now. I think they like it there. I wonder if moving across the Pacific trained them to keep their whole lives in suitcases. They tell me I've got the whole world to travel, as long as I've got a plane ticket and some willpower. But still, I miss...' Panel 2: A lone tree. Textbox: 'The grassy front lawn.' Panel 3: The sheep lies on soft carpet. Textbox: 'My old bedroom's carpet.' Panel 3: The dragon, pig, cow, and sheep each dinner at a dining table. Textbox: 'The long dining table.'
A 4-panel comic page. Panel 1: the Boston skyline. Textbox: 'My family's been isekai'ed to...Boston, Massachusetts. Panel 2: The Golden Gate Bridge. Textbox: 'San Francisco, California. Panel 3: The buildings of Hangzhou. Textbox: Hangzhou, China. Panel 4: The light yellow and red suburban house, with a 'For Sale' sign in front. Textbox: 'But we can never return home.'