Lin Lie (L) and Lei Ling, two heroes from Marvel's Chinese superhero comics. (Photo/China Daily)
Marvel Comics announced the latest progress of its two comic books featuring new Chinese superheroes, "Sword Master" and "Aero," in the U.S. market during the ongoing China International Cartoon and Game Expo 2019 (CCG Expo2019) held in Shanghai.
"Sword Master" tells the story of Lin Lie, a young student who gained his incredible power from an ancient sword while Aero features Lei Ling, a Shanghai-based architect with the ability to control air currents.
The two stories are the first Marvel comics starring Chinese heroes that are also created by Chinese artists.
They were first published in China in 2018 and now Marvel plans to introduce the characters to American audience.
"Sword Master" is scheduled to be published in the United States by the end of July while Aero made its overseas debut earlier this month, said Marvel during the CCG Expo 2019 held from July 4 to July 8.
"There have been very good reviews of Aero so far," said C.B. Cebulski, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics.
The two stories are not just created for the Chinese audience but also for the global readers, and the two superheroes may interact with the Avengers in the future, according to Cebulski.
"I moved to China four years ago, and I was so blown away by the things I never knew about this country, such as the food and city. We want these characters to bring Chinese elements into the Marvel Universe, so readers could get a piece of the culture here," Cebulski said.
Marvel also announced the result of its talent search in China. The event was launched in April by Marvel and the expo and the nine artists selected from a large number of contributors will have the opportunity to work with the company.