As an artist and musician, upcoming creator Peng Lei has always defied categorization, and his new comic book Beihai Monster is no exception. Lei fans will recognize Mimi and Gaga, the pointed-teeth characters from Lei’s earlier oil paintings, who now appear in the pages of this experimental graphic memoir recounting the collective memories that Beijing cult youth like Lei share from their adolescence in the 1970’s. The humor combined with unwavering historical accuracy makes us think of Art Spiegelman’s critically acclaimed holocaust comic Maus. We hope they’ll hurry up with the English translation. We’ll be publishing Lei’s creator profile next week, so check back in with us after the tenth for more treats from the Chinese pop icon.