After graduating in 1995, with a B.S in Computer Science from University of California, Berkeley, Yang worked for two years as a computer engineer. Following a five day silent
retreat, he felt called to teaching and left his engineering job to teach computer science at a Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California, where he also served as Director of Information Services. He taught there 17 years from 1998 to 2015, while continuing to write and draw comics during evening and weekends. In 1996, he founded Humble Comics, through which he self-published Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Greeks, later funded by a
Xeric Grant. His work eventually reached major publishers, including
First Second Books (an imprint of
Macmillan Publishers), In 1997, Yang first published comic
Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks under his Humble Comics imprint, and it won him the Xeric Grant, a self-publishing grant for comic book creators. Yang later published two more installments in the
Gordon Yamamoto mini-series and a sequel,
Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order. In 2010, both
Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks series and
Loyola Chin and the San Pelgrino Order were published together as
Animal Crackers by
Slave Labor Graphics. In 2006, Yang published
American Born Chinese with First Second Publishing. Drawing upon the Chinese folk character of the trickster
Monkey King, the book tells the story of a school-age second-generation immigrant who struggles with his Chinese-American identity. Although Yang drew from his own experiences, the book is not autobiographical. In 2021
Disney+ ordered production of a television adaptation of the book. Yang wrote American Born Chinese to look into what it means to be Chinese-American, drawing on his own experience with racism and cultural conflict. In shaping the graphic novel, he was inspired by the Chinese folktale
Journey to the West, especially the
Monkey King, and reimagined the story reflect the modern immigrant experience. According to Yang, the book is about "the pain of being an outsider", and tries to challenge racial stereotypes while giving young readers a way to connect if they face similar struggles. By mixing humor, mythology, and social commentary, Yang wanted to create a story that would reach many people and show how comics can help bridge cultural gaps by sharing common experience and building empathy. Yang's other works have been recognized as well. In 2009, Yang was awarded another
Eisner Award for Best Short Story for his collaborative work
The Eternal Smile which he wrote and
Derek Kirk Kim illustrated. Yang wrote the
Avatar: The Last Airbender comics series for Dark Horse Comics, the first volume of which was released in January 2012. In October 2019, Yang created a
limited series,
Superman Smashes the Klan, a loose adaptation of a famous 1946 story-arc from
The Adventures of Superman radio series, "Clan of the Fiery Cross", in which an Asian-American family is threatened by the
Ku Klux Klan and a young and unsure Superman is determined to protect the children from the terrorists. Making his
Marvel Comics debut in 2020, Yang wrote a miniseries starring the martial arts superhero
Shang-Chi. According to Yang, the series explores the relationship between Shang-Chi and his archenemy father
Zheng Zu, who was originally the infamous villain
Fu Manchu. In May 2021, in celebration of the
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, DC Comics launched the hero
Monkey Prince, created by Yang and
Bernard Chang. Yang advocates the use of comics and graphic novels as educational tools in the classroom. In his final project for his master's degree at
California State University, East Bay, he emphasized the educational strength of comics, claiming they are motivating, visual, permanent, intermediary, and popular. As a part of his Master's project, Yang created an online comic called
Factoring with Mr. Yang & Mosley the Alien as a method of teaching math. This idea came from a time where Yang was substitute teaching a math class at Bishop O'Dowd. Due to his position as Director of Information Services, he was forced to miss classes and used the comics to help the students learn the concepts in his absence. Positive student feedback inspired him to use the idea for his Master's project. In 2024, Yang designed a comic mural for the museum
Bay Area Walls. This mural features three basketball players, each with ties to the Bay Area, at distinct distances. Yang did extensive research as well as interviews to determine where to place Jeremy Lin, Fran Belibi, and Stephen Curry in his mural. ==Awards and recognition==