New York has found its female Puerto Rican hero thank s to E dg ardo Mir anda- Rodr ig uez “Given the initial response that I received from my debut with Marvel and the character, I realized at that point that there was a demand for something much more powerful, with a stronger presence for the Puerto Rican and Latino community,” said Miranda- Rodriguez, who selffunded La Borinqueña.. “Not just a background character, but one that would have her own title, series and story. I was inspired to create that.” It was a risk that the seasoned artist took, but the passion project paid off . “I pulled all my resources together,” he said. “I’m 46 years old so I’m not a young person. I’m an art director running my own design studio for the last 16 years. I just broke into the comic book industry this year as a writer. A couple of years before that, I went into the publishing world with DMC from Run DMC. “But what I brought to it is my skill set as an entrepreneur so I approached this project like I do many projects for my clients,” he went on, “be they from Columbia University or Atlantic Records. That’s how I handled this BY JAIME DEJESUS Puerto Rico and New York fi nally have the hero they’ve been waiting for. Forty-six-year-old artist and Williamsburg resident Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez broke into the comic book industry this year as a writer, and many comic enthusiasts and Latinos alike are thrilled that he did. Miranda-Rodriguez, who has been a well-established art director running his own design studio for the last 16 years, just released the fi rst issue of La Borinqueña. The comic features a superhero named Marisol Rios La Luz, a Columbia University student who lives in Brooklyn and whose powers originate in the history and mysticism found on Puerto Rico. “My families are mixed,” Miranda- Rodriguez explained when creating the comic. “I wasn’t trying to fulfi ll a diversity quota. I wanted to refl ect what my family looked like and in doing so, the strongest thing about my storytelling is familiarity.” Miranda-Rodriguez, who wrote, lettered and art-directed the issue, got his start and inspiration for the character with comics at Marvel, where he created an original character, Abuela Estela, in a short story in Guardians of Infi nity No. 3. QNS.COM SPRING 2017 11
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