in full force to support this project. Oftentimes, they’re saying this is the first time I’m going to buy a comic book. Many are even saying that they look just like me. They’re not invisible anymore. It something to you psychologically from your childhood to adulthood if you’re told visually that you don’t matter or exist, and that’s why I felt the need to create her.” He’s also figured out a way to do more than release a comic digitally and on comic stands. “I’ve developed a different way of promoting this project,” he said, “whether college speaking, the mayor of New York City presenting me with a proclamation for my work on a comic book, being invited by my alma mater Colgate University as a keynote speaker for Hispanic Heritage Month, or being a headliner at Puerto Rican Comic Con.” Miranda-Rodriguez was touched by the reception he’s received in Puerto Rico. “The most mind-blowing thing for me with my project is being received with open arms in Puerto Rico,” he explained. “I was there just a few weeks ago and that blew me away to have that warm reception from young people who came out to meet me, buy my book, and tell me how much they love it.” To purchase the first issue of La Borinqueña, or to shop its merchandise, visit visit www. laborinquena.somosarte.com. Photos courtesy of Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez project and, given the manner that I approached it, I didn’t feel the level of adversity that many artists or writers of color feel after years of frustration. I come from a background as a teacher and also an activist so I figured out a formula that would work and it did.” After he completed the short story, Miranda- Rodriguez started to receive a lot of attention. “I was at Manhattan comic book shop Forbidden Planet with my wife and she was a taking a picture of me holding the comic in my hand because I was having my geek moment,” he said. “Then, it was on a Puerto Rican magazine and newspapers and sites.” La Borinqueña receives superhuman strength and the power of nature after taking a trip to Puerto Rico, finding five similar sized crystals, and encountering Atabex — the Taíno mother goddess — who summons her sons Yúcahu, spirt of the seas and mountains and Juracan, spirit of the hurricanes. It was important for Miranda-Rodriguez to create an origin story that speaks to the Latino community. “I created an origin that was rooted in Taíno history so it was rooted in our very own mythology,” he said. “The story we worked on is something I’m very proud of, something that reflects my family experience and the experience of many Puerto Ricans, and I think that’s why it’s resonating so well with young people.” Miranda-Rodriguez said he was inspired to write the comic for several reasons. One of them involved the recent happenings on the island. “Given what was happening in Puerto Rico from the current debt crisis, environmental issues affecting the island, most recently everything happening in Penuelas with the dumping of toxic ashes to Zika and even the massacre that occurred in the nightclub in Orlando, I saw an opportunity to create a character that would resonate on a broader scale,” he said. He also wanted to give a louder voice to a culture. “All the characters that we see in the movies and comic books are corporate brands and I thought there was a need to create a character that was actually bigger than that and actually represented a nation that is underrepresented,” he said. “I was frustrated with the fact that for so long, people of color, especially Latinos, were invisible. I’m tired of us as Latinos acclimating to the mainstream culture. My good friend actor John Leguizamo said it best -- all we do as Latinos is constantly explain ourselves and anglicize ourselves.” So far, attention and sales for the first issue and merchandise have been impressive. “I’ve been overwhelmed,” Miranda-Rodriguez said. “In social media, women are overwhelmingly coming out QNS.COM 12 SPRING 2017
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