Puerto Rico Strong is a comics anthology that exploreswhat it means to be Puerto Rican and the diversity that exists within thatconcept, from today's most exciting Puerto Rican comics creators. All profitswill go to towards disaster relief and recovery programs to support PuertoRico.
Despite being a US territory, Puerto Rico is oftenthought of as a foreign land, if it's even a thought in the mind of the averageAmerican at all. Its people exist in all corners of America; some of them haveparents who immigrated from the home island, others are a part of families thathave been on the mainland for generations. Then there are those who have come tothe states in search of a dream but struggle to integrate into an unfamiliarculture, while there are those who have lived in the United States all of theirlives but still have the same struggle because of the color of their skin ortheir sexual identity. These stories follow individuals from diverse walks oflife but are all part of the culture that is Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico Strong features art and writing by RosaColon, Vita Ayala, Naomi Franquiz, Javier Cruz Winnik, Sabrina Cintron, RonnieGarcia, Fabian Nicieza, Joamette Gil, and many more!
Industry Reviews
LIBRARY JOURNAL -- When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto
Rico in 2017, the island faced a death toll of nearly 3,000 and billions of
dollars in damage. The sluggishness of federal aid efforts and tepid public
response revealed that many Americans did not realize that Puerto Ricans are
Americans, too-not a "them" but an "us." While the
hurricane is the obvious thread running throughout this benefit anthology, the
stories are not necessarily about the disaster; the recurring theme is Puerto
Rican pride, a call for solidarity as the island rebuilds. Exploring topics as
varied as the zemi god of Taino lore (Marco Lopez and others'
"Of Myth & Monsters") to the forced sterilization of women in
the 1930s-60s (Ally Shwed's "La Operacion") to the experience
of contemporary Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. mainland (Tara Martinez and Rod
Espinosa's "Breaking Bread"), the writing and art styles are
sometimes uneven but always
heartfelt.
VERDICT A similar benefit
collection, Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico,
features higher-profile comics creators, but one of the strengths of this volume
is its inclusion of lesser-known, up-and-comers-a worthy addition to any
library.-Ingrid Bohnenkamp, Springfield-Greene Cty. Lib. Dist.,
MO