Laura Molina at exhibition Artists Assemble! Empowerment and Inspiration in Contemporary Comics. | Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of Latin American Art.
As box office figures can attest, comic books are big business, with successful cinematic adaptations proving that superheroes have made the leap from pop cultural niche to mainstream entertainment. Despite their wide appeal, however, comic books, at least the established titles that usually become big screens franchises, are still predominantly filled with white, male characters, especially in leading roles. A new exhibition at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, Artists Assemble! Empowerment and Inspiration in Contemporary Comics, aims to challenge that narrative by focusing on mainly Latino artists who are using the medium to explore cultural and political issues that have meaning for them.
The first mainstream Latino comic superhero was White Tiger -- the alter ego of a Puerto Rican character named Hector Ayala -- who first appeared in a December 1975 issue of Marvel's Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist George P rez, himself of Puerto Rican descent, White Tiger was a product of both the martial arts craze and increasing multicultural awareness of the 1970s. He fought for justice alongside Spider-Man and Daredevil before being gunned down while trying to flee a wrongful murder conviction. (His sister and niece would later pick up his mantle as later incarnations of the White Tiger).
Rhode Montijo, Pablo's Inferno #5, 2001, 10 x 6.5 in. | Image: Courtesy of the artist.
It wasn't until the independent and alternative comic boom of the 80s and 90s, however, that Latino creators and characters began to be seen on a wider scale. Some of the most influential artists from the period were three Mexican-American brothers from Oxnard, California -- Gilbert, Jaime and Mario Hernandez -- whose series Love and Rockets reflected their personal experiences, as opposed to the fantasy lives of superheroes. It was wanting to tell personal stories, so it was basically our upbringing, and then also, Hey, this stuff's not in comics. Let's show them our version,' Jaime told the AV Club in 2012. We're from Southern California, and all they're seeing is one side of it. They're seeing the beach and stuff like that. Well, let's show them this side of it. Let's show them how punk is from my personal stance. Let's show them how being a Mexican in Southern California is.'
Through multiple story lines, Love and Rockets explored the lives of everyday people -- including Latinos, punks, and queers -- in the fictional towns of Palomar in Mexico and Hoppers outside of Los Angeles. Two of the main characters, Margarita Luisa Maggie Chascarrillo and Esperanza Hopey Leticia Glass, were not only Latinas, but also occasional lovers, groundbreaking when the comic debuted in 1981.
Curators Naiela Santana and Esperanza S nchez at exhibition Artists Assemble! Empowerment and Inspiration in Contemporary Comics. | Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of Latin American Art.
--
--
In the 90s, besides Love and Rockets, I started seeing that there were other Mexican-American cartoonists self-publishing their own comics, says artist Javier Hernandez (no relation to the Hernandez brothers). That inspired me in 98 to put out my first book. Since youre creating your own character, working for yourself, you can do whatever you want. I wanted to make sure I did something with Mexican culture. Thats how I came up with the concept of El Muerto. El Muerto: The Aztec Zombie tells the story of Diego de la Muerte who is on his way to a Dia de los Muertos celebration when he is abducted, sacrificed, and granted supernatural powers by Aztec gods. The comic was adapted into a live-action film starring Wilmer Valderrama in 2007.
Hernandez credits the independent comic book boom with giving him and other Latino artists and writers the freedom to explore themes that had relevance for them. I could own my own thing, without having to give into editorial or marketing concerns. By the 90s a lot of Latino creators were thinking of creating their own works, based on things they wanted to talk about and not so much just getting in line and trying to work on [a mainstream series].
Javier Hern ndez, El Muerto: Daze of the Dead-Numero Uno Edition, 1998, comic book, 10.5 x 7 in. | Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
In addition to creating his own books, Hernandez is also the co-founder of the Latino Comics Expo, which will be celebrating its fifth anniversary at MOLAA on August 6-7. A number of years ago, Hernandez and fellow artist Ricardo Padilla were bemoaning delays surrounding the construction of the Mexican Museum in San Francisco. I said, I cant do anything about a museum, but why dont we put together a Latino comics expo?' Hernandez says. He said, Whats that?' and I had to think about it. Well I guess itll be a comic convention where we showcase Latino/Latina creators.' It was born almost out of a whim, but by then I had spent so many years in the comic biz and I had met so many other Latino creators, and I'd seen the fan base out there. To me it just seemed like a logical thing.
The motivation for Artists Assemble! grew out of the Latino Comics Expo, as a way to explore in more depth many of the artists and themes featured in the fair, including not just sketches and completed comics, but sculptures, paintings, and video art. We wanted to focus on artists that were just emerging, and on women as well, because there are a lot of males, and a lot of white males, but not enough females, and particularly Latinas, in the comic book world, says Esperanza S nchez, who co-curated the exhibition with Naiela Santana.
Stephanie Rodr guez, No Te Ha
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Laura Molina at exhibition Artists Assemble! Empowerment and Inspiration in Contemporary Comics. | Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of Latin American Art. 
