The new Puerto Rican superhero, V★G1GANTE, created by graphic novelist Edgardo Miranda, will make his debut on April 3 at Comic Con Puerto Rico with an edition that will feature a limited cover by Cristian Muñoz Torres, son of Marc Anthony and Dayanara Torres.
It is the first robot novel from Somos Arte Studios, the production company of New York-based Miranda (b. 1970), and fuses elements of Puerto Rican culture, inspired by the superheroine series La Borinqueña, with references to Japanese manga.
The story exposes several conflicts in Puerto Rico, as the robot faces a ‘Kaiju’, a colossal monster emerged from the Puerto Rico Trench, which threatens to stop a ship loaded with essential products for the island.
“I was living in 1984 in Puerto Rico when I first saw a Mazinger Z on television,” he told EFE, referring to the iconic giant Japanese robot, famous for being the first to be internally manned by a pilot.
Miranda was inspired by Japanese manga to create this work, whose design takes elements from folkloric vejigante masks made of papier-mâché and giant Japanese mechas.
The Mazinger Z character remained present in his memory until he finally created V★G1GANTE, mixing Japanese and Puerto Rican elements, which he describes as “a sancocho”, in reference to the mix of ingredients of this traditional food.
Thus, his robot is piloted by Bismar Besosa Cruz, a computer science student at the University of Puerto Rico, who is facing financial difficulties after the privatization of his university dormitory. In his first adventure, he combines university life with the threat of the ‘Kaiju’.
The issue of university privatization and the economic corruption that affects students is central to the play, adds Miranda, who highlights “the growing interest of young people in Puerto Rico in Japanese and Korean culture.
He was also inspired by the municipality of Carolina, known as the “land of giants,” whose flag colors-red, blue and yellow-identify the Puerto Rican robot.
All the characters in the novel belong to the universe of La Borinqueña and are Latino. Although it includes a robot, the work maintains the connection to Puerto Rican heritage.
The first edition of La Borinqueña celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and the Smithsonian will recognize its debut with its inclusion in the permanent collection of the publication “Our Nation: 250 Years of Patriotism, Aspiration and Resilience from the National Collection”.
Part of the sales of V★G1GANTE will go to the La Borinqueña Scholarship Awards, which have already awarded more than $250,000 to non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico, making La Borinqueña the only independently published superhero series dedicated to charity.
The comic represents a cross-cultural crossover, with the intention of appealing to both lovers of Japanese culture and followers of local and Latin American stories. M Miranda stresses that V★G1GANTE is his “version of Creole manga,” joining Puerto Rican traditions with the narrative of Japanese superheroes and giant mechas, reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.