Frederick Luis Aldama Talks Diversity, Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades
In an interview posted to the official Marvel website on Friday, October 15th, 2021, Frederick Luis Aldama (A.K.A. Professor Latinx), media scholar, editor, and author of more than 48 books, whose work includes writing the Eisner-winning Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics and editing Latinographix for more than a decade, spoke with Marvel.com’s Robyn Belt about the upcoming anthology book, Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades #1.
HUGE GRX to Robyn and Marvel for this Ink! @ut_english @UTLatinxMedia @latinxspaces @latinxpoplabUT @latinocomics @DrMorey1 @ElPesoHero #HispanicHeritageMonth #latinxheritagemonth #comics #Marvel https://t.co/6FwxfvwgYo
— ProfessorLatinx (@ProfessorLatinx) October 15, 2021
Prof. Latinx (Aldama)
In the interview with Marvel.com, Aldama explained that as a child born in Mexico City to a “chilango papá” and a Guatemalan-Irish mother from East Los Angeles, the X-Mansion provided a place where he could always feel accepted (learn about how the scholar’s personal experiences led to changing the comics academy here). However, Aldama observed that when he was growing up in the 1970s, it was predominantly white mutants (with the exception of legendary Omega-level mutant Ororo, of course).
Photo: UT Press
Aldama penned the first comprehensive exploration of Latino representation in comics, Your Brain on Latino Comics: From Gus Arriola to Los Bros Hernandez, which was published in 2009. Based on his continued research on representation in comics, Aldama expressed hope for the next generation of Latinx superheroes, citing many of the characters who will appear in the upcoming Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades.
MARVEL’S VOICES- COMUNIDADES #1 Variant Cover by Natacha Bustos. Photo: Marvel
Aldama observed that while there has been some Latinx representation on-screen, it wasn’t excessive, especially when you rule out those actors who were put behind green or purple face paint.
However Aldama shouted out Allegra Acosta‘s Molly in Runaways, Rosario Dawson‘s Claire Temple (A.K.A. Night Nurse) in Marvel’s Daredevil, and Gabriel Luna‘s Robbie Reyes and Natalie Cordova-Buckley‘s Yo-Yo Rodriguez in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (not to mention Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).
Molly in Runaways Season 3, Episode 7. Photo: The Mary Sue
Photo: Netflix
Aldama also expressed his excitement for Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades, saying the anthology issue, which arrives at your local comic shop on November 10th, 2021, embodies “all that springs to mind when I think community.”
Preview of “Latinx and Proud” by Julio Anta, Enid Balám, Oren Junior and Federico Blee from MARVEL’S VOICES- COMUNIDADES. Photo: Marvel
Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades
Will you be picking up a copy of Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades when it arrives at your local comic shop on November 10th? I know I will be, Marvel Blog True Believers! Let us know what you’re thinking in the comment section.
Featured Image: Marvel
