REVIEW: Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades #1 Ranks Among 2021’s Best
In Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades #1, which features a main cover by Joe Quesada & Richard Isanove, we get a comics anthology filled with stories by Latino and Latinx creators centering the Latino and Latinx characters who appear in the panels of Marvel Comics!
Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades #1 main cover. Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
Recently, the Marvel’s Voices title was featured on Marvel’s Blog’s list of the Top 12 Marvel Comics of 2021. In order to give all of these stories in this anthology their due, we’re going to be examining each and every one (along with the creators behind them)! All of the letting in this anthology were lettered by Ariana Maher.
Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades #1
First of all, let’s talk about what it’s like to pick this issue up. This is a thick comic, with nearly 100 pages – that means it gets one of those special spines that include printing announcing the book’s title, so it can be easily pulled from the shelf again and again. This will prove useful, because you’ll want to return to this issue again and again!
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
This anthology opens with an introduction by Frederick Luis Aldama, A.K.A. Professor Latinx! This is an insightful and meaningful opening that sets a good tone for the whole issue.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
And the opening story is an amazing one: “Just as Strange as You” by Terry Blas, Julius Ohta, and Erick Arciniega gives one of our favorite characters, Eva, from one of our favorite series of 2021, Reptil, the chance to take the spotlight. Let’s hope we get more of Eva at Strange Academy soon, Marvel Blog True Believers!
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
Next up is “Pa’lante Juntos” by Daniel José Older, Germán Peralta, and Jesus Aburtov. I adored the way this story pulled from real-life history (and real-life history that we don’t learn enough about in schools, to boot).
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
From there we head into “Mom’s Cooking” by Edgar Delgado and Francisco Herrera. This is the first story to foreground food, a common theme among several of the stories in this issue! I loved the way family and magic were integrated here.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
This is followed by “Legados” by Amparo Ortiz, Caio Majado, and Dono Sánchez-Almara. This gives the 2010s era White Tiger the chance to help out after the devastating 2020 earthquakes in Puerto Rico. Integrating real-world natural disasters into stories is the Marvel Comics way, and I enjoyed seeing how the Marvel heroes dealt with this awful real-life occurrence.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
From there we head into “Corn Husks” by Nico Leon and Felipe Sobreiro! This is another story about Reptil, and we know he’s one of my favorite characters. Plus, there’s a cat in this one, too! Talk about giving the people what they want!
Art by George Pérez. Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
Next, there’s an article by Jim Beard about the history of the White Tiger, Marvel’s first Latino superhero, printed in this issue. You can also read that here, on Marvel.com. Even though it is reprinted from the website, I appreciate having this information inside my comic collection, and I hope future Marvel’s Voices issue continues to feature similar inclusions.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
This story is followed by “Latinx and Proud” by Julio Anta, Enid Balám, Oren Junior, and Federico Blee. I am always a fan of stories that discuss language and how it evolves, and this story was all about that… plus, it possesses a great “world outside your window” vibe.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
Next up is “You’re Not Alone” by Claribel A. Ortega, Adriana Melo, Victor Nava, and Dijjo Lima. This story gives America and the Totally Awesome Hulk the chance to team-up against some interdimensional squid-whales. Then they go out to eat in Washington Heights. If you aren’t sold on this story yet we can’t be friends anymore.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
From there we get “Hands” by Karla Pacheco, Vanesa R. Del Rey, and Sobreiro. This is a beautifully intimate one-page story that also includes a recipe for tortillas you can make yourself! I am looking forward to trying these tortillas for myself.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
Did you know that there were many other Sorcerer Supremes before the late Stephen Strange? Meet one of them in “Fate and the Sorcerer Supreme” by Juan Ponce, Wilton Santos, Sean Parsons, and Lima. One thing you will notice in this story is the incredible art, which serves the “supernatural” angle of the story well.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
Speaking of stories that are about the “world outside your window,” in “Loco-Motion” by Yehudi Mercado, Mauro Fodra, and Fernando Sifuentes, Robbie Reyes meets a group of hateful white people… who he ends up sending on a trip via a Ghost Rider-possessed Los Angeles subway. Can you afford not to read this story, Marvel Blog True Believers?
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
This leads to “Shark’s Hunt” by Leonardo Romero. Look, we all know that Romero is a pro by now, right? Just like his story in Marvel’s Voices: Pride #1, this story-page story is a unique delight!
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
In “Operation: New World” by Desirée Proctor, Erica Harell, Paco Medina, and Blee, a hero named Risque, who is a S.W.O.R.D. Agent who originates from Miami, Florida, is exploring a strange new world in distant space. How will Risque’s personal experiences inform her first contact? Read this issue to find out, Marvel Blog True Believers!
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
Then, in “Homecoming” by Alex Segura, Alba Glez, José Marzan Jr., and Cris Peter, Sunspot returns to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I am only so familiar with Sunspot, thanks largely to his role in titles like 2017’s U.S. Avengers, so it was nice to see more of his backstory.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
In the penultimate entry, “Bienvenidos” by Gustavo Duarte, is a one-page pin-up that features many of the characters we have visited with in this issue.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
And the final story is “¿De Donde Eres?” by David Betancourt, Alita E. Martinez, Marzan Jr., and Bryan Valenza. This comic sees Black Panther and Miles Morales meeting and discusses the challenges they face as superheroes who are people of color.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
But while that may be the last story, it isn’t the end of the material in this book! Next there is “Food for Thought,” six brief interviews with the creators who spotlighted food in the Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades stories.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
And finally, there’s an interview with Angélique Roché (the host of the Marvel’s Voices podcast that inspired this series) and assistant editor Lauren Amaro, conducted by Tucker Markus, and explaining how this anthology came together. Then we get “La Historia de Nosotros,” a quick rundown of recommended reading by Roché.
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
Are you getting the picture, Marvel Blog True Believers? Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades is bursting at the seams with incredible Marvel action! Don’t miss it!
Available at Your LCS Today
If you want to get a copy of Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades #1 for yourself, a copy is most likely available at your Local Comic Shop (LCS) today. Furthermore, you may be able to score one of the many variant covers for this issue, too!
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.
Did you get a chance to read Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades #1, Marvel Blog True Believers? What did you think? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section!
