In the six months since Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, the Caribbean island still struggles to find its footing. As national attention wanes, the Puerto Rican community continues fighting so that the public doesn’t forget the islands’ plight. Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez is leading the way through comics. On May 23, he will release Ricanstruction: Reminiscing and Rebuilding Puerto Rico, an anthology to help raise money for recovery efforts. It’s not the first comic created with this goal in mind – Puerto Rico Strong (released this month) is doing the same. But it’s the first that will unite Miranda-Rodriguez’s La Borinqueña – the Boricua heroine he created in 2016 – and DC Comics’ superheroes.
La Borinqueña will join forces with Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Aquaman, The Flash, and Harley Quinn. But there’s also plenty of star power behind the comic. Rosario Dawson, Rubén Blades, Sonia Manzano, Esmeralda Santiago, and many more contributed to Ricanstruction.
The anthology – published by Edgardo’s Somos Arte – won’t only give us an unlikely team in La Borinqueña and the DC universe, it will also shine a light on Puerto Rico’s past and future. 100 percent of the proceeds will go toward organizations working on the island. “I wanted to inspire people, to share stories about the island, and to help rebuild,” Miranda-Rodriguez told The New York Times.
The 192-page book will be $19.99. Pre-order here and learn more here.