Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez\, the creator of
the independently owned Puerto Rican superhero La Borinqueñ\;a talk
s about going from writing for Marvel to creating and owning his own super
hero and using that creation for charity work in Puerto Rico and beyond.&n
bsp\; \;
\;
This talk will be followed by a comic book
making workshop with \;author of &ldquo\;How to Draw Noir Comics: The
Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling&rdquo\;\, Shawn Martinbrough.
Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez \;is a graphic novelist mos
t notably recognized as the writer and creator of the critically acclaimed
and bestselling superhero series \;La Borinqueñ\;a. In addition
\, he is the recipient of \;Eisner's Humanitarian Award \;for his
philanthropic efforts via the benefit anthology \;Ricanstruction: Remi
niscing &\; Rebuilding Puerto Rico \;featuring La Borinqueñ\;
a teaming up with \;Wonder Woman\, Superman\, Batman \;and other&n
bsp\;DC Comics heroes. He self-published this anthology under his own stud
io \;Somos Arte Studios Inc. \;and to date Edgardo has raised clos
e to a quarter of a million dollars for grassroots organizations in Puerto
Rico via the La Borinqueñ\;a Grants Program. As the \;Creative
Director and owner of Somos Arte Studios Inc.\, a Brooklyn-based creative
services studio he has worked with such notable clients as \;Atlantic
Records\, \;Columbia University\, \;Sony Pictures \;and \;
Marvel. Edgardo is also an \;Arts Envoy \;for the \;U.S. Depar
tment of State \;giving talks and leading workshops in Latin America a
bout how La Borinqueñ\;a speaks to social justice issues as a graphi
c novel. In addition\, Edgardo is a curator of art exhibitions having alre
ady produced three original Marvel comic book art exhibitions and his very
own La Borinqueñ\;a for the \;Smithsonian Museum \;and
\;Fundació\;n Corté\;s \;in Puerto Rico.
Shawn Martinbrough is the author of \;&ldquo\;How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling&rdquo\;&nbs p\;by Penguin Random House and an Eisner Award nominated artist whose comi c book projects include\; \;&ldquo\;Batman: Detective Comics&rdquo\;\, &ldquo\;Luke Cage Noir&rdquo\;\, &ldquo\;The Black Panther&rdquo\; and&nb sp\;&ldquo\;Hellboy&rdquo\;. \;He is a \;Vanity Fair \;contrib utor and an art curator.
\nShawn illustrated \;&ldquo\;Thief of Thieves&rdquo\;\, \;the graphic novel series co-created with Robert Ki rkman (&ldquo\;The Walking Dead&rdquo\;\, &ldquo\;INVINCIBLE&rdquo\;) \;and the Eisner award nominated \;&ldquo\;Promé\;thé\;e 1 3:13&rdquo\; \; \;published \;by É\;ditions Delcourt-Sol eil and ABLAZE. \;
\nMore about this Series
\nCOMICTROPOLIS is a \;series of conversations at DC Public Library locations featuring \;David \;Betancourt (The Athletic/New York T imes)\, a former culture reporter at \;The Washington Post \;and w riter for \;Marvel Entertainment \;and various guest stars from th e comic book industry. \;
\n
This series will be aimed at W
ashington&rsquo\;s vibrant comic book reading community and led by a nativ
e Washingtonian (Betancourt) who still lives in DC and grew up frequenting
Big Planet Comics (DC&rsquo\;s DMV chain of comic bookstores) in Georgeto
wn and on U Street NW. Betancourt remains an avid fan and believer in the
power of comic books and their impact on society. \;
\;
The series will be an insider \;look into \;the world of writing
comics from both Betancourt and guests and what it is like for all the cre
atives featured to work with some of the most popular brands in pop cultur
e. They will also discuss what it means to go from the worlds of Marvel an
d DC \;Comics \;to creating their own creator-owned comic book bra
nds. \;
\;