La Borinqueña, the Puerto Rican comic book heroine, is marking her 10th anniversary, and her creator, Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, is celebrating with a special reprint of the very first issue. The original issue, the one that launched the series a decade ago, is being printed again, this time with ten brand-new covers. Fans will be able to own a piece of that milestone for themselves.
The ten covers are the work of artists from around the world. Among them are Ariel Jesus Colon from Puerto Rico, Chris Sotomayor from New York, Manuel Preitano from Italy, Kay Sama from Japan and Juan Paolo Caragama from the United Kingdom, with others contributing as well. Each has lent an original interpretation of the character to the project.
The reprint is being funded through a campaign that supporters can back by pledging on the project's website. Backers will be able to buy a single cover, numbered one through ten, or the entire set. The money does more than pay for the printing, the creator said, it also helps continue the charity work that is tied to the character.
Bringing the artists together was, in the creator's telling, surprisingly straightforward. Many of them know the work internationally and believe in it, he said, and contribute original art for the projects. Some are artists who work for Marvel and DC, and they take time out of their busy schedules to say yes when they are simply asked by email.
The covers are being released as a strict limited edition. Depending on how successful the campaign is, the creator said, they might make only 100 of each cover, meaning a buyer could be one of just 100 owners of a given design. Once they are gone, he stressed, they are gone forever, which is part of the appeal for collectors.
The approach is built for those collectors, who the creator said love what the industry calls variants. Fans fill up their long boxes with the books, often the same issue over and over because each carries a different artist's cover, then seal them in plastic and warn others not to touch them. Many of the covers, he noted, are already being resold and bid on online.
The celebration is bound up with Puerto Rican pride. The creator said he would be at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, and that, more than likely, La Borinqueña herself would be there celebrating too. He also pointed fans to the website to find out where they can get free comic books featuring the heroine.