Alum Cynthia Pelayo Makes Marvel Comics Debut

From horror novels to fantastical short story collections, Bram Stoker Award–winning author Cynthia Pelayo (MFA 2010) writes widely. Now, she can add another genre to her roster: comic books. Pelayo will make her comics debut as a co-writer for White Tiger Reborn, a special one-shot issue celebrating Marvel’s first latino, Puerto Rican superhero. In the issue, White Tiger’s powers have passed to his sister Ava, who must confront old traumas and family histories in order to step up as a hero herself.

“As a Puerto Rican author, it is an honor to make my Marvel debut with White Tiger,” said Pelayo. “It’s a chance for new and longtime readers to discover the rich legacy of America’s first Latin American superhero.”

White Tiger Reborn hits shelves in October. In the meantime, Pelayo talked to us about writing for comics, her experience at School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), and the important things she has in common with White Tiger’s story.

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How is writing a comic different from writing novels or short stories? 
The key element to consider is that comics are a form of visual storytelling. Yes, narrative is important. However, text is much more abbreviated in comics. One has to consider the structural rules of panels, layout, and how much can be communicated in text on a single page. Additionally, working with comics is a highly collaborative art form as you are working with a team who will help visually create this story.

What kind of writing did you do in school at SAIC? How does that affect you today? 
At SAIC, my writing ranged from detective fiction, fairy tales, horror, poetry, and playwrighting. All of those elements that I focused on during my time at SAIC are the core of much of my writing today.

White Tiger Reborn celebrates the legacy of Marvel’s first Latin and Puerto Rican superhero. Why is this important to you? 
My parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were Puerto Rican. I was born on the island of Puerto Rico and raised on the mainland in Chicago. White Tiger’s story is important to me [because his alter ego] Hector Ayala is a part of the Puerto Rican diaspora, which is my experience. Puerto Rico was my homeland, but because of a number of reasons, my family had to leave and settle on the mainland.

The story of White Tiger is that of a superhero who grapples with being separated from his home, Puerto Rico, while navigating injustices, processing his own personal traumas, and working tirelessly to help people. I’m proud to bring this story to audiences today, in the form of Hector’s sister, Ava. She has the immense pressure of living up to this legacy, but she accepts this challenge with grace and power.

White Tiger Reborn was written by Daniel Jose Older and Cynthia Pelayo, with art by Bruno Abdias and Moises Hidalgo and a cover by Mike Hawthorne.