Latino Comic Book Stars: Rosario Dawson Is On The Occult Crimes Taskforce

Rosario Dawson is all about comics as of late. She starred in a big screen adaptation of Sin City, is set to play comic book ass-kicker Martha Washington in an upcoming movie and presented Occult Crimes Taskforce at ComicCon is San Diego. O.C.T. tracks N.Y.P.D. detective Sophia Ortiz as she takes on crimes of the supernatural variety. Sophia is modeled after Rosario, who also helped write the series. Because there is nothing she cannot do, pretty much.

One thing we’ve always liked about the comic book world is that, although the stereotype has it being overrun by doughy white fanboys, there are actually series and characters written by - and starring - lots of non-white people. Here are some of our favorites:

Love and Rockets, by the Hernandez Bros. (Gilbert, Jaime and, sometimes, Mario)

This series contains several narratives within it, including “Palomar,” set for the town in which it takes place, and “Hoppers 13″ which follows Las Locas as they love and lose and find themselves in alternate jungle universes. 

The Jaguar, by Laura Molina

 Linda Rivera, aka Cihualyaomiquiz the Jaguar, is kind of like a politically engaged, Latina Jem. Only instead of changing from a blonde into a pink-haired rockstar, Linda transforms from a law student in East Los Angeles into a catsuit-wearing vigilante whose name means “Woman ready to die in battle” in Nahuatl. he was created and drawn by LA-born artist Laura Molina.

Sonámbulo, by Rafael Navarro

Sonámbulo follows the life and times of one Salomon Lopez, a luchador who fights under the name Sonámbulo who left his small town so that his girlfriend could follow her dreams unimpeded. When mobsters unsuccessfully try to convince him to help them extort money, he becomes a marked man. After “dying,” Sonámbulo awaken to discover he had only been in a deep sleep, and now has the power to read other people’s dreams and go without sleep. 

“La Bandera”

Born in Cuban, La Bandera’s father worked as aide to Fidel Castro before decided to defect to Florida with his young daughter. Once in the States, her father became addicted to drugs and eventually died. Soon after, La Bandera discovered that she had mutant powers, including the ability to send “power blasts” through a staff she carried. She used this talent to fight drug lords in Florida. Eventually, she was rescued by none other than Wolverine and the two almost got it on.