Single Issue Showcase: America #1 – “Pa’ Fuera, Pa’ La Calle”

Joe Quinones's cover for America #1

The first issue of any series can face an uphill battle to entertain its readers, especially if it’s for a character with a complicated history in an established universe. It must introduce the character well enough that new readers don’t feel alienated but old readers don’t feel patronized or bored, accomplish this same task with the book’s premise and supporting cast, but bring enough superhero action and drama to satisfy all readers, and it must provide enough hints for future stories to compel future issues. Fortunately, America #1, released this past March, accomplishes each of these tasks with a vibrancy and deftness not typically seen in a mainstream comic. There’s a reason this book is still going strong.

America Chavez first appeared in a limited series in 2011 titled Vengeance, but she is perhaps best known for being a key member of Young Avengers back in 2013. That team also featured Wiccan and Hulkling, a young gay couple that are still being used as an excuse for why we don’t need any more queer representation; America herself came out in issue #15.

When news broke that she would be the star of her own series written by Gabby Rivera and drawn by Joe Quinones, it was cause for celebration. A book starring a queer Latinx would be written by a queer Latinx! It’s a shame that something that makes sense gets to be treated as groundbreaking. Ms. Rivera’s story hits all the requirements I listed earlier in genuinely amusing and affecting ways. America leads the Ultimates, argues with her girlfriend (providing as much a showcase for her teleportation powers as a fight with an interdimensional being), and starts college. Sotomayor University is an established setting that resonates as plausible and fully realized. This is helped immensely in a two-page spread that literally maps it out, but also in Mr. Quinones’s design and artwork. Everything I've mentioned comes to life through his work.

America #1 is probably still available at your local comics shop, but can also be purchased at the publisher’s website. It will be collected into America, Volume 1: The Life and Times of America Chavez, which will be available October 18.