Latinx

Following the 2016 shooting in the Orlando Pulse nightclub, where the majority of patrons and victims were Latinx, Marc Andreyko initiated the Love Is Love (2017) comic book anthology to benefit survivors. When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017, two comic book anthologies were published in support of disaster relief and recovery for the island: Puerto Rico Strong (Lopez et al. 2018) and Ricanstruction: Reminiscing and Rebuilding Puerto Rico (2018), featuring superhero La Borinqueña. While the term Latinx is relatively new, it demarcates a multifaceted category that includes identities, histories, cultural productions, academic fields, and niche markets, affecting how one might classify or characterize Latinx comics. Within our contemporary lexicon, Latinx (noun) may refer to (1) individuals born or residing within the United States of Latin American descent regardless of gender expression or, more specifically, (2) gender-nonconforming individuals born or residing within the United States of Latin American descent. Within the US, Latin America is usually understood as any of the countries or territories south of the US—including Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean—that speak Romance languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Debatable exceptions include English-speaking countries such as Jamaica, Belize, or Guyana or Dutch-speaking countries such as Suriname. Puerto Rico is also unique in that it is currently a US territory or commonwealth, which situates it within a subliminal space between other Latin American countries and the United States.