Tales from la Vida celebrates this space by bringing together more than eighty contributions by extraordinary Latinx creators. Their short visual-verbal narratives spring from autobiographical experience as situated within the language, culture, and history that inform Latinx identity and life.
Comics are a big deal in the Latinx community, but you might not know how many Latinx creators are out there if your experience is limited to mainstream comics culture. Enter Tales from La Vida: A Latinx Comics Anthology, edited by Frederick Luis Aldama, which includes the work of over 80 comics creators with a wide variety of styles and addressing a wide variety of topics. It's a sheer delight to read, and will remind you how much you are missing if you confine your interests to only the relatively small number of comics creators who have hit the big time ... Given the large number of contributors, it's not surprising that the quality of artwork and storytelling varies from one comic to the next. This is not a criticism so much as an observation, and the wide variety of voices and techniques on display lends an exuberance to the collection. Each comic is self-contained, thus making this a perfect book for browsing and for discovering new comics creators you like. An additional benefit of this format: if one comic does not particular appeal to you, you need only turn the page to discover a completely different approach that you may like better.
The 70 stories in this heartfelt but uneven comics anthology explore the myriad ways of identifying with Latin-American heritage. The pieces often take the repetitive form of two-page personal reflections, almost like a collection of college admission essay outlines. The resulting staccato reading experience and lack of a sustained narrative offer the reader too many moments to bow out. Novices’ relatively unpolished work appears alongside that of masters of the form such as Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez (who contribute previously published work).
The latest title in Mad Creek’s impressive Latinographix series showcases 80-plus contributions from the flourishing Latinx graphic community. Creators were prompted 'to reflect upon the most significant moments of their lives,' rendering seven sections that explore language, coming-of-age, mythology, identity, heritage, self-image, and pop culture ... As testimony and magnification of the multitudinous Latinx experience, La Vida bursts forth con fuerte.
