A compilation of five different Puerto Rican comics

Art from "La Borinqueña" shown with permission of Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez. Art from "Puerto Rican War" shown with permission of John Vásquez Mejías. Art from "00773" shown with permission of Stephany Moyano Ayala. Art from "Guailí" shown with permission of Alice Vanessa Falto Ayala. Art from "Somebody Else's Story" shown with permission of Ramos Sepúlveda. 

In the 1990s, Manuel Martínez Nazario, a librarian in San Juan, Puerto Rico, began building a collection aiming to demonstrate the diverse artistic expressions and unique perspectives of Puerto Rican comic book creators. After decades of curatorial work, he deposited his world-class collection—which documents Puerto Ricans in the comics industries of both Puerto Rico and the continental United States—at The New York Public Library in 2022. 

This exhibition draws primarily from the Library’s Manuel Martínez Nazario Collection of Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics. It explores aspects of Puerto Rican life and culture along the axes of space (representations of “the Island” itself; Puerto Rican relationships with New York City) and time (Puerto Rico’s complex past; Puerto Rican visions of futuristic and fantasy worlds).

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This exhibition is organized by The New York Public Library and curated by Paloma Celis Carbajal, Curator for Latin American, Iberian, and U.S. Latino Collections, and Charles Cuykendall Carter, Assistant Curator in the Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle.

About the Manuel Martínez Nazario Collection of Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics

Fish eye view of the Manuscripts and Rare Books Division

The Manuel Martínez Nazario Collection of Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics is housed in the Library’s Manuscripts and Archives Division. It contains more than 1,600 comic books, trade paperbacks, hardcover collections, and zines by Puerto Rican creators, as well as comics about Puerto Rico or featuring Puerto Rican characters. Materials in the collection, dating from the 1950s to 2024, were published in Puerto Rico and the continental United States. They feature the work of such writers and artists as Ricardo Álvarez-Rivón, Rangely "Rangy" García Colón, Martín Gaudier, Rosa Colón Guerra, George Pérez, Kenneth Rocafort, and Rosaura Rodríguez. 

Learn about the acquisition of this important collection in this NYPL interview with Manuel Martínez Nazario. 

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