Book 22 Review:Ricanstruction

This review is something a little more personal to me. The proceeds of this book go towards helping Rebuild Puerto Rico. Most of my family lives in Puerto Rico. Most of my happy childhood memories took place there. I can still remember picking oranges from the front yard and my Abuela hand squeezing orange juice for breakfast. As the world knows 2 major hurricanes hit Puerto Rico and currently it was revealed that the death count is in the 4000+ not 60s as originally documented. Not having power for 144 days can really cause damage to people who need it to survive (talking about hospitals here, no power equals no life saving measures).

So anyway this comic was created as one of the fundraising attempts to help the island. I could go on rants but this is a book blog. I am here too review the comic so I won’t say more than I already did. But to fairly review this comic you have to accept it for what it is. A bunch of short stories told in order to teach you about the current struggle they face rebuilding, who they are as a people, and some history about their past and hopes for the future. There is even a short story about two coqui’s. They are a major part of my memories as a kid. Hearing them sing every night. So it really was more of a way to show you a little about the culture.

Star Rating: 5 out of 5
I have been reading a reviews of this comic that seem to totally miss the point about this comic. First off, La Borinquena is a hero who has her own comics. She was not created just for this comic. Yes DC lent their characters to the short stories in this book, NO this book is not about the superheroes battling baddies. It is them literally helping during a disaster. and it wasn’t just the heroes, but some villains too. Harley Quinn made an appearance ( I love her).

The point of the short stories in the comics were not about this fictitious heroes and antiheroes, it was about the people of Puerto Rico and their spirit. It has stories about Puerto Ricos current citizens, the people who are in the mainland trying to cope with their loss, what people went thru as the hurricanes hit, and potential futures. I would be lying if I said it did not make me cry at many parts. I felt Pride for being Puerto Rican, and I also felt pain that there are still so many suffering, and that the island that I once lived on is no longer the same. The little parts with the heroes was cute, and hearing some characters say a little word or two in Spanish really was a little funny.

Not all characters were captured in their essence….but again it wasn’t about the DC heroes, it was about the people of Puerto Rico and the heroes banning together to help them.  I will say that they did capture some heroes like Wonder Woman and Poison Ivy (not a hero I know) perfectly which is hard to do in little short stories.

Pros:

• It really captured the essence of the Puerto Rican people
• It showed that the real heroes of the story are those willing to stand up and help, not the fictional heroes.
• It puts a face to the people on the island as well as to those who are trying to help them.

Cons:

• If you are looking for DC super heroes being the main focus you WILL be disappointed. They are guest stars and have almost little cameos. This isn’t about them…it’s about Puerto Rico
• Not really a con but there were parts that were not in English and for a non speaker you may not understand what’s being said….just look at the pictures and you will figure it out.

Overall:

It was a neat way to try and raise money to help Puerto Rico. It was a collection of several short stories touching on a variety of topics. You can get the comic here http://a.co/d8HYiAm and all the proceeds will go to help rebuild. If you are looking for a book about the DC Heroes being the focus you are not going to find that. If you want a way to help Puerto Rico without having to make a major commitment here you go. Again, I would not get this comic if you are looking so a comic with super heroes as the main focus…the whole point is that the reader has the potential to be the hero, we all do.