Diwata Comics Announces New Icons Special Guest Characters for AAPI Heritage Month!
Press Release
May 3, 2024 - Los Angeles
Diwata Komiks is a diversity-focused, Filipino-American-founded indie comics company dedicated to telling stories from their multicultural heritage. Comprised of a small team of multi-generational creatives from vastly different backgrounds, they provide a platform for their community to tell new stories with authentic voices through comics and more. To celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, Diwata Komiks announces that audiences will get to experience even more unique voices as two powerful new heroines, Mayari Lei and Detective Rojas, will be joining the roster in New Icons Volume 1 - the very first Filipino-American comics anthology slated for a potential fall 2024 release.
Diwata Komiks arrived on the scene with the Carmina series in late 2021, and these two characters further equalize their New Icons roster with an expanded female presence. "The women are some of the most powerful characters in our comics universe, like Carmina herself, who started it all for us," Co-Founder and Carmina Co-Creator Erica Juliet says.
Carmina: Beginnings Cover Illustrated by Roland Amago, Mayari Lei and Detective Rojas Illustrated by Kian Joshua.
Like the other Icons, what makes these two new characters unique is that they are loosely based on their creators - everyday people who have their own lived-in experiences, adding authenticity to the stories within... with fantastical twists, of course! For example, Mayari Lei based on creator and Navy veteran Mayari Acidera, is a woman who finds herself at the World Trade Center twin towers during the 9/11 attack and is saved by the activation of her latent ability to create light portals. As she found herself falling through the crumbling structure, she unwittingly created and fell through a portal to another reality, taking her to a world where colonization is a foreign concept and the present time is characterized by tribal warfare. She comes to the "SurrealArts Universe" with no memory of her past, discovering her growing light-based abilities as well as other distinctive powers. When she's not creating this kind of fictional adventure, the real Mayari [Acidera] is a bit of a hero herself, assisting veterans at Recon Chief, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization for veterans to receive help from other veterans with their professional and personal development, while maintaining the focus on improving mental health.
From Left: Navy Veteran Mayari Acidera and Councilwoman Arleen Bocatija Rojas
Arleen Bocatija Rojas is a real-life LAPD officer with an impressive law enforcement record who now serves as a council member for the City of Carson. She is a 34-year veteran Police Officer for the City of Los Angeles and holds the title of the First Female Filipino-American Police Officer in the history of the department. Her New Icons character, Detective Rojas, is an officer turned detective from the fictional South Century City known for her uncanny ability to foresee solutions to some of the most challenging cases, oftentimes solving them by herself without backup. Unknown to most, she possesses a family heirloom, an Anting-Anting (a Filipino charm) which she keeps pinned in her hair, that intensely magnifies her natural gift of “2nd sight.” The artifact’s power allows her to sense danger and see moments into the immediate future thereby effectively slowing down and freezing time for her. This allows her to uniquely react in advance to dangerous situations and aids her in finding those in need.
To celebrate the announcement of her character, Councilwoman Arleen Bocatilja Rojas will be making a special appearance at the Teofilo Coffee Company in Los Alamitos, CA at a Diwata Komiks pop-up event on Saturday, May 11 from 11 AM - 2 PM. At this milestone event, fans will have the opportunity to obtain a Special Edition Quartz Shimmer Character Card and get it signed by the councilwoman herself with artist, Kian Joshua!
Mayari Lei and Detective Rojas are but a few of the New Icons that will be appearing in this comics anthology, as the book will feature the rich experiences of individuals in a heightened, fictionalized environment that makes them icons in their own right.
"I’m really proud of this project that shows how diverse we are - especially important for a group of people underrepresented in the mainstream media," New Icons creator and Diwata Komiks Chief Creative Mark Nazal says. Co-Founder and Director of Community, Joe Arciaga adds that "representation truly does matter" citing his own excitement for the project and what it means for the Filipino-American community.
Learn more about New Icons at diwatakomiks.com/newicons.
For sponsorships, press inquiries, and potential partnership opportunities, please contact our team at info@diwatakomiks.com. For all things Diwata Komiks, follow us on all social media platforms @diwatakomiks.