“What really saved me, and what really turned all of this into big love, was when I went to individual comic book shops and did signings,” she says to NPR’s Maria Hinojosa. Fortunately, love and strength will always conquer hate and fear, and Rivera rose above the attacks-thanks in part to the comics community itself. With great success can come great backlash, and for a time Rivera thought she wouldn’t be able to keep creating comics. And as America exploded onto the scene, Rivera found herself targeted in a campaign of mass online harassment of those involved with the comic book industry's efforts to include more creators and characters of diverse backgrounds. By 2017, Rivera was writing America, Marvel’s first comic series with a queer Latina superhero-but underrepresentation of marginalized groups was still the industry norm. Called the “dopest LGBTQA YA book ever” by Latina magazine, the novel captured not only critical acclaim and international attention, but also the imagination of Marvel Comics. Rivera’s first novel, Juliet Takes a Breath, is an unconventional coming-of-age-and coming out-story, based on her personal experience.
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