Organized by the New York Public Library and Paloma Celis Carbajal, Curator for Latin American, Iberian, and US Latino Collections, and Charles Cuykendall Carter, Assistant Curator in the Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle, ¡Wepa! Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics is a new exhibit celebrating and highlighting Puerto Ricans in the world of comics.

¡Wepa! Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics draws primarily from the Library’s Manuel Martínez Nazario Collection of Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics. It takes attendees through the world of Puerto Ricans in comics both in representations as well as the complex past and a future that has yet to come.

In celebration of ¡Wepa!, the Library is hosting a special gathering and panel discussion during Banned Books Week. Comic artist Ivan Velez, graphic novelist Sharon Lee De La Cruz, animator Mariela Figueroa, and artist Eliana Falcón-Dvorsky will come together to talk about craft, Puerto Rican life and culture in comics, how queerness intersects with their work, and challenges to free expression at a time of record book bans. Drag queen Megami will start the gathering, and follow up the discussion with a performance. The panel takes place October 6 at 6pm at the 53rd Street Library. Tickets are available now.

¡Wepa! Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics is open through March 8, 2026 in the Wachenheim Gallery in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.