America Writer Shares New Details About The Heroine's Solo Series

Last month, news broke that American Chavez was finally getting her own solo comic book series thanks to Marvel Comics. The fan-favorite character will be the star of America, a titular series that follows the young superhero as she comes to terms with her gifts, her future, and her sexuality. The famously queer heroine will be penned by YA author Gabby Rivera, and the writer is now sharing all-new details about America to the delight of fans everywhere.

Rivera and her editor Will Moses spoke with Refinery29 for an exclusive interview about America. The novice comic writer said she wasn't particularly familiar with Chavez's tenure with Young Avengers or A-Force, but she learned quickly.

"Will and Charles [Beacham, assistant editor on America] sent me all the Young Avengers to read and catch up on, and to get a sense of what has been written about America," she said. "What I also found really helpful was that there's a huge queer women and trans women comic book online community. And one of my friends is Mey Rude — she's a queer trans Latina, and she writes about comics for Autostraddle. And so before anything was signed, I was like, 'Hey, have you heard about this America Chavez character?' And Mey was like, 'Oh my God yes.' And so through her I was able to get an idea of what fans of America would want, her stellar moments and where there was excitement around her character."

As for what America will be about, Rivera said her comic will follow Chavez as she begins to question why she is fighting and what's in it for her.

"What I noticed when I was reading the Young Avengers was that it felt like America was being pulled in by different characters — [Thor villain] Loki wanted her to do this or that; the fight wasn't hers. She was treated like a member of the team, but I always wondered what's in it for her? So my thinking for this new book is that she's finally asking herself that question: What's in it for me? Why am I fighting with these people? What I want is to go to college and I want to start over, and I want to learn about myself and do this for myself. And so that is the big thing that I was thinking about. What's more American than trying to go to college and trying to find yourself?" she said.

"So America is gonna be going to class, but her class will be in Earth-616 [the main Marvel universe] and then she'll also go to other dimensions. So she gets to punch into her Women in Power class; and she gets to punch into Tribal Ancestry and You 101. Just like rad classes that I would want to take in the university of my dreams."

Rivera also teased that Chavez will discover just how powerful she really is. Fellow superheroes like Storm and Captain America will feature in America and help the heroine on her journey towards self-discovery. But, don't except the upcoming comic to be overly serious; Rivera promised fans that America will flaunt Chavez's quirks without fear.

The writer said she was interested in Chavez for all sorts of reasons, but one of the major draws was her sexuality. "One is, the identities: Queer Latina. She's also a positive presence and has these catch phrases, like 'chico.' And she has feelings for Kate [Bishop, a.k.a. Hawkeye]. But there are more questions about what her powers are, who she is and what is she interested in."

She continued, saying, "My friend Mey was like Gabby, 'Don't try to write a superhero comic book. That's not why they reached out to you. Put all the joy and excitement and energy and quirkiness that you did with Juliet and bring it to America.' So what song does she listen to when she wakes up in the morning? Does she brush her teeth in her underwear? What type of girl is she? The fundamental questions you have about someone you want to be friends with."

America #1 will be released in March 2017.

[H/T] Refinery29