Six original stories, a diverse creative team, and a shared vision gave shape to Voces en viñetas, a student-produced comics magazine inspired by Japanese editorial models and reimagined from the Caribbean.
Mia Nieves Reyes, coordinator and scriptwriter of Voces en viñetas.
What began as a collective spark during an academic trip to Japan evolved into the first student-led comics publication at Sagrado. Voces en viñetas is not just a magazine, it is a creative experiment where writing, illustration and editorial production converge through the lens of young Puerto Rican artists who grew up reading manga but chose to tell stories from their own context.
The first issue features six original comics, each accompanied by interviews with its creators, who took on every stage of production: scripting, drawing, editing and design. While the publication draws inspiration from Japanese magazines like Shonen Jump, the stories speak in their Puerto Rican voices. The comics travel through places such as El Morro, the Sagrado campus crosswalk, the UPR in Río Piedras and Lloréns Torres, with everyday language woven into the text. The message is clear: creating from here is not only possible, it’s powerful.
For its creators, the magazine represents more than a finished product. The project stands as an example of student-led publishing and opens doors for future generations of visual storytellers. The publication also includes a contributor glossary and functions as a record of the collective creative process.
The official launch took place on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at 4:00 p. m. in the Gran Salón of Sagrado, with the support of Epílogo, the student association for Literature and Creative Writing. Attendees met the artists, purchased printed copies and learned how the project was incubated at the university with the goal of entering Puerto Rico’s growing comics scene.
Voces en viñetas joins a growing list of student initiatives that blend creative entrepreneurship, cultural production and collaborative work, reinforcing Sagrado’s role as an incubator for projects that move beyond the classroom.
The work doesn’t end with the launch. Follow the project and its artists on Instagram @vocesenvinetas and get a printed copy through Amazon.