Words: Patrick Hickey Jr
Art: Joshua Adams
Colors: Joshua Adams
Letters: John Svedese
Publisher: Legacy Comix
Sometimes life is not fair for those who deserve it, and Sarita is in that group. Despite the delinquency in her neighborhood, she is a brave and generous wife and mother who shines through in her resilience, inspiring those around her.
What seems like a nonfiction story set in Crown Heights is introduced in Legacy’s comic ‘Sarita,’ which explores with themes of delinquency, love, and religion. The main character is Sarita, a woman who has lived in Crown Heights her whole life. In fact she knows everything about his neighborhood even though it has gotten worse due to the crime rates.
This can be the story of any person in Brooklyn’s famous neighborhood, especially its black community, with a demographic of 48.8% being the most common race there. But what sets Sarita apart is that she is somebody who can get what she wants.
Sarita has a brave spirit that makes her confront the most feared gang in the neighborhood, The Lopez. At the same time she is a lovely mother of Leroy, who has built a journalism career.
The characters in Sarita are not just ink on paper but reflections of people you might know. They could be your neighbors, like Sarita’s husband Lester who cares for his wife and strives to bring her joy, making the story even more relatable. Also the vocabulary used in this story references the level of education, rudeness, and slang language.
The artwork in this comic uses colors that express an environment of poverty and social status. Graffiti, litter in the streets, and even the poor maintenance of the streets immerse you in this atmosphere.
It has a mix of saturated colors, and the amount of grain is notorious. The vignettes in each panel give us a strong feeling that something bad will happen. A combination that evokes thriller and mystery.
Gradient colors are utilized between panels—predominantly warm colors from the red, orange, and yellow families. They seem to refer to danger, as seen in stop signs, fire, or blood.
When there is a lack of opportunities and resources, the community’s quality of life and safety turn darker. This exemplifies Crown Heights where, according to NYU Furman Center, the crime rate was 12.4 crimes per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022.
Like in the beginning of the story of villains or superheroes there is a moment when something bad has to happen, a canonical event.
In Sarita’s story, her husband was one of the victims of delinquency. The day Sarita lost Lester, she also lost her hope in people. Who supports the person who always helps others? Who’s going to be the relief of Sarita?
The end of this comic leaves room for many questions. It’d be surprising if Sarita seeks revenge because she has values and attends church.
It reminds us of different stories about superheroes and villains. Initially they are ordinary people but then society makes them change their behavior, whether for good or bad. Spider-Man comes to mind as an example of this. After his uncle is shot he seeks revenge, but that doesn’t mean he will turn into a villain.
The emotional comic makes you reflect on the story of hundreds of cases like this, in which innocent people suffer the consequences of social issues such as the lack of resources, jobs, and opportunities. As a result crime rates go up and delinquents get out onto the streets.
Why did Sarita have to suffer the consequences of gang violence? She did not deserve it, but it is what it is. Life can be like that.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Does that make sense? Romans 5:3-5 says, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
