For five years, comedian Al Madrigal spent time riffing on his Mexican identity as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s “Latino correspondent.”

In his own stand-up, Madrigal has highlighted the absurdity of being lumped into the “Latino comedian” category, an experience he first contended with when he left the comedy scene of his native San Francisco to perform in Los Angeles. 

As Madrigal has learned firsthand, representation in the entertainment industry is often handled bluntly, to put it mildly. But this month, Madrigal is using his clout to address a glaring absence. As a comics fan, Latino superheroes were pretty much nonexistent when he was growing up. 

Thankfully, that’s starting to change, Marvel’s new Spider-Man, Miles Morales, is one recent mainstream example. And Madrigal is adding to the mix with “Primos,” a new comic he wrote that tells the story of Ricky Pascal, a teenager who discovers that he and his cousins have been handed down some pretty potent superpowers. 

The Takeaway spoke with Madrigal about the events that led to his name being published on the front page of “Primos.”