#wanda maximmoff 616

[scarlet--wiccan]

Scarlet Witch (2023) #1 Variant Cover by Pepe Larraz

According to Larraz, the composition of this piece was inspired by Flamenco dancers, as a nod to Wanda’s Romani culture. Flamenco is a dance form originated by the Cale Romani-- commonly known as gitano-- community of Spain, specifically Andalucía. That is pretty far away from where Wanda grew up, but for Larraz, who is a Spanish artist, the reference makes a lot of sense. Larraz posted on his Twitter:

My cover for Scarlet Witch #1. I specially like this one, because I painted it myself and had a blast doing it. To me it makes sense that sorcery should be like a dance. Considering her Romani ancestry, and me being a Spaniard, a flamenco inspired pose seemed a proper choice.

Carmen Amaya

Flamenco is one of Spain’s most well-established and celebrated cultural art forms, but, as is often the case, Romani contributions to the Spanish art canon are often overlooked-- especially in global representation. As a person of Cale gitano descent myself, I was absolutely filled with joy to see my culture not only represented, but directly acknowledged and credited by a comics industry professional. Superhero comics have a very long and rich history of whitewashing and misrepresenting the Romani people-- I’m just not used to people genuinely trying to include us!

It really feels like this upcoming Scarlet Witch series is going to change the way Wanda and Pietro are represented, and hopefully signal a positive for Romani characters across the genre. The artists working on the series have clear, conscious decision to draw them as visible people of color, and that’s a big deal! Look at how Dauterman, Pichelli, and Wilson are drawing and coloring Wanda--

That ^ is a shukar romni! And I’ve had the opportunity to speak briefly with Dauterman about this on IG, so I know it’s something he was aware of while figuring Wanda’s new look. It’s just really gratifying to see this happen after so long.