DC Comics' alleged changes to Hispanic Heritage Green Lantern art draws criticism on social media

DC Comics is facing criticism on social media after the publishing giant allegedly made changes to a Green Lantern cover art celebrating the upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month.

Earlier in the summer, DC Comics unveiled a new set of cover art celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Many of the new covers prominently featured food in the artwork, but one of the comic artwork, in particular, drew heavy criticism on social: A superhero in Green Lantern holding a bag of tamales in one hand and a "Viva Mexico!!" flag on the other.

MMA journalist José Youngs criticized the Green Lantern artwork on social media.

"What are we doing here DC?" Youngs wrote on social media. "This is the cover you're going with for Hispanic Heritage Month? A floating bag of tamales in space?"

The artist who designed the artwork, Jorge Molina, broke his silence on social media. While he was careful with his words, he hinted that he may not have given the full green light on the alleged tweaks DC Comics made.

"All I can say is one has my signature and the other one doesn't," Molina wrote on social media, in part. "Go figure."

Prior to the controversial cover art being released to the public, Molina had shared his version of the cover on social media. Molina's version had the superhero Kyle Reyner holding a green lantern and resembling an art made famous by Jorge Gonzales Camerena.

"Being Mexican myself, it was a great honor to have the opportunity to pay tribute to my country and roots, that’s why I decided to pay homage to Jorge Gonzales Camerena," Molina said, in part, of his unreleased art on social media back in June 2020.

In a social media thread, Molina said his version was never released to the public by DC Comics due to legal issues.

After DC's apparent edits drew criticism on social media, Molina told his fans he's "not mad or sad about it," but instead, said he is grateful that fans got to see and learn about his original version.

"The fact [that] everyone got to see and hear my original vision gives me some gratification and that version will live on the web [forever]," Molina wrote, in part. "For now."

As of Monday night, DC Comics have not issued a formal statement in response to the Hispanic Heritage Green Lantern art.