Hero With HIV Green Arrow Comics USA
Green Arrow Comics, the first major comic book series to deal with hiv now has a new hero: Mia. She is a teenage runaway who discovers she contracted hiv during time spent as a homeless sex-worker. She then adopts the name Speedy and becomes a crime-fighter. According to its creator Judd Winck, "Mia is coming to terms with the way most young people are." "Her heroics are not a death wish, but she can't fool around anymore," added Winck. Winck said he wanted to approach hiv from the point of view of other young people.
There have been comic characters who have suffered hiv before. But this is the first time an affected woman has been made the central character. This is also the first time comics have talked of how vulnerable sex workers are to hiv. "Comics have a history of giving lessons through metaphors, but I feel we don't need metaphors. Why should it be that Mia contracts some alien virus?" asked Winck.