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Hollywood’s love affair with the comic book industry continues with current movies “The Dark Knight,” Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” and “Wanted” making a massive impact at the box office. And, with additional movies being adapted from graphic novels and comic titles like Punisher: War Zone, Captain America, The Watchmen, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Avengers, Thor, and The Spirit, the movie and comic twosome appears to be headed for a very happy ending.

Writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach definitely knows a thing or two about the relationship between the two forces. The gracious writer got his start writing for television before making a move over to comics to only then return to television again with a hit series based on his comic book title, The Middleman.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, later moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan with his family, Grillo-Marxuach caught the writing bug in 1977 when he saw “Star Wars.” While watching an interview with George Lucas in Puerto Rico, he recalls “He said that he’d gone to USC Film School and I remember just thinking my God, there’s a school where people learn to do that? Where is it? Can I go there? From an early age that became what I wanted to do with my life and you can look at the years that followed as me trying to get there.”

In 1993, after graduating from USC Film School, Grillo-Marxuach landed his first job at NBC Television at a time where Latinos working in the upper echelon of the television industry were scarce. “At the time that was one of those things where they were really serious about bringing in somebody of Latin descent because they didn’t have that level of diversity in their executive ranks, so obviously my background is very helpful to me in that respect” states Grillo-Marxuach. “I have a lot of respect for a lot of Latinos who worked in the industry before me because I think that they earned that kind of a playing field for a guy like me.”

Grillo-Marxuach has a level of excitement in his voice that doesn’t seem containable, and nor should I as he is part of the current growing wave of Latin writers finding success. He has written for the mega-hit television show “Lost,” (and also served as one of the producers) along with “Medium,” “Boomtown,” and “Charmed.” In 1998 he wrote a television pilot for a show called “The Middleman.” At the time, fellow “Lost” and DC Comic writer Paul Dini suggested he instead take his idea and turn it into a comic book title due to the difficulties of funding a huge television project. So, with Dini’s aide and the illustrations of Les McClaine, the television writer turned comic book writer with the Viper Comic’s release of The Middleman, with the slogan “Fighting evil so you don’t have to.”

The title “took on a life of its own,” according to Grillo-Marxuach. The work and heroics of The Middleman is something that is handed down over the years, Middleman to Middleman. With the help of sidekick, partner, artist, temp employee, everyday girl Wendy Watson, the two battle the dark forces to keep us safe. The self-proclaimed “comic book geek” admitted he’s surprised he didn’t take the comic book road before. “When I was in high school is when The Watchmen first came out and that was my first experience with comic books. I always loved the medium.”

And, it’s a medium that has seen a recent surge of Latin illustrators, editors and writers. “I think there’s been a Latino explosion pretty much everywhere,” he says. When Grillo-Marxuach wrote The Middleman, the character of Wendy Watson wasn’t written as a Latina character. “Wendy was White, because when I wrote this 10 years ago, I really didn’t look at it and think a Latina leading woman was something that’s plausible,” states Grillo-Marxuach. But, as the comic found its way unto the ABC Family Network as a television series, the network approached him and asked if it was possible that Wendy’s character be Puerto Rican, to which he replied “You bet.” “My only caveat was that was I wanted to keep the character of Wendy Watson I wrote, but to not write to a stereotype. She can be Latina, but she’s got to be a Latino like me. She’s got to like comic books. I just wanted to make sure the portrayal was not one based solely on her ethnicity, but her character.”

It’s the network’s request that suggest the Latino buying power is finally being noticed, believes Grillo-Marxuach. “We are a tremendously fast growing ethnic group in the United States,” he says. “We are one that is being understood of how to be a financial force in terms of our buying power and with that comes a lot of representation in all the fields.”

With Wendy Watson becoming a Latina character on “The Middleman: television series, played by Natalie Morales, it seems Latin characters are still missing in action in comic book and graphic novel titles. “I can’t think of a single, major comic book character offhand that is Latino. Certainly none of the big characters,” states Grillo-Marxuach. “You know what would be nice is if someday a Latin woman could play Wonder Woman and nobody wonders where she’s from.”

Watch an exclusive video tour of Javier giving us a tour of all things Middleman courtesy of ABC Family and vidagirl.

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