EL TIEMPO(Colombia)

BOGOTA -Nearly 25 years after being axed by DC Comics, "Snowflame," a cocaine-snorting comic book villain (who also happens to be Colombian), is back – and still ruffling feathers.

DC Comics artists Steve Englehart and Joe Stanton created Snowflame in 1988. "Cocaine is my God – and I am the human instrument of its will," the buzzed baddie declares. Snowflame enjoyed super strength and speed thanks to the large amounts of cocaine he inhaled. According to critics, the character concept glorified drug use -- and was also super xenophobic. DC Comics soon killed the cokehead Colombian off.

Recently, however, an American artist named Julie Sydor decided to rescue the controversial drug-crazed character, giving SnowFlame his own Internet-based comic strip.

In an interview with Colombia's El Tiempo, the artist admitted that the comic plays on the stereotype of the Colombian drug boss. "But my intention isn't to offend Latinos," she said. "I'm hoping Snowflame can transcend the stereotype and become a totally developed and believable character."

Sydor, a graduate of the Minnesota College of Art and Design, has so far drawn up 15 episodes that are "in no way sponsored by DC comics," she explains on her website.

Read the original article in Spanish