A Mexican Chinese superhero brings a forgotten part of history alive

A new issue of the Mexican American “El Peso Hero” comic book tells a story about Mexico that very few readers know about.

“There is a long history of Chinese immigration to Mexico,” said the comic book’s creator, artist and educator Héctor Rodríguez, in an interview with NBC News about “El Comandante Chong,” a new issue released Monday.

“But there is also a history of anti-Chinese movements, including deportations, expulsions and genocide. And this history has been forgotten or purposely put away.”

Dressed in a modest white shirt and blue jeans, the cross-border hero El Peso Hero is a champion of Latinos and Mexican Americans, particularly immigrants. He takes on drug cartels, human traffickers and corrupt agents on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.