Roberto Germán [00:00:01]:
Welcome to Our Classroom. In this space, we talk about education, which is inclusive of but not limited to what happens in schools. Education is taking place whenever and wherever we are willing to learn. I am your host, Roberto Germán, and Our Classroom is officially in session. Welcome back to Our Classroom. Today, we have Julio Anta, the writer of many graphic novels, including the Eisner-nominated Frontera, This Land is Our Land, A Blue Beetle Story, Home, and Sí, Se Puede: The Latino Heroes Who Changed the United States. Yes, indeed, folks. And Julio and I were recently on a panel together, and I got to hear him firsthand share his insight, and I was really inspired.
Roberto Germán [00:01:00]:
I want to write a graphic novel. I wanted to before, but after listening to Julio and digging into some of his work, I’m even more excited to write a graphic novel. And today, we’re joined by Junior Han. Junior is a senior at Lowell High School in Massachusetts who is also working on a graphic novel. This is a new exploration for him, a new idea. He’s entering new territory. And so I said, “You know what, man? This is a great opportunity to do something together, to co-host this episode, to welcome student voice.”
Roberto Germán [00:01:34]:
And we want to represent that and be collaborative in that sense and model that. So, Junior, thank you for being here, and Julio, thank you for being here.
Julio Anta [00:01:42]:
Roberto, thank you for having me. I’m super excited. It was great to meet you at NCTE, and I’m super excited to chat with you and Junior.
Roberto Germán [00:01:51]:
Junior, glad that you’re here. How are you feeling?
Junior Han [00:01:54]:
Thank you. I’m excited to be a part of this today.
Roberto Germán [00:01:57]:
Yes. Well, thank you for taking your time to join us. Let’s go ahead and dig right in because I know you have several questions lined up, Junior. And I have a number of things I want to ask that will help me in my development. I come into this as a learner. So, Julio, graphic novels, right—we know it’s a powerful medium for engaging reluctant readers.
Roberto Germán [00:02:20]:
And it seems that in the past several years, they’ve really taken off, with people truly turning to graphic novels as an instructional tool. So, what strategies or approaches would you recommend to teachers who want to introduce graphic novels as a tool for literacy development?
Julio Anta [00:02:40]:
Yeah. So just to piggyback off of what you were saying initially, graphic novels are the fastest-growing sector of publishing right now. And graphic novels for middle grade—which is middle school-aged—and young adults are the fastest-growing areas. And it might be surprising to some people, but it’s not superhero comics. You know, this is oftentimes people telling their own stories, using their own experiences, and telling coming-of-age stories and stories that have social impact. And that’s the work I’ve dedicated myself to. You know, before we started recording, Junior was telling me that he read Home, which does involve superpowered people, but through the lens of, you know, separating families at the border in 2018.
Julio Anta [00:03:38]:
What I think is so powerful about graphic novels is that they allow readers to contextualize things so much better and so much easier than traditional prose novels. In my book Frontera, which takes place in the Sonoran Desert, if it were a prose novel where I’m describing everything, it’s possible that a reader might be confused and picture this boy, Mateo, who’s crossing the Sonoran Desert, as if he were crossing the Sahara Desert or some other, more well-known desert. But in reality, the Sonoran Desert is so alive with wildlife and plants. It’s this beautiful, diverse place.
Julio Anta [00:04:20]:
And similarly, when he meets an Indigenous character named Darcy, who is native to the land of the Sonoran Desert and has seen the border cross her back when that land was part of Mexico—and, of course, before that, Indigenous land—we can show all those things in a graphic novel and make it crystal clear to readers and educators. I think there’s also a big rise in educator guides for graphic novels, which I’m very proud that all of my books have. These guides allow teachers and instructors to really dive into the themes present in graphic novels and understand how they work. For me, they’re extremely powerful.
Roberto Germán [00:04:56]:
Absolutely. Junior, do you want to build on that, especially since you just read Home and finished it last night?
Junior Han [00:05:02]:
Yeah. In Home, the story is about Mexican immigrants and how the United States government didn’t want them here. They were being kicked out and taken away from everything, but they fought back and discovered their own powers.
Roberto Germán [00:05:29]:
What are some things that surfaced for you as you were reading it, or even some questions that you have for Julio as an author, as a writer, that might support your development as a writer?
Junior Han [00:05:44]:
I would like to know, if you have an illustrator, do you give them ideas, or do you let them come up with a vision based on your words?
Julio Anta [00:05:56]:
Yeah, that’s a great question. I do work with illustrators because, trust me, you wouldn’t want to see a graphic novel drawn by me—it’s not good. I started when I was a kid, drawing comics. That was my first introduction to creative work, making little comics with my brother. But, yeah, I do work with illustrators. There’s a core group of illustrators I like to collaborate with, and generally, the way it works is I write a script, sort of like a screenplay for a movie. It describes what’s happening and breaks it down into pages and panels.
Julio Anta [00:06:24]:
So, for example, the first page of Home has three panels. I would write, “Page one: three panels. Panel one,” and then I’d describe what you should see in that panel. I paint a picture with words of what’s happening, like, “Juan and his mother are walking alongside train tracks, and behind them is a caravan of migrants who are following.” I might describe that their clothes are dirty, indicating a long journey, and they have big backpacks.
Julio Anta [00:07:07]:
The artist then draws it, and I also indicate the text—narration or dialogue—so the artist knows where to leave space for words. When I write, I’m very visual. I picture every single panel in my head. But when working with a great artist, what they create can be totally different from what I imagined, and often it’s much better because that’s their specialty. My specialty is writing, and theirs is illustrating. When those two things come together, it creates the beautiful collaboration that makes comics or graphic novels special.
Junior Han [00:07:52]:
And your storytelling combines both the words and the visuals.
Roberto Germán [00:07:53]:
Yeah, and we see that, not just through the illustrations but certainly through the words. Your stories combine historical and cultural themes. How can graphic novels serve as entry points for teaching complex topics like immigration, activism, or identity in a way that resonates with students? Junior started speaking about this when he mentioned Home and what he took away from it. But how can educators leverage that to dig deeper into the complex issues affecting society? You mentioned you wrote Home in 2018, and here we are in 2024—it’s still relevant.
Julio Anta [00:08:42]:
Yeah, I think all media—whether it’s film, TV, prose, or graphic novels—gives us a window into lives and identities that might not be our own. One flaw of humanity is that it’s hard for us to see other perspectives unless we directly interact with people from those perspectives. Media bridges that gap.
Julio Anta [00:09:19]:
Graphic novels, in particular, allow for more nuance and less confusion compared to prose novels. For example, in Home, when Juan is ripped out of his mother’s arms and they’re being separated by the government, you can describe that scene in prose with lots of descriptive language. But there’s nothing like seeing Juan’s face change over a series of panels—from desperation to anger and confusion. That visual element conveys emotions in a way that’s unique to graphic novels.
Julio Anta [00:09:49]:
You can also add cultural context through visuals—like the backpacks, water jugs, and other elements in Home that indicate a long, difficult journey. Those details provide deeper cultural understanding. Graphic novels excel in combining those elements of storytelling and education in a way that’s both powerful and accessible.
Roberto Germán [00:10:36]:
What I appreciate about graphic novels is that they allow for multimodal learning. Some folks can process words well, but others learn best through visuals. Graphic novels merge both. Junior, you had another great question earlier—go ahead and share it with Julio.
Junior Han [00:11:02]:
I’d like to know, where do you get your story ideas or inspiration for your books?
Julio Anta [00:11:08]:
Ideas come from everywhere. For Home, it started with the 2018 family separation crisis. At that time, I had a three-year-old son—now he’s 10—and I was thinking about how my father came to the U.S. from Cuba when he was five. He was welcomed with open arms, without needing to worry about his immigration status because of U.S. policy toward Cuba at the time. On the other hand, my mother’s parents were undocumented immigrants from Colombia. They lived in fear, constantly moving whenever there was a rumor about immigration raids.
Julio Anta [00:12:19]:
With those two family stories in mind, I watched the family separation crisis unfold, asking myself, “What would I do if I were in that situation?” Writing Home became a way for me to process that anger and distress. I wanted to create a story where people who had no agency in real life could fight back and have power.
Julio Anta [00:12:59]:
For Frontera, my second book, I wanted to explore the history of migration in the U.S. That’s when I learned about the Bracero Program during World War II, which brought Mexican workers to fill labor shortages in U.S. factories and farms. After the war, many of those men, who had built lives here, were deported when they were no longer needed. That research led to the story of Frontera.
Julio Anta [00:14:03]:
I have a middle-grade book coming out in March called Speak Up, Santiago. It’s about a child dealing with anxiety and struggling to speak Spanish, inspired by my own experience growing up bilingual and now watching my son navigate similar challenges. All my books come from personal experiences or things happening in the real world. I also try to fill gaps in literature by writing stories that don’t exist yet but should.
Junior Han [00:15:07]:
Why did you decide to write graphic novels?
Julio Anta [00:15:13]:
I’ve loved comics since I was a kid. I grew up in Miami, and I remember going to Eckerd Drugs, where they had a spinner rack of comics. I started with Archie and Sonic the Hedgehog, then got into manga, anime, and superhero comics. Like many comic readers, I eventually thought, “How hard can it be to write one of these?” Turns out, it’s really hard—but it’s worth it.
Julio Anta [00:16:08]:
The family separation crisis inspired me to write my first comic as an adult. I wanted to contribute to the conversation and create something where people in powerless situations could have agency. That’s what pushed me to write Home, and from there, I kept going.
Roberto Germán [00:16:54]:
Great question, Junior. I want to build on that—particularly the notion of agency and fighting back. With the rise of book bans and challenges to literature centering marginalized voices, what advice do you have for educators who want to advocate for graphic novels in their curriculum?
Julio Anta [00:17:17]:
That’s a tough one. As a writer, it’s important not to self-censor. I know authors who have toned down their stories to avoid being banned, but I believe it’s more important than ever to double down on what you believe. For educators, I think the key is highlighting the historical significance of these stories.
Julio Anta [00:18:10]:
For example, Frontera is U.S. history—whether people like it or not. A book like Sí, Se Puede, which profiles important Latinos throughout U.S. history, can be used in social studies, but also in science when discussing figures like astronaut Ellen Ochoa or chemist Mario Molina. Educators should find ways to integrate these books across subjects and advocate for their value in expanding students’ understanding of history, culture, and civic engagement.
Roberto Germán [00:18:43]:
Yes, that’s powerful. And it’s also about keeping students engaged, right? Because when students can see themselves in stories, when they can connect with characters and experiences, that’s when real learning happens. Junior, do you have any final questions before we wrap up?
Junior Han [00:18:59]:
Yeah. What advice would you give to someone like me, who’s just starting to work on a graphic novel for the first time?
Julio Anta [00:19:06]:
That’s a great question. My advice would be: just start. The hardest part is sitting down and actually starting to write. You might not know exactly where you’re going with the story yet, and that’s okay. Just get the ideas out of your head and onto the page.
Julio Anta [00:19:27]:
Another important thing is to read as much as you can. Read all kinds of comics and graphic novels, not just superhero ones. Pay attention to how they’re structured. Think about what makes certain stories stand out to you, and learn from those.
Julio Anta [00:19:42]:
Also, don’t be afraid to rewrite. My first drafts are never good, and that’s normal. Writing is rewriting. And if you’re working with an illustrator, collaborate with them. Be open to their ideas, because they can bring things to life in ways you might not have imagined. The key is to keep going. Even if it’s tough, even if it doesn’t turn out perfect right away—just keep creating.
Junior Han [00:20:09]:
Thank you. That’s really helpful.
Roberto Germán [00:20:12]:
Yeah, that’s solid advice. Thank you, Julio, for taking the time to join us today and sharing your insights. It’s been inspiring to hear about your journey and your approach to storytelling. I’m sure our listeners will get a lot out of this conversation.
Julio Anta [00:20:28]:
Thank you so much, Roberto. It was an honor to be here. And Junior, best of luck with your graphic novel. I can’t wait to see what you create.
Junior Han [00:20:36]:
Thank you. I really appreciate that.
Roberto Germán [00:20:38]:
All right, folks, that’s a wrap. Thank you for tuning into Our Classroom. Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast. And as always, stay curious and keep learning. Peace and love.
