About this episode

The episode features an interview with Julio Anta and Daniel Irizarri discussing their comic 'Beast of Borikén' and its themes of activism and grief.

It’s fantastic when a comic gives you a jolt. Beast of Borikén, written by Julio Anta and illustrated by Daniel Irizarri, delivers a great prod, stimulating your brain to run numerous scenarios on and off the page. It’s the story of a people who’ve witnessed so much monstrosity at the hands of invaders. It’s a story of people finding strength in their neighbors, ancestors, and legends. The first issue is out now, from Dark Horse Comics and Tiny Onion, and we investigate it meaningfully with both storytellers. Set in Puerto Rico, the main character is Loli, an activist protesting an incoming resort, the face of which is yuppy CEO Simon Hunt, who is using every slippery trick in the book to break ground despite opposition. Loli is incensed and focused on stopping the overdevelopment of her ancestral lands, but is her fixation in part because she is avoiding processing a horrendous grief, since her father died alone in a hospital during Hurricane Maria? This week on the podcast, we speak with Julio Anta and Daniel Irizarri about Beast of Borikén, witnessing endless horror, and hope through collective action. We discuss the influence of The Creature from the Black Lagoon and the…

People in this episode

Hosts: Brad Gullickson, Lisa Gullickson

Guests: Julio Anta, Daniel Irizarri

Topics covered

• comic book analysis
• Puerto Rican culture
• activism
• grief and loss
• monsters in media
• collective action

Keywords

• Beast of Borikén
• Julio Anta
• Daniel Irizarri
• Puerto Rico
• activism
• Hurricane Maria
• monsters
• comic books

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dark Horse Comics, Tiny Onion

Books & works: Beast of Borikén, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Robocop 2

Places: Puerto Rico

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