Derek Horn
Welcome back to In These Uncertain Times, a podcast about creating and connecting in the midst of uncertainty. I’m your host, Derek Horn.
Julio Anta is a writer based in New York City. Raised in Miami by Cuban and Colombian parents, his writing focuses on the intersection of Latinx identity and American life.
Julio’s five-issue miniseries “Home” will be published monthly by Image Comics starting in April 2021 and his YA graphic novel debut FRONTERA will be published by HarperCollins in 2023.
Julio and I discuss the challenges of working through the pandemic as a parent to a young child and how he collaborates with editors and visual artists. Julio shares some thoughts about the vast diversity of Latinx people and the lack of political nuance they’re often afforded, and we hear about how many of his stories make their journey from the headlines to the page of a comic.
As a heads up, our conversation touches on violence inflicted by ICE and the police.
Thank you again to Julio for your time and be sure to check out his work.
-
Hey Julio, welcome. How are you doing?
Julio Anta
I'm good. I'm good. Thanks for having me.
Derek Horn
Thank you for joining. So to get started, can you introduce yourself to listeners in your own words?
Julio Anta
Yeah, sure. So my name is Julio, I'm a writer, mainly of comics and graphic novels. My first graphic novel is called "Home". And depending on when you listen to this, that was likely just announced. And it's a story about a boy named Juan who is separated from his mother at the US border, just superhuman abilities are beginning to manifest in him. It's a story that tackles what's obviously timely issues related to the border here in the US, but it's also a story about survival and identity. And that book "Home" will be serialized monthly, through Image Comics, it'll come out of single issues, starting in April for five months, and then sometime towards the end of the year, it'll come out as a single volume that you can pick up at a store.
Derek Horn
Nice. So as a writer, how has COVID forced you to adapt your process with your projects this year?
Julio Anta
Yeah, COVID had a really interesting time for me, where I had just sold my first two books on proposal. So they weren't actually written yet. And, you know, I feel like for some other people, that might be kind of the perfect way to start a lockdown. You know, just have all those projects on the docket, and use that as a sort of creative incubation or something like that. But for me, it's different because I have a full time job. And I also have a six-year-old son. So it was very different. For me, I think the way I've had to adapt my process is that I've had to really learn to schedule my days out. I remember towards the beginning of the pandemic, and March and April, I would go through some days, and I'd go to bed and I'd feel like nothing was accomplished. Nothing creatively at least. So you know, it helped to really start setting up my days so that I could know that I have two hours of uninterrupted time to write.
And I think for me with my process even before the pandemic, I'm a very heavy outliner when it comes to writing. So it was very it was it benefited me a lot to be able to know exactly what I was planning on writing. what my goals were how many pages I wanted to write, what exactly was going to happen in those pages that I was going to write that day. And that really just helped me make sure that I knew what I was doing and I didn't just go to bed by the end of the day and not have accomplished anything.
Derek Horn
Nice. And I know that working as a comic and graphic novel writer, that means working with artists and illustrators and letterers and all that. How is COVID changed that way? You work with them at all? How do you communicate with them? Is it different per artist?
Julio Anta
Sure. It's definitely different for every project. But by and large, it hasn't really, the pandemic hasn't really changed the way that I communicate with the people I collaborate with. It's already a kind of method of working remotely with different people. So using the example of home, I work with an artist named Ana, and she lives in Poland. And we do everything via email. So you know, any sort of language barrier issues, difference in, you know, time differences, everything, it's just done through email. So, you know, I think my, the process of writing a comic and a graphic novel, obviously involves a lot more people than if you're just a prose writer, writing a book, you know, solitarily. So for me, it usually starts out with my editor, who works at the publisher. And generally, that involves, you know, a lot of conversations about what is going to happen in the book, working on those outlines that I mentioned earlier, and then getting approval on the manuscripts before it even goes out to an artist. And then when it goes to an artist, they're very detailed scripts, where I kind of dictate how many panels are in each page, what exactly happens in each panel. And usually, there's a lot of photo and video references as well that they can use to try to, you know, to help them see what I have in my head. And, and like I said, that's all done via email. And then after the artists comes, the coloring, and the lettering, and again, that's all just via email. And that's been kind of the way that it's worked pre pandemic, which has made this process a lot easier to kind of go through since it's all already been remotely.
Derek Horn
That's great. I know you have a young son, Harold, what has it been like juggling work and parenting this year?
Julio Anta
It's been really difficult. You know, it's been such a new process. You know, I feel like, for me, at least someone who, like I mentioned, does have a day job, and also writes, that's already difficult, you know, to manage a regular workload, and then find time to try to be creative. But then you throw into that also having to be a homeschooling teacher. Also having to manage, my son is six, so, he is not at the age where I can just put him in front of a computer for virtual school and he's just gonna do it all by himself. It does require a lot of hand holding and encouraging. And also me trying to understand the various different math methods that they're using. That doesn't always make sense to me. But luckily, my wife is, has been here to also, you know, shoulder a lot of that load. So, when I mentioned earlier that part of the way that I've adjusted my process has been making sure that I get these solid blocks of time where I can make sure I'm focused on my writing. She's a big part of that, I wouldn't be able to do that otherwise.
Derek Horn
That's great. Yeah, I think that that's something that I mean, even before this, some people were working and you see their creative and professional accomplishments on like LinkedIn or on Instagram or whatever. It's like, you don't really see all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes and all the other people that helped make it possible. That's one of the things I want to highlight is what's really going on when people are making and creating things rather than this kind of very surface-level thing you might see on social media.
Julio Anta
Yeah, definitely. A lot of people, you just see like the flashy announcements, some sort of accomplishment, or book launch or something like that. But if they don't really show how tough it can be behind the scenes, especially now, and this crazy time and dealing with everything that we're dealing with it's not it's not, as for lack of a better term, like glamorous as it seems.
Derek Horn
Right. So going into some of your projects, more specifically, most of your stories are tethered to reality and current events and cover things from immigration and ICE, to police brutality, and things like the new challenges brought on by that pandemic. How do you go about taking these current events and things that are happening in the world and translate them into these very human stories that fit on a page?
Julio Anta
Yeah, you know, I think to be perfectly honest, most of the stories that I write revolve around things that just inherently make me angry. And things that I see in the world. And I look around, and I wonder, am I the only one that feels like this enraged by what I'm seeing? And I think writing a lot of these stories has proved that I'm not the only one, just based off of the reaction that some of these stories have gotten. But a lot of this is part of a form of venting and also my probably feeble attempt at trying to change other people's minds. So they're stories that are, while they may not be true to me, in the sense that I didn't experience some of these things, they're true to my reaction and my feelings towards these subjects.
But I think to answer your question, and they usually start off with a small kernel of an idea. And it's, you know, just to use an example of one of the stories. It's what if the father of a child murdered by the police decided to, you know, get violent revenge on the cop that killed his child? What would happen? What would that look like? And that's a story called The Price of Freedom. And that's a short comic that I made with Jacoby Salcedo, he's one of my frequent collaborators. And with a lot of these stories, I tend to sit with them for a long time before actually starting writing them. I tend to have like a handful of projects that are just bouncing around my head, in various stages of development, that I kind of just keep there, and I just think about them all the time, until one of them feels ready to become something. And some of them never do. But using the example of that story, that was something that I just, you know, kept thinking of inside my head, like, what would I do if this happened to me? And, you know, while that may not be what I actually do, it was definitely a direction that My mind went in. And that since that story was released, I've had a lot of people tell me, like, "Wow, I've thought the same thing." You know, "I'm surprised that that's never happened." And in that story, it kind of explores what that would look like.
And, and yet, so a lot of these stories are really just kernels and an idea that turned into a character. And that's really where I put most of my focus on, on these really grounded, most of my stories are really grounded, which is, I think, what makes them more impactful for these real-life stories and issues that we do see and deal with every day in this country. So yeah, I think more than anything, I focus on the characters, and then, you know, whatever the plot or the story that I thought of, they really exist in service to those characters.
Derek Horn
What does your media diet look like? Be it news or even other comics or movies, TV, things like that?
Julio Anta
Yeah you know like a lot of people, I think, I've spent the last four years kind of in a rage and glued to multiple news podcasts. And Twitter and reading the New York Times app all the time and TV news. But lately, post-election, I've kind of pared that down a bit. You know, with the exception of, you know, election week that it had it turned into being, I don't really watch much TV news anymore. I mostly just listened to a few podcasts.
When it comes to news, I think that the US media has done a really poor job at covering Trump, I think, and we all know that. But I think it's more apparent to me when I listened to international news podcasts. So one of the ones that I listened to is called The Briefing, it's from Monocle, and it's a daily news podcasts. Usually, it's people who are based in the UK, in France and in different parts of Europe. So it really changes my perspective on how I see US politics and news. And it also gives me insight into what the rest what's happening in the rest of the world where we don't really, you know, in the US media, unless it's some sort of terrorist attack or something that directly affects the US, we very rarely hear about, you know, the things that are happening in other parts of the world. So I like listening to that podcast a lot. It's daily, and it really helps me understand what's happening in the rest of the world. And then get a different perspective on what's happening here.
I listen to a lot of writing podcasts, which has been really helpful for me, especially and ot just in methods of writing and tips and that sort of thing. But a lot of these podcasts are about, you know, the things that you deal with as a writer, the things that you deal with when you're dealing with publishers. You know, one of the things for me is working with a publisher for the first time, the experience of getting revisions. And it's this experience where for, you know, I thought it was just me until I heard other people saying it. You know, no matter how great your editor is, and how nice, they kind of wrap up these revisions for you, it always makes you feel like you don't know how to write, especially when it comes to grammar and punctuation. And you spent all this time trying to hit your deadlines and go through these books. And then you're like, “wow, why did I keep putting a comma before the word ‘and’” why did I keep doing this or that? So, you know, a lot of these podcasts, these writing-specific podcasts helped me realize that, you know, it's not just me who feels these things. So if you're a writer, some podcasts I really like are Deadline City is a good one. Scriptnotes is a really good one about screenwriting. But yeah, I listen to a lot of podcasts. As far as reading goes, I read a lot of fiction, whether it's prose or comic books as well. I'm not very big into, you know, what most people think of when they think of comic books, which is like the superhero genre. And like I said, most of my work is pretty grounded, so it doesn't normally involve that. I tend to read a lot of fiction, listen to a lot of podcasts and just try to stay away from the TV news as much as I can.
Derek Horn
Yeah, For context, Julio is one of the people I send Tweets to most often, and I have to say I personally have been spending less time on Twitter since the election, which is a nice feeling. Just because I know that lead up to it was kind of like, so anxiety-inducing, and just like glued to my phone, looking at all this insanity on an hourly basis. But now it's like, I think it's gonna be important, because it's like, we can't completely check out yet when Biden takes office, but it's at the same time, it's like, gonna be a relief to not be in this constant state of panic or disarray and dysfunction.
Julio Anta
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I think for me, it's been nice to, even though things are still crazy. It's been nice to not be in a constant state of rage, every, whatever the new thing that's been Tweeted, or, you know, whatever crazy thing is been happening at the border. It's been nice to not just feel like it's calmed down a little bit, but also know that the end is in sight. But to your point, that doesn't mean that we should just check out. You know, I think a lot of a lot of people on the #Resistance Left will check out, you know, yeah. And I think that, that defeats the whole purpose of any sort of outrage that you had during this these last four years. Right. I think it's important to remember that, you know, there are also going to be things that are done that had it been Trump you would have felt differently about. So, you know, it's, it's about not keeping our eye off the ball. And, you know, knowing that it still requires maybe not as much vigilance, but still a certain amount of vigilance. Yeah,
Derek Horn
I think there's a lot of those kind of resistance, Twitter accounts that got popular over the past four years, and I just wonder if they're gonna find a new grift? Or what their lives are going to transform into?
Julio Anta
Yeah, there's a lot of people whose identities are wrapped up in being against Trump that I don't know what they're gonna do now that you know, the administration will come to an end.
Derek Horn
Yeah, well, speaking of identities, Latinx has become kind of this catch all term that can refer to many people of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. And while many people were kind of shocked that so many Latinx people broke for Trump in the 2020 election, it was just kind of another example of how the Latinx people are not a monolith in the ways that some people may think that they are. Do you have any reflections on that? And how do that to that vast spectrum of Latinx identities come to life in your work?
Julio Anta
Yeah. You know, I think that, especially in politics, kind of to the conversation that we're having before, we tend to look at different groups of color as their own specific monolith. You know, Black people vote this way, Native people vote this way, Hispanic people vote that way, as if you can trust that these groups will all swing in their own corresponding directions. And one thing that strikes me about that, so much has been said, over the last four years about “white rural voters”, you know, “non-Trump Republicans,” you know, voters in the white voters in the Midwest, white voters in the northeast, you know, we, it's this, you know, maybe it's a form of respect or a form of, we don't we treat all these different kinds of white people very differently than we treat Black voters, Hispanic voters, etc. So, you know, I think, before we even talk about Latinx voters, I think it's important to also remember that this idea that any group is a monolith is just something that you know, pollsters have, have sold us on, that politicians have sold us on.
So my background, for example, I'm both Cuban and Colombian, one side of my family is Cuban refugees, the other side of my family is formally undocumented Colombian immigrants. And even within my family, which is not that large, there are such vast differences in political thought, vast differences that you can say, are maybe a betrayal on the other side of the family, or vice versa. So I think we need to remember that with Latinx people, we're talking about people that are from South America, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, people who originate from those places from all over the United States. And I think that's why it's so shocking to some people when they don't understand that, that Cubans in Miami might vote in what a white person believes is against their best interest. And, you know, Mexican-Americans in California might vote another way, and Mexican Americans in Texas might vote a totally different way. And while I personally would agree with those white people who say that Cuban-Americans are voting against their own interests, I think it's a total lack of, you know, understanding and respect to be surprised by that.
And, you know, another thing to mention also is that this is a, we're a group of people that are potentially the most diverse group of people in the world. You know, we have blond hair, blue eyes Argentinians, we have Afro Latinos, we have everything in between, Indigenous people, you know, this is already such a vast, vast group of people. And that doesn't even take into account, you know, what generation of migration you're, you're on what level of assimilation you have. So, you know, we are a very diverse group of people who even amongst our own families have, you know, incredible disagreements on political thought about immigration. So I think I think that same level of respect that has been extended to, you know, all of these different kinds of white people that exists in the United States needs to also be extended to Latinx people throughout this country, and also, throughout the world.
In my family, especially, we're very, you know, I come from a very religious background, I think a lot of people in the Latinx community come from a very religious background. So there are a lot of things that can push people towards conservatism, especially if you're somebody who has been in this country for a long time, who feels as if you've worked hard your entire life, and we're not afforded some of the things that other people are advocating for new immigrants to receive. So, you know, I think there's a lot of people forgetting the struggle that they had, and also feeling as if, if I could do it, then they should be able to do it too. Without also realizing how much this country has changed since, you know, they may have come to this country. Just how much racism and xenophobia has been ginned up since then, not to say that it didn't exist before, but this idea of the United States being a nation of immigrants, and kind of the reverence that was put on that isn't necessarily something that you hear all politicians talking about today. So you know, I think it's really difficult to treat Latinx people as a monolith, and also get the kind of results that you want to get. So I think, you know, there just needs to be a lot more focus on, you know, how different we all are, and how things can be message to us in a way that ends up really helping everybody you know, not just people who have been here for a while, but those who are coming now too.
Derek Horn
Yeah, I swear, like, it seems like every week, over the past four years, it's like the New York Times is going to some diner in some rural town talking to these white Trump voters trying to get in their heads and, to be honest, it's like I think so much of the discussion about winning back a Democratic majority has been like about trying to get into the heads of these white people versus kind of actually trying to reach different communities and populations in ways that are authentic to them. Rather than kind of addressing them these silos that political consultants, whoever's putting them into. Um yeah, I think that that's one of those, like, kind of impossible problems that nobody has the answer to, but it's just so frustrating to see. So much stock put in, like put into this infamous white working class that yes, so many people have tried to court this this past election cycle. Yeah.
Julio Anta
Yeah, for sure.
Derek Horn
So conversations and actions around racial justice this year have really dominated the conversation. How do you see yourself and in kind of even just the comic industry in general, or writers in general, how do you see your place in that discussion and fight for racial justice?
Julio Anta
Sure. Yeah. You know, I think, I don't think it would surprise anyone to learn that the comic industry is mostly white men. So I think when it comes to any sort of racial minority it's always gonna be harder. It's harder for women, it's harder for queer people. You know, it's this very insular culture.
But there's a lot of people who are trying to change that. I'm lucky that there's been a lot of Latinx people who have already been into the industry who have helped me out, and who have offered me a lot of advice, made a lot of introductions for me that have panned out into getting my work in front of people getting my work published. So I hope to follow in that tradition of hopefully opening the door a little bit wider, helping other people who come after me.
A lot of the stories that I tell are stories that most people would, I guess, consider political. But the reality is, is that I'm simply just talking about things that are relevant to me. And if those things are also political, then that just is what it is. But comics is, like I said, a very insular space, but also a space that like most people imagine, is mostly superhero-driven. These characters with long legacies that people are generally averse to seeing any change to that legacy. So I think things are much better today than they've ever been. There's more diversity in comics, there are more diverse voices and characters. But I think like, in most spaces, it's still not where it needs to be. But not for all the hard work that a lot of people have been doing. And my hope is that I can just, you know, be a small part of that as well.
Derek Horn
Nice. Yeah, I think that's one of the things that frustrates me a lot is when people are like, “Oh, why are you so political?” or “Why are you talking so much about politics”, when in reality, it's like so many of the issues that so many people write off as politics are literally just people's lives. And the actual hardships that they're going through and in most cases, it's just such a sign of privilege to be like, “Oh, no, shut up about politics” in that's code for your struggles or the struggles of these people you're trying to shine a light on just because it makes you uncomfortable.
So that I think it's, it's really great. What you do is to kind of shine light on, on these stories through this very human lens in a way that's really great. Have you ever had any conversations with publishers that are like, No, I don't want to touch that this is too radical or too political or anything like that?
Julio Anta
No, no. I mean, that's mostly just, you know, just unresponded emails. You know, I, I think most people, you know, I think as we talk about racial justice as we talk about diversity, as we talk about all these subjects more and more, I think this is also made a lot of those people kind of wise up to also know, like, I'd rather just not respond to this email, instead of give them a reason, instead of telling people why it makes me uncomfortable, I'll just not respond. So, you know, I've never personally encountered anything like that.
But I also don't, at least currently, work with any, like, licensed characters, or previous IP, everything that I'm working on is things of my own creation and my collaborators’ creation. But, you know, I imagine that that is a conversation that happens, you know, pretty often when you are dealing with, you know, some of the characters who that we see in movies and TV shows that we're all familiar with,
Derek Horn
So what are some ways in which you stay present and true to yourself, and there's so much going on around you in not only your life, but the world at large?
Julio Anta
I mostly just write stories that I want to read, you know, and that's really, that's really, you know. I don't think that most of my ideas are particularly special or unique. I think that other people have probably had some of these ideas. And for whatever reason, whether it's lack of access, or lack of opportunities in the industry, they haven't been able to tell those stories. So, you know, I think at the end of the day, I'm just writing things that I feel like there's a gap, you know, in the quote-unquote “market” and things that if I could have just picked up that book and read it, I wouldn't be writing it. So I think for me, that's, that's mostly how I stay true to myself, you know, I think, based off of the stuff that I've put out already, it's kind of showed me that what I previously believed was just like a niche that I have things that I wanted to read, there are more people who kind of filled that same niche as well.
Derek Horn
Nice. This is a nice, big open question, but what are you most proud of?
Julio Anta
I think you may have referred to it earlier when you mentioned a story related to the pandemic. Me and Jacoby, who I think I mentioned earlier, who's one of my frequent collaborators. During this, the early days of the pandemic, maybe in April or May, we released a mini-comic called “Between Two Worlds.” And it was an eight-page comic that kind of showed the differences in the ways that police here in New York City were reacting to social distancing and mask mandates when it came to white communities and communities of color. So it kind of feels like a lifetime ago at this point, but there was a, you know, whenever the first warm weekends came up, in the spring, in a lot of white areas of the city, people were filling up the parks, a lot of them without mass without social distancing, as if there weren’t refrigerated trucks outside of all of our hospitals here. And they were, you know, they were being given maps by the police, which is something that, you know, I encourage, and I wish that they would just do with, you know, all over the city.
But at the same time, you know, in certain communities of color, there were people with gloves on with masks on social distancing, being harassed by the police and being asked why they were even outside. So kind of seeing those events unfolding. Over the course of a day to two days I kind of wrote up the script. And Jacoby is somebody who, we've done three mini-comics together, we're doing a graph a 200-page graphic novel and we're always in communication. We're always texting, kind of bouncing ideas off each other for our current or future projects. And that was something where I had this idea, and I just hit him up. And it was like, do you want to make this comic? And really, I think, you know, it was maybe a week from the time of that weekend, those when those events are taking place, and when we put out this comic online.
So I think I'm proud of that, you know, I think I'm proud of that. If you aren't familiar, if listeners aren't familiar with how comics are made, that's, you know, for eight pages, that's extremely quick. So, you know, especially for such short notice. So, you know, I'm proud of him, I'm proud of the letterer. And I think that I think we were able to turn something out quickly that I feel was good work. And that, that people really latched on to and responded to as well.
Derek Horn
Nice. Yeah, I remember, I remember that weekend, actually, pretty well, it was pretty jarring seeing these, it was almost like two cities. You have the sunbathers in the West Village on the pier. And then you have these communities of color where the kids are getting beaten up over it, it was insanity. And I remember you did get that out pretty quickly. And I think that you guys did such a great job of really capturing that. That duality. And just the pacing is really creative. And it really just reinforces this divide. So I encourage everyone to check that out. Is that on your website?
Julio Anta
Yeah, yeah, it's on my website. It's also going to be published in an anthology called, I believe it's called “The COVID Chronicles”. I think you can preorder it now on like Amazon, and bookshop.org, and all sorts of, you know, online retailers, but it's essentially an anthology filled with stories of people dealing with the pandemic. And when we put that one out, they reached out to us. You know, we were happy to do it.
Derek Horn
Very cool. So one day, hopefully, this challenging period will be behind us. When you think of that day, what are you most hopeful for?
Julio Anta
I'm hopeful for events again, for you know, going to Comic Cons to going to live events, panels that are in person instead of over Zoom. I think I'm looking forward to just being out not being concerned at every moment about, you know, whether someone's wearing a mask or whether, I'm going to catch this virus, I think it's just the release of anxiety is what I'm looking forward to the most.
Derek Horn
Nice. I definitely relate to that. So is there anything that you want to plug? And can you tell people where they can find you online?
Julio Anta
Sure. Yeah. Julioanta.com and on every social media platform at @julioanta (Instagram/Twitter) Like I said at the beginning, I believe when this comes out, and will already be announced, but ”Home” is my five-issue miniseries. That will, if you go to my website, by the time this comes out, there should be information there on how to preorder it and how to get your hands on it. It's going to be serialized over five months starting in April. And then released as a single volume graphic novel. It's a book that we've been working on for a long time. It was something that was inspired by the child separation policy at the border. And pretty much was inspired in that moment when that news started to break. And we've been working hard on it ever since. And I'm excited to have people read it and hopefully, you know, people will see themselves in it. And like I said earlier, hopefully, it'll change some minds. But you know, we'll see.
Derek Horn
Yeah, I actually had the privilege of getting a sneak preview of the first couple of issues and I can't wait to read more and I encourage everyone to check it out, too, because I think it does a great job of bringing that story to life with a pretty major twist. I won't give any more away. But thank you for joining Julio, and hope to talk to you again soon.
Julio Anta
Of course. Thank you for having me.
Derek Horn
Bye!