Julio Anta | The Beast of Boriken | Comic Crusaders Podcast #734

Julio Anta Brings Puerto Rican Resistance and Chupacabra Horror to Beast of Borikén

The legendary Chupacabra is returning to Puerto Rico, but this time the creature is not arriving as a campfire joke, a blurry photograph or another disposable monster-of-the-week. In Beast of Borikén, writer Julio Anta and artist Daniel Irizarri reclaim the famous cryptid as part of a much larger story about colonialism, displacement, family trauma, resistance and an island pushed beyond its breaking point.

Anta joined Al Mega on the Comic Crusaders Podcast for a passionate conversation about the new five-issue series from Dark Horse Comics and Tiny Onion. The discussion explored his journey as a Cuban and Colombian American writer from Miami, his career creating stories centered on Latino characters and the creative responsibility involved in building a supernatural horror narrative rooted specifically in Puerto Rican history and identity.

The series follows Loli Flores, an activist fighting against a major development project backed by wealthy outside interests. Loli understands that the language of investment and progress often hides a harsher reality for local communities: rising costs, displacement, unequal access to resources and the gradual transformation of a homeland into a product marketed to people who do not live there.

The first issue establishes that conflict through both political debate and personal history. Beginning in Guayama during the devastation and power failures of 2017, the story connects Loli’s present-day activism to the suffering her family experienced when critical systems failed. Her anger is therefore not theoretical. She has witnessed how infrastructure, medical vulnerability and political neglect can collide inside an ordinary household.

That emotional foundation allows the comic’s horror to carry greater weight. When the Chupacabra finally emerges, the creature does not feel randomly inserted into the narrative. Its violence appears connected to the land, the island’s past and generations of resistance. The central mystery is not simply whether the monster exists, but what it represents—and whether its attacks are acts of cruelty, protection or judgment.

During the interview, Anta discusses why the word “Borikén” was essential to the title, how his collaboration with Puerto Rican artist and co-creator Daniel Irizarri shaped the series and why authenticity required the island to appear as a living community rather than a tropical postcard.

Irizarri’s artwork presents Puerto Rico through its homes, hills, streets, radio stations, community gatherings, protest lines, construction sites and medical spaces. The result is a setting filled with beauty and tension, while Patricio Delpeche’s colors move between storm-soaked anxiety, tropical warmth and supernatural menace. Lucas Gattoni’s lettering gives equal force to political confrontation, machinery, protest chants and the creature’s violent arrival.

Anta also explains how his earlier projects prepared him for this series. From the immigration and family-separation themes of Home to the supernatural border journey of Frontera and the historical celebration of Sí, Se Puede, his work has consistently used genre and graphic storytelling to confront political realities without losing sight of the human beings living inside them.

The Comic Crusaders conversation goes beyond the creation of a monster comic. It examines who controls the definition of progress, how folklore preserves cultural memory and why horror becomes more powerful when the audience understands what the monster may be defending.

Beast of Borikén #1 is available now from Dark Horse Comics and Tiny Onion. Readers looking for supernatural horror with political purpose, Puerto Rican identity, fierce character work and a Chupacabra unlike any previously seen should not allow this series to disappear into the darkness.

Because in Beast of Borikén, the creature may have the claws but human greed still has the sharper teeth.

Follow Julio on:
TikTok: @julio_anta
Instagram: @julioanta

Learn more on Dark Horse: https://www.darkhorse.com/comics/3013…

Creative Team

Writer / Co-Creator: Julio Anta
Artist / Co-Creator: Daniel Irizarri
Colors: Patricio Delpeche
Letters: Lucas Gattoni
Tiny Onion Editor: Greg Lockard
Dark Horse Editor: Daniel Chabon
Cover A: Daniel Irizarri
Cover B: Naomi Franq
Cover C: Max Fiumara
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics / Tiny Onion

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Host: Al Mega

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Edited/Produced/Directed by Al Mega