Learning a new language is hard, but finding fun ways to expose yourself to new words and practice reading and listening comprehension can help keep you engaged for long enough to retain what you learn. Personally, I like using Clozemaster and listening to Disney songs in other languages. Fun fact: Phil Collins recorded the songs for Tarzan and Brother Bear in English, Spanish, Italian, French, AND German.
And comics are good too, of course!
The comics listed below all incorporate Spanish to a greater or lesser extent. I’ve listed them in order, starting with comics that feature very little Spanish and ending with titles that may be of use to more advanced language learners. Buena suerte, friends!
America: The Life and Times of America Chavez by Gabby Rivera and Joe QuinonesAmerica Chavez is just starting college, but she’s already got bigger problems than failing a class: she’s figuring out how to travel through time and learning new things about her dead mothers. Except for Issue 6, this one features only a word of Spanish here and there. If you don’t have the energy to look up any of the words, you can pretty much ignore them and enjoy the story. |
The Snips: A Bad Buzz Day by Raúl the ThirdDesigned for young readers, this comic follows a team of barbers who are also superheroes, which comes in handy when a mysterious troublemaker starts giving everyone in town horrible drive-by buzz cuts! There are basic Spanish phrases throughout the story and translations right on the same page, making it a perfect choice for beginners. |
Brownstone by Samuel Teer and Mar JuliaAlmudena has been raised exclusively by her white mother. Now, she has to spend the whole summer with her Guatemalan father and the eccentric folks in his neighborhood. Part of Almudena’s journey involves learning Spanish, so there’s a good number of translated and untranslated words throughout. And, learners will sympathize with her struggle to understand fast speakers with different accents! |
¡Ay, Mija! My Bilingual Summer in Mexico by Christine SuggsWhen Christine travels to Mexico to stay with relatives, they get the chance to explore their family’s history, culture, and language. Much like Almudena, Christine is learning Spanish, so the Spanish here is pretty basic, but they don’t translate every word. This gives you a chance to pick things up based on context. |
Blue Beetle: Graduation Day by Josh Trujillo and Adrian GutierrezJaime Reyes has just moved to a whole new city, but that doesn’t mean there are fewer threats for him to face as the Blue Beetle! Not only are there untranslated Spanish conversations, DC released a complete Spanish translation of this book under the title Blue Beetle: Día de Graduación. Read the Spanish version first if you’re feeling brave! |
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a post that had our Managing Editor Vanessa Diaz feeling a type of way. Now, even five years after it was published, Vanessa is still salty about American Dirt. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
Picture it: The United States, January 2020. A book with a pretty blue and white cover is making the rounds on the bookish internet. The blue ink forms a beautiful hummingbird motif against a creamy background, a bird associated with the sun god Huitzilopochtli in Aztec mythology. Black barbed wire, at once delicate and menacing, cuts the pattern into a grid resembling an arrangement of Talavera tiles. The package is eye-catching, ostensibly Mexican in feel, and evocative of borders and the migrant experience.
The book tells the story of a bookstore owner in Acapulco, Mexico, who is forced to flee her home when a drug cartel murders everyone in her family except for her young son at a quinceañera. She and the boy are forced to become migrants and embark on a treacherous journey north to the U.S. border, evading the cartel and befriending fellow migrants along the way. The book is being lauded not just as the “it” book of the season but as the immigration story. It gets the Oprah treatment and is praised by everyone from Salma Hayek to the great Sandra Cisneros, who called it “the great novel of Las Américas.”
It’s been over five years, and this book is still the bane of my existence.
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