EP 213: Jonathan Hill’s (tales of) belonging
“I remember someone asked ‘why do you only draw white people?’ It really put a mirror to me and I was like, ‘why is that?’ I think it's the culture I grew up around — I didn't have that opportunity to see myself.”
Jonathan Hill is an award-winning cartoonist, illustrator, and educator living in Portland, OR. Jonathan is the creator of numerous graphic novels - including Americus, Odessa, and his latest - Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy. And your guess of which of this is about sci-fi dystopia is probably wrong - but all of his works hit on some pretty relevant themes of family and belonging. Jonathan’s work does that thing that great fiction does - wrapping an important theme in a seemingly fantastic narrative. While there is a Vietnamese American family as part of the story, let’s just say the main characters are also not from around here. In our chat we really got to understand the why behind so many of Jonathan’s story telling choices. We’d definitely recommend Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy for any of us who have ever just wanted to belong - or for folks who need a better understanding of what it’s like to not belong.
Beyond being a graphic novelist, Jonathan’s an accomplished cartoonist with clients like Microsoft, the Portland Trailblazers, the Vietnam Literature Project, the Inlander, Fantagraphics Books, Dark Horse Comics, Tor.com, The Believer Magazine, Literary Arts, and Powell's City of Books. AND he’s been the staff illustrator to The Asian Reporter since 2007. Jonathan also teaches comics and visual narrative — having taught at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Oregon College of Art was Writer in Residence through Literary Arts' Writers in the Schools program — and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of Literary Arts and chairs the Youth Programs Advisory Council. It goes without saying, Jonathan’s one of those empathetic creators whose work you’ll want to keep an eye on.
LEARN ABOUT JONATHAN HILL
BOOK: Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy - goodreads.com/en/book/show/48622007
BOOK: Odessa - goodreads.com/en/book/show/50891498
MENTIONS
ARTICLE (Time) - I Love America. That’s Why I Have to Tell the Truth About It - time.com/5455490/american-like-me
BOOK: The Sympathizer (Viet Thanh Nguyen): goodreads.com/en/book/show/23168277
BOOK: Fuzz & Pluck - goodreads.com/en/book/show/648527