Beast of Boriken #1
Writer: Julio Anta
Artist: Daniel Irizarri
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
A special thanks to Dark Horse Comics, for giving us an advance look at this issue.
It releases on July 1, 2026
Just last night, we were having a conversation with a creator who had a lot to say about the difference between “writing for IP” and writing because you have something to say.
Beast of Boriken #1 is very much in the latter camp.
A Land Under Siege
I’ll get this out of the way. I know the broad strokes of what Puerto Rico endured both during and after Hurricane Maria. I’m pretty ignorant of the island’s history and culture, and I know very little about the legend of El Chupacabra. So the main topics of this book are a bit out of my realm of expertise.
Now that we’ve established where I’m coming at this book from, I can honestly tell you: this is a damn good comic book.
The narrative here jumps back and forth between two time periods in Puerto Rico. The first takes place eight years ago, during Hurricane Maria, when El Chupacabra lurks in the background. The other is the present day, as a white developer plans to overtake much of the land and build a resort, and el Chupacabra does more than just lurk.
In the past, Loli Flores and her mother hunkered down in their home, trying to survive Hurricane Maria while Loli's father clung to life in a hospital across town. Not everyone will make it through the storm alive.
Today, Loli—now an adult—appears on a local radio program to debate American developer Simon Hunt, who plans to build a beachside resort on Puerto Rican land by any means necessary.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Hunt's men begin tearing down trees even though no actual construction was supposed to start yet. It is here that el Chupacabra makes its presence—and its displeasure—known…
Monsters, Human and Otherwise
There’s a lot to unpack here.
In just a few short pages, we get a clear understanding of what Puerto Rico has endured. First comes the devastation of Hurricane Maria. Then comes the influx of American and European developers looking to profit from the aftermath, building on the land while raising the cost of living and pushing out the people who have called it home for generations.
Both are destructive forces. One is a natural disaster. The other wears a suit and carries a business plan.
And both seem to awaken an angry el Chupacabra. So yeah, “Spider-Man stops the Vulture from robbing a bank,” this is not. That’s what makes it so interesting.
Loli is a very strong lead character—we get to see her during one of the worst times in her life, and also how that experience shaped the woman she becomes. When she debates Simon Hunt on the radio program, you can feel her passion and her love for her home.
Hunt, meanwhile, isn't a generic "evil rich man." He has his own arguments, and some of them even make sense. He's still clearly the villain because he doesn't respect the history or culture of the land, and he's not above bribery or intimidation to get what he wants. But he's not a mustache-twirling cardboard cutout. He's the kind of villain we encounter in the real world every day.
I’m not convinced that the other villain of this story, el Chupacabra, even is one. Both times we see the creature, it has been awakened by something threatening the land. And both times, the actions we see it takes appear to be in defense of Puerto Rico itself. That’s fascinating to me since, as I said, I don’t know much about the legend. To have a creature that is clearly doing a “bad” thing—killing people—but doing it for what seem to be the “right” reasons.
Nothing in this book is black and white, and I think that’s what I like the most about it.
Of the People
You can’t tell a story like this without being familiar with old-school “creature features” and also the real-world struggles of Puerto Rico. This makes the team of monster mega-fan Julio Anta and Puerto Rican native Daniel Irizarri the perfect writer and artist duo for Beast of Boriken.
Anta clearly has a deep love and respect for monster movies where the creature isn't just a threat—it's a character. He also has a strong grasp of the real-world history and culture of the people he is writing about. Most importantly, he applies the same care to fleshing out each of his human characters as he does the creature. By the end of the issue, I really felt like this series was going to have three leads going forward: Loli, Hunt, and el Chupacabra.
Irizarri is a native of Puerto Rico, and you can tell right away that he truly loved being able to illustrate his home. The lands themselves are beautiful, and when they are endangered you can feel the pain its citizens must have felt. The double-page spread showing the full force of Hurricane Maria is as horrifying to look at as anything el Chupacabra does within these pages—maybe more so, since we know there is nothing that can be done to stop it.
Patricio Delpeche handles the colors for this issue, and through their work alone you can immediately tell the two time periods apart. The segments during Hurricane Maria are darker, everything wrapped in shadows from the closed doors, barred windows, and torrential rains. Conversely, the modern-day segments are bright and bathed in sunshine, giving the appearance of a much happier time—even though the land is no less in danger now, just from a different source.
Forces of Nature
Beast of Boriken #1 is more than just another monster story. It’s a story about a people, a culture, and a land besieged by outside forces. It’s a story where the real monster may not be the legendary creature, but rather the businessman in a suit making promises. I have no idea where the story is going to go next, but I’m excited to find out.