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\u201cI remember someone asked \u2018why do you only draw white people?\u2019 It really put a mirror to me and I was like, \u2018why is that?\u2019 I think it's the culture I grew up around \u2014 I didn't have that opportunity to see myself.\u201d\nJonathan 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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s story telling choices. We\u2019d 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\u2019s like to not belong.\nBeyond being a graphic novelist, Jonathan\u2019s 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\u2019s been the staff illustrator to The Asian Reporter since 2007. Jonathan also teaches comics and visual narrative \u2014 having taught at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Oregon College of Art was Writer in Residence through Literary Arts' Writers in the Schools program \u2014 and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of Literary Arts and chairs the Youth Programs Advisory Council. It goes without saying, Jonathan\u2019s one of those empathetic creators whose work you\u2019ll want to keep an eye on.\n\nLEARN ABOUT JONATHAN HILL\n\noneofthejohns.com\n\nBOOK: Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy - goodreads.com/en/book/show/48622007\n\n\nBOOK: Odessa - goodreads.com/en/book/show/50891498\n\n\ninstagram.com/oneofthejohns\n\n\nMENTIONS\n\nARTICLE (Time) - I Love America. That\u2019s Why I Have to Tell the Truth About It - time.com/5455490/american-like-me\n\n\nBOOK: The Sympathizer (Viet Thanh Nguyen): goodreads.com/en/book/show/23168277\n\n\nBOOK: Fuzz & Pluck - goodreads.com/en/book/show/648527\n\n\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices