5+ Great Spanish Graphic Novels
Graphic novels in Spanish are a great way to supplement language learning for so many reasons!
When I started to learn Spanish I wanted to read Spanish books, but found that it was too hard to jump into a Spanish novel and that there weren’t many easy Spanish readers that were interesting for adults or teens.
My first Spanish graphic novel was “Fantasmas” by Raina Telegmeier and it was a game changer! Reading a graphic novel in Spanish was a way to make Spanish reading easy and accessible for me as a Spanish language learner.
In this article I’ll go through the ways that reading graphic novels in Spanish can be a valuable resource to boost your language skills and I’ll share some of my top picks for Spanish graphic novels and what I like about them.
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Table of Contents
How can graphic novels help you learn Spanish?
Graphic novels are a great way to learn Spanish for multiple reasons.
When you’re learning a new language and want to start reading it, it can be hard to jump into a chapter book or novel. There’s a possibility that there will be a lot of new vocabulary and you can easily lose the thread of the story if you have to stop frequently.
Graphic novels have so much picture support that can help Spanish learners keep the plot of the story while only having to work through a limited quantity of text.
A typical graphic novel relies on dialogue to move the plot of the story. Reading dialogue can be really helpful for Spanish language learners because it gives the reader a sense of what Spanish speakers would say to each other.
Many text bubbles in graphic novels use common colloquial phrases and are often conjugated informally using the “tu” form. When you’re reading a Spanish graphic novel you can use some of the phrases that you read in their own Spanish conversations!
Also, graphic novels tend to be highly engaging, especially for teen readers who are looking for books that are fun. Spanish graphic novels can be a great way to build interest and stamina in reading in a foreign language.
The best Spanish graphic novels to read
In recent years there have been more graphic novels in Spanish that have been published. When you’re looking for a good fit book, it’s important to think about a few details.
Do you want a story that you already know in English that has been translated into Spanish or an original story told in Spanish? Are you looking for a story that was originally printed as a graphic novel or one that has been adapted?
Here are my top picks for graphic novels in Spanish. I hope that you find something that fits your Spanish reading preference and if you have any other suggestions let me know!
Recommended For You: Graphic Novels for Beginning Readers
Drácula – Clásicos en Comic Usborne
By Russell Punter and Valentino Forlini
This is a Spanish graphic novel adapted from the novel, “Dracula” by Bram Stoker and translated into Spanish. I liked this book because it kept the tone and overall feel of the original novel. If you’re interested in reading a classic, then this is a great way to do it and improve your Spanish at the same time!
While there is some narration, the majority of the plot is moved through dialogue which makes the story easily accessible to language learners. In terms or readability, there isn’t a lot of text per page and the illustrations are nicely done.
The story isn’t broken into chapters or parts which is consistent with many graphic novels. The whole book is only 103 pages, so a newer Spanish reader could finish it in a reasonable amount of time.
Agallas
By Raina Telgemeier
Really any graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier is a good place to start, but this is one of my favorites! All of Telgemeier’s stories are written originally as graphic novels, so they are not adapted from novel form, though they are all translated from her original English versions.
Telgemeier’s stories often have multiple layers and are partially autobiographical. This one is no exception as it is based on her experiences in fourth and fifth grade and on her struggles with anxiety and stomachaches.
As with most of Telgemeier’s graphic novels, the story is told almost exclusively through dialogue and the illustrations have her distinctive style. This novel is 211 pages long and isn’t split into chapters or sections.
Recommended For You: “Fantasmas” A Graphic Novel for Dia de los Muertos
Habla Maria
By Bernardo Fernandez, Bef
This is a graphic novel originally written in Spanish by Bernardo Fernandez, also known as Bef. Known for his novels and graphic novels throughout Mexico, this story is autobiographical and tells about the birth of his first daughter Maria, who was diagnosed with Autism.
Fernandez shares a bit about his life before the birth of his daughter, his feelings of unease when he and his wife realized that something wasn’t typical about her development and the ways in which her diagnosis changed their world.
This story is split into four chapters and includes an epilogue. It is 145 pages long and would be appropriate for teen and adult readers. I will say, as a Spanish language learner myself, that the text was a bit challenging to read as the words in the text bubbles were very close together. I sometimes had to read the sentence twice to get all of the words right.
Overall, a really emotional book that is honest and open about life with a child with autism. Definitely worth the read!
Nos Llamaron Enemigo
By George Takei
This memoir was originally written in English by George Takei, the famous Star Trek actor. His completely original work has been translated into Spanish and tells of his early life in America during World War II when his family was sent to an American Japanese camp.
The Spanish version of this graphic novel is 208 pages long and is not split into chapters or sections. The story is mainly told from the point of view of George as a young child (around age 5), but occasionally jumps to the present moment as he takes the time to explain his current views around an event that happened.
Though the story is told from young George’s point of view, the narration and themes are for a more mature audience.
If you’re a Star Trek fan or interested in learning a more nuanced view of the United States during the second world war, definitely check this out!
Sobreviví los ataques de tiburones de 1916
By Lauren Tarshis
This is a Spanish graphic novel that is adapted from the novel in the “I Survived” series and translated into Spanish. Like all of the “I Survived” books, this story is based off of real events. This is the fictional account of a boy who was alive at the time of the shark attacks in New Jersey during the summer of 1916.
The story is mostly told through dialogue and has the feel of a traditional graphic novel. The story is not split into chapters and is 160 pages long.
If you’re looking for something that has a more “real life” feel to it, then historical fiction might be the way to go. A second book in the series was recently translated and published into Spanish: Sobrevivi el ataque de los osos grizzlies, 1967, which we also really enjoyed. Keep a look out for more to be published in the future!
Persepolis
By Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi has led an extraordinary life and her works are autobiographical in nature. She wrote “Persepolis 1” and “Persepolis 2” as graphic novels to document her childhood. The first story, “Persepolis” recalls her life from age 6-14 when she was in Iran. This story was originally published in France and this is the translated version.
“Persepolis” is broken up into sections, almost like episodes, that combine to form the main points of Marjane’s childhood. While the story is mostly told through dialogue, there are also many scenes that are shown with text boxes that narrate the scene from Marjane’s point of view.
Like Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novels, “Pesepolis” explores a mix of a child’s life between school and home. Unlike Telgemeier’s works, this one is quite a bit darker in that in contains memories during wartime and public unrest in Iran.
Arrugas
By Paco Roca
“Arrugas” is a Spanish graphic novel that was originally written in this format in Spanish, so it’s not adapted and it’s not a translation. For learners who are looking for more traditional and authentic Spanish graphic novels – this is the place to start!
This is a short graphic novel, 100 pages in total, that is told through dialogue and isn’t split into chapters or sections. While it’s one of the shortest that I’m recommending here, it’s also probably the most mature in terms of theme.
Set in a nursing home, “Arrugas” illuminates the life of several elderly people, specifically Emilio who has Alzheimer’s. While the story is funny and often touching, there is a definitive path awaiting Emilio, as with all who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Rosa Parks
By Mariapaola Pesce
“Rosa Parks” was recently published in 2022 as a graphic novel by MariaPaola Pesce. MariaPaola is Italian and mostly writes in Italian, so her work here is translated into Spanish. This book was originally published as a graphic novel so it’s not adapted from a chapter book form.
This is another short graphic novel, at only 128 pages, that goes through some of the crucial moments of the Civil Rights Movement in America and the role that Rosa Parks played. The story starts when a young African American man with a shirt that says, “I can’t breathe” gets in a taxi driven by an older African American man. The older man starts to explain that the Black youth of America today don’t understand the Civil Rights Movement like he does, that they’ve forgotten some of the core values that their ancestors fought for.
The story alternates between the conversation of the young man and old man in the taxi and the old man’s memories of his family ties to Rosa Parks and how she shaped the Civil Rights Movement in America.
This is a really powerful story that comes at an appropriate time in current American politics. Well worth the read for it’s benefits as a Spanish language resource and as a cultural point.
Nimona
By Noelle Stevenson
“Nimona” was written and published in 2015 as a graphic novel in English. The version that I read was the translated Spanish edition of the original graphic novel. While most of the Spanish graphic novels on the list are realistic fiction or historical fiction and memoirs, this story is much more fantastical. The characters live in a realm of kings and queens, knights and magic.
Nimona is a very strong shapeshifter who joins the most infamous ‘bad guy’ in the kingdom. Together they hatch plans to cause a little chaos in the realm and battle the hero, “Pieldorado”. While the story is a nuanced tale of “good v evil”, it has some dark moments and depicts battle scenes with blood and some gore.
This is a great read for fantasy and adventure lovers who are young adult and adult age. It is a little longer for a graphic novel, at 256 pages, broken into 11 chapters. The full color illustrations are wonderful and the story has a strong through line.
More Novelas Graficas
Here are some more favorite graphic novels that we have in Spanish. Some of these are more for pre-teen or middle school audiences as opposed to adult so I added them here.
While they may target younger readers, I still recommend all of them as quality reads and great for working on your Spanish language skills!
If you’re looking for some great Spanish graphic novels for even younger readers, check out my top picks here!
A great introduction to the celebration of quinceanera for those who don’t know it! Originally written as a graphic novel by Kat Fajardo.
A story about growing up and working with an intense pet allergy-this is a cute story. Also originally written as a graphic novel by Megan Wagner Lloyd.
Based on her own childhood of growing up deaf, Cece Bell wrote this original graphic novel to share her story.
Reading in Spanish with a graphic novel is a great way to improve your reading skills and your comprehension. Have you read one of these graphic novels? Leave me a comment!
Happy Learning!
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Brilliant idea. Reading is a great way to immerse yourself in a language and graphic novels will be more manageable than a whole book. Off to add these titles to my Christmas wish list. Any suggestions of where to purchase from UK?
Yes, definitely more manageable than a whole chapter book, but just as engaging 🙂 I think that Amazon and Usborne both ship to the UK. I’d also look into lacasadellibro.com which has a huge selection of Spanish books and ships in the UK as well, I believe.