As a kid in Tucson in the 1990s, Henry Barajas would pick up the Arizona Daily Star, read the front page and skip to the comics section.
“I was obsessed. There was just nothing better I could do than look at comics,” said Barajas, who eventually worked for the Arizona Daily Star as a clerk and occasional writer.
Barajas grew up on Tucson’s south side and graduated in 2006 from Canyon Rose Academy.
He left Tucson in 2015 to pursue a career in the comics industry. His big break came in 2021 when he wrote “Helm Greycastle,” a Latinx fantasy series and comic book set in a fictional Mesoamerica world.
He has been working since then in Los Angeles as a graphic novelist.
Starting Monday, Barajas is writing a new chapter as author of the longtime comic strip, Gil Thorp. He is the fourth writer of the classic comic, which has been around for 64 years. It begins running Monday, July11, in the Star’s Sports section.
“This is definitely a dream come true,” Barajas said.
Comics are usually made for kids, he said, and they have fewer words and more pictures.
“Every picture is a giant word,” Barajas said. “When someone is running, you can see them running, so your mind automatically reads that.”
Gil Thorp is the story of a high school coach and academic director at Milford High School. Thorp has inspired generations of kids to do what is right to win with dignity and respect in a competitive environment. The comic strip addresses real-life situations including race matters, teen pregnancy, girls athletics, dating woes, drug abuse and parental and teacher conflicts.
Under Barajas’ pen, he plans to go back to the beginning of the comic strip and bring back characters that haven’t been on the strip for a while. He plans to introduce characters of color and with different sexual orientations and gun violence.
“I hope (readers) see this character, Gil, try to do the right thing despite what others might be saying is wrong or indecent or un-American or not religious,” Barajas said.
In Gil Thorp, characters struggle with real-life issues, he said. The Latinx author based in Los Angeles is excited to put characters through the worst times of their lives and see them dealing with it.
Barajas will also use his personal experiences about having hard talks, bad days and stress with friends and family. Additionally, he wants to meet with high school coaches and go to high school games to emerge himself in the athletics world and the challenges that come with it.
Barajas started making comics when he was 18 years old. He is best known for his graphic novels published by Top Cow & Image Comics: “La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo,” which tells the story of Barajas’ great-grandfather, Ramon Jaurigue, aka Tata Rambo, a Tucson native and World War II veteran who co-founded the Mexican, American, Yaqui and Others (M.A.Y.O.) organization that successfully lobbied for the Pascua Yaqui’s federal tribal recognition. It is Barajas’ love letter to Tucson.
Barajas also wrote the Marvel Comics & SOMOS Healthcare “Avengers #1” and a short story for DC Comics’ “Batman: Urban Legends.”
Barajas is proud to represent Tucson in comics, and he always wears a Tucson hat or shirt, he said.
“All my life experience is combined to this moment,” Barajas said.
