RC Recommended: The Rise of Aurora West

And many of you will say that why I do the review with the title in English. Well, precisely because I am in agony and I could not wait for it to be released in November The Aurora West Moment, With the help of Pocket-size. So, a few months ago I made my reservation to buy the original edition of First second when it went on sale in early October. The Rise of Aurora West works more like spin off from Battling Boy than as a prequel. It seems that Paul pope, father of creatures and overflowing talent, had planned from the beginning that Haggard West and their little Aurora deserved more space than they have in Battling Boy. And by faith they have it in this story that he elaborates together with his co-writer J.T. Petty. The fact is that the fans are sure to be immensely grateful for this maneuver, because after reading The Rise of Aurora West I can only say that you should not miss the Spanish edition if you do not dare with English.

In the same way, we must be grateful to Pope for proposing to him David rubin to be in charge of the graphic section. El ourensano, named best cartoonist of the year in the recent Avilés Comic Conference for his colossal work in B, does an extraordinary job throughout the 150 pages that make up this first volume. What's more, I would say that in some respects he gets more out of the characters than Pope himself. It is noticeable that he has had carte blanche to make and undo in a matter of narrative and design of some pages, where I stay above all the good, with the use of detail shots and the emotions that Aurora's face transmits West, protagonist and common thread of this story that leaves the most mythological plane that it had Battling boy, to tell something as earthly as the relationship between a daughter and her father. Whoever does not want to eat some spoiler, although I have tried to keep them minimal speaking of very specific details or generalities, that I do not click on Continue reading. The rest of you are invited to do so.

The Rise of Aurora West tell what happened in arcopolis before the events that occurred in Battling boy. Pope, Petty and Rubín show us the life of the West family at various points. A before and after marked by fire by a critical event that changes the existence of father and daughter. This moment allows us to see the transformation of Haggard West from a scientific hero in the tradition of characters such as Doc savage (with a hat-taking tribute outfit), a tormented night watchman mode Batman (the event in the alley, the bells as a warning signal from the contact with the authorities ...). Aurora goes from being a happy little girl with an overflowing desire to discover new things, to continuing to maintain that same curious spirit with her father, in the fight against the monsters that haunt the most sacred thing there can be: children. The only way she can find to stay by Haggard's side is to continue that family tradition, in a process that turns her from an apprentice to a full-fledged successor. And it is that the final part of the adventure more than lives up to the title of this work.

Pope and Petty develop a plot where elements of intrigue, family secrets and a lot of emotion are mixed at all levels. But the best of all is that we are facing a story that young and old can enjoy, with the difficulty that this always represents. Characters such as Croward or the dwarf catfish (live image of the Gremlins in my mind) who work for Medula, they seem straight out of a cartoon series or a story. We also see again important secondary of Battling boy like Sadisto and his band (one of them plays an essential role), Miss Grately or the Captain of Division 145. Rubin's designs help a lot to make the volume fresh, fun and have that tone suitable for any age group . The only requirement before reading The Rise of Aurora West is to prepare to enjoy reading without restrictions.

The First Second edition is simple but very pleasant, as well as inexpensive to pocket (for less than € 8 in The Book Depository). Many times we forget that comics are fundamentally made to be read, and we get carried away by the beauty of hardcover billet that, sometimes, are complicated and uncomfortable to handle when reading them over and over again. This original edition is in glorious black and white, unlike what I have read (not seen) of the one that Debolsillo will put on sale in a few weeks, which will be in color while maintaining an attractive price. I don't know how it will turn out, but I confess to having enjoyed the pages like a child without the need for color. We will be eagerly awaiting the continuation of this huge saga in the second volume, The Fall of the House of West, although before the second part of Battling boy, with Pope recovering his facet of complete author.