The Worlds of Valken. Oceans on fire.
A couple of weeks ago I recommended the purchase of The Worlds of Valken. Oceans on fire. It's today review of the same, which is like giving the reasons why I said that it was a good investment in good fun (almost capicúa). The Worlds of Valken. Oceans in flames is a worthy daughter of her father, Nacho Fernandez. The Bilbao cartoonist puts in this first volume (more are expected with the passage of time) a number of recognizable references for the lover of science fiction, cinema and literature in general, which at least with regard to my Generation always leaves you with a lopsided smile as you pause reading. This without counting the winks that the server has not identified of course, that surely there are. To give a few quick examples, we can go from looking at details worthy of The Lord of the Rings, to scenes that remind us of John Carpenter films (The fog y The thing), opening with moments that can evoke tapes like The Hunt for Red October. And all this wrapped with elements that straddle between pure and harsh science fiction (go to Aliens if you want) and the retro-futurism of classics like Dune, . If you think that with such a mixture a bad cocktail can never come out ... you are right.
If we start to investigate in search of any problem, perhaps we could point out that the fact of presenting a world with a multitude of characters and settings, makes the author's task complicated in terms of what it is to direct a seven-ring circus (which is tell Whedon with The Avengers). Perhaps that ambition can make it difficult to transition from one scene to another when the invasion of Valken's different systems by the Volg begins. The rhythm then accelerates and you have to take a few seconds to distinguish where you are each time you change your environment. In contrast, it is necessary to highlight above the many virtues that this work has, the designs of characters, ships, creatures and settings. Building all this will have taken Nacho a long time, who not in vain admits in the presentation that we are facing an old dream that has become reality with the publication of The Worlds of Valken. Oceans on fire. I imagine that his plans include, as I said at the beginning, to give continuity to this approach, already with the freedom to understand that the reader knows who is who in this representation.
I already mentioned the issue of the edition with the review of Chorizos. Spanish robbery (here if you haven't read it). Graphite Editorial He is working hard to offer volumes that are worth collecting. Not only because of the format itself, quite careful, with a binding in rustic with flaps, with a good role, extras at the end of the story (and in this they become quite important in order to understand the plot) and at a fairly adjusted price of 16,5 €. I don't like repeating myself a lot but when things are done well, it's a pleasure. The path marked out by Yolanda Dib and Guillermo Morales should be the mirror in which other new labels are seen, some of them entrenched in the slogan of the difficulties of the one who begins to justify trashy editions at crazy prices. In the same way as with Chorizos. Spanish robberyIn addition to the tome itself, The Worlds of Valken comes with a few gifts: a extra story that explains some of the points with which the plot of the story starts (therefore I recommend you also read this extra story before starting with the volume), a poster and a illustrated sheet by Nacho Fernández with his dedication on the back.