Language: español
Year of publication: 2012
Valuation: Alright
Ashes It starts from an idea that, although somewhat cliché, is still effective in its narrative: a group of friends who have been estranged for years meet up because of the death of another friend, who has left his last will that his ashes be scattered at a certain point on the coast. Thus begins the well-known road trip which brings together, not entirely by their own will, Polly, Mold, Piter and Little Monkey Andrés, who lives with Mold – he’s a real monkey, not a nickname for some guy -, characters each with a well-defined personality and behaviour and who soon come into conflict. Along the way, as is mandatory in this type of story, they will live a series of adventures and meet no less peculiar secondary characters, such as a certain drug dealer or the thugs Smirnov & Smirnov, who follow Mold – the most prone to getting into trouble – on behalf of a certain Cowboy.
In short, a nice comic that is even more so thanks to the so-called “cute” graphic style (which makes the contrast with the darker moments especially interesting, as occurred, in an even more marked way, in Murderable) and in which there is no shortage of endearing moments, although, I fear, somewhat predictable… That is to say, it is a comic or novel (a graphic novel9 that is entertaining and enjoyable to read, but that does not go beyond that. That, of course, is enough, as long as you do not ask for pears from the elm tree; Ashesapart from the umpteenth, albeit pertinent, ode to friendship, let us limit ourselves to asking for… eh, well, whatever the elms give…
Final note: very recently the English edition of this comic -that is, Ashes– has been nominated in no less than two categories of the prestigious Eisner Awards. Unfortunately, it did not win any, but that does not matter: it is a real achievement for which we congratulate its author, Álvaro Ortiz, and wish him better luck for the next one, which will undoubtedly come…
More titles by Álvaro Ortiz reviewed in A Book a Day: Murderable
Source: https://unlibroaldia.blogspot.com/2024/08/alvaro-ortiz-cenizas.html
