The art by David Rubin in the Ether graphic novel made me desperate to read his untranslated graphic novel El fuego. Thankfully it has now been translated from Spanish and I was able to snag an early review copy through NetGalley. While I had struggles with the storytelling in this graphic novel the art once again was some of the coolest and most captivating I have ever seen. The panel work and just the hallucinogenic colour palette that David Rubin utilises is incredible. I absolutely flew through all 200+ pages and I am keen to get my hands on this one in physical.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the arc! The synopsis sounded interesting, but ultimately this was another story about some insufferable, rich fuck who we’re expected to feel sympathy for. Here are some other thoughts I had while reading:

Someone took lots of inspiration from Blade Runner, but this story is a far cry from Blade Runner’s prowess.

As an artist, the style of portraiture here pisses me off. Space the eyes farther apart I beg. Obviously, this is a very personal complaint

Every single person in this graphic novel is insufferable; the mc especially was irritating. Yubaba or whatever the fuck is pathetic and whiny and I hated being in his smelly shoes. I’m glad they’re all gonna die.

The one saving grace was the interior design of these rich assholes’ houses. Love me some midcentury modern and space age design!

In conclusion, this largely was ass. Yet another Blade Runner wannabe fails on almost every front. How tragic. -2 stars

Set in an indeterminate future where a colossal asteroid is on its way to smash into the earth we follow the story of Alexander Yorba, a renowned architect tasked with developing and completing Plan B.

Plan B is a habitat on the moon that was meant to save humanity if the Icarus rocket fails to destroy the asteroid as planned, both of these plans have a bit more complexity to them than initially stated.

At the start of the novel Alex finds out he has terminal brain cancer and we follow the trail of self-destruction that happens in the last of his few months alive whilst watching this mirror in the deterioration of society as the asteroid gets closer in the last few months of the planet.

A searing indictment on fame and self deceiving behaviour, we watch as all the layers are stripped bare and a person gets submerged in a madness based on their own narcissism.

Richly illustrated with an almost dream-like quality alongside the burst of visceral anger as Alex and society spiral into destruction, with a lot of colour juxtaposition to reveal parallels. The depiction of a decaying and fiery world at the end is so strong, especially in its contrast to Alex’s mental state.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alexander is a socially committed architect who, due to life’s circumstances, is led to become something he never would have dreamed of. Upon discovering that a gigantic meteorite is on a collision course with Earth, he is hired to design a lunar colony. However, these habitats are far from capable of housing the entire Earth's population, turning the project into one for the elite. When Alexander is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, he decides to abandon everything and return to Earth to spend his last moments with his wife and daughter, unaware that his actions may have doomed them.

"El fuego" is an introspective work about the human condition, following a character deeply regretful in the face of death. It is only when he confronts his own mortality that he begins to realize how selfish he has been and how his decisions have affected those who loved him, whom he, in turn, did not know how to love.

The parallel drawn between a condemned man and a humanity on the brink of extinction allows Alexander’s reflections—of being finished and rejected—to be extended to society’s situation. The protagonist is a man with delusions of grandeur and severe megalomania, forcing us to confront humanity’s own selfishness and arrogance. In this world, we have faced countless threats, and by playing God, we have managed to avoid the consequences of our actions. But there is always something, one last unavoidable thing (a brain tumor for the man; an unstoppable meteor for humanity) that will force us to face the end and evaluate the damage done.

Rubín’s artwork complements the story, portraying a tortured and decaying man who has seen better days, along with a technologically advanced Earth still clinging to its old habits. There are delightful moments where we see Alexander walking through a ravaged Madrid or a ruined Rome, empty settings that will continue to exist, reminding us that the end of humanity doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world.

This is a deeply hard-hitting work filled with intense dialogue that doesn’t shy away from cynicism and accompanied by exceptional artwork.

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
This is the second time I read El fuego by David Rubín (first one being in Spanish), and I am still amazed at the artwork. The author’s style makes it possible for a meteor to approach Earth little by little and for the reader to follow its trajectory, its trail, every bit of grain and rock.
Alexander’s journey is a terrible one: from hero to a caricature of himself to a lonely man waiting for the end of the world. Some of the other characters’ monologues may feel overwhelming, out of place in a comic book with such an art to admire, but not Alexander’s, never Alexander’s. And even if dreams become nightmares and never truth, and some of the moments may seem confusing, it is impossible to put the book down.

Alexander Yorba is the talented architect who is going to save humanity from extinction. But when his own extinction is more imminent than he had expected, he is forced to look back on the life he has lived.

This graphic novel starts with the birth of the meteor as well as Alexander. This engaging storytelling sees them both move towards the central conflict of this story. The illustrations of the meteor are just mesmerizing and one of my favourite parts of the art in general. Rubín has a visceral art style that matches the intensity and grittiness of the story.

After Alexander learns he has mere months to live we see him confront the life he has lived up to that point. He visits old friends, in a ghosts from Christmas past style, who confront him with his shortcomings.

"...and your greatest Achilles heel... ...Selfishness... You've always been obsessed with pursuing epic causes, with becoming the new Messiah come to save the world...” “...Always one step ahead, always blazing as bright as a bonfire, like a star whose incandescent glow prevents you from seeing that you are setting fire to everything around you, everything you love."

While Rubín has Alexander look back on his life, we are in a way invited to contemplate our own lives. To think about how we have lived. Have we stood by our own values? Have we been good to the people we love?

"How long ago was it that you strayed off course, Alexander?" "When you decided that turning a blind eye to your own principles was a small price to pay to ensure your name would appear in the history books of the rich and powerful?"

Rubín does not shy away from social commentary in El Fuego. Giving us a bleak version of the future that features sex robots you are invited to 'roughen up', a giant Putin Tower in the middle of New York City, and the (still existent) gap between the rich and poor. Telling us in no uncertain way that humanity has screwed up.

"We are the mote of a mote of dust with respect to the universe. We are nothing. A mutation, an error called life that will soon be corrected." "Existence is a miracle we have failed to deserve."

But despite this, there is also hope in this book. Focused on the small, the every day, the personal.
"...My dream now is for you to live, to grow up, to fall in love, to suffer. I want you to be miserable, and happy, to get your heart broken and learn to put it back together again."

The ending of El Fuego keeps us thinking. What Rubín wants to communicate, and how we interpret this. There is ambiguity in the ending that only further cements the overall message. Life is what we make of it.

This graphic novel is perfect for fans of evocative art with thought provoking storylines that will be on your mind for days after putting it down.

TW: drug use, graphic sexual content, cheating, suicidal ideation, terminal cancer diagnosis, body horror

Thank you Oni Press and David Rubín for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a graphic novel that gripped me and I read in one sitting. A story about the world facing a potential apocalypse is right up my street. It was interesting watching this man who had been set up to be the saviour of humanity, struggle with his inner demons and gradually fall apart.
The art was stunning, particularly the more abstract panels.
However I did not feel especially engaged with the characters in here and found it hard to correlate the person we see at the beginning with certain decisions they made near the end. I also struggled at times to understand what was reality and what was not, and I wasn't sure if that was the intention.
Overall an interesting read that was certainly compelling but didn't entirely hit the spot for me.