[Meeting…] Alone

Maybe some of you will have some déjà vu when you see this post. It's normal, since a while ago I made a review about Solo: Cannibal World, the first adventure of said character created by Oscar Martin, author of other works such as Him, and collaborator of Tom and Jerry children's comics among others. In that sense, it may seem somewhat redundant to dedicate an installment of this section to it. However, I think it is more than justified. Firstly, a standard analysis follows a somewhat rigid and constricted scheme, in which different aspects must be considered, from the artistic to the plot among many others, leaving little space to talk about the characters who star in the story. Secondly, I wanted to do something less dense and extensive (I went too far with the review, I know) and a little more informal to bring their adventures closer to the public, and this seems like a privileged format for it. So let's immediately talk about this peculiar rat.

cannibal world

Above all, Solo's personality was forged by the rigors of his world, to such an extent that we could not fully understand his personality and way of acting without knowing him. So let's do a little review of it and the species to which it belongs, for those who did not have the courage to read that infumable piece or simply did not follow us when I published it.

As I said at the time, it is about worst of all possible worlds, a real hell on earth. At some point in the indeterminate future, a catastrophic nuclear war brought life on the planet to the brink of extinction. Most species succumbed. Plants, deprived of moisture and photosynthesis, became extinct, and contradicting the laws of nature, only carnivores remained alive. The radioactive environment and the selective pressure resulting from the chronic scarcity of resources caused these animals to mutate. Since everything came down to the dilemma of eating or being eaten, a true war for survival in which only the strongest could survive. In this way, violence penetrated to the core of the social fabric and became something inherent to the cultural structure, creating a brutal, ruthless and decadent way of life, rigidly patriarchal and misogynistic (women lacked any right of inheritance, whose most prominent public role was prostitution) and with a fundamentally predatory and slave-owning economy, in which human beings continue to have the leading voice. Social Darwinism in its purest form, come on.

Small but mateithern

It only belongs to one of those new species, the mutant rats. This particular one presents a sullen appearance, with an almost always cold and stoic expression. The tuft (or parting?) on its head resembles a crest, giving it an even more aggressive aesthetic. Like the rest of its congeners, it measures approximately one meter tall, but he is exaggeratedly corpulent and muscular. He seems to have gone too far on steroids.

It could be said that he raises the common abilities of his species to the maximum power. His extreme speed (it seems that his exaggerated muscles do not hinder him too much in that), his cunning playing deception with his enemies, agility, enormous repertoire of movements and his versatility in weapon handling of all kinds make him a prodigious fighter capable of defeating enemies much larger and stronger than him. He is able to read the situation almost instantly and quickly adapt to any scenario. This fact will cause astonishment and stupefaction in everyone who witnesses their combats, which are usually quite fleeting.

A lonely and tormented hero

It is only above all a born survivor. Because he first helped his father during hunts and was later forced to leave the nest at a very young age, he has perfectly internalized the philosophy of “kill to eat or kill to not be eaten.” It seems the materialization of the lone wolf cliché (“lone rat” in this case) and the tough guy (what in English is known as badass), who faces the greatest dangers imperturbably. With a sour character and abrupt and surly gesture, he tends to be extremely sarcastic and even insulting towards his peers. However, he retains a certain sense of honor and deeply despises those who kill for pleasure or business, showing a  special hatred towards humans for reasons that we will learn throughout history.

Con todo, se trata de un personaje algo más complejo y profundo de lo que aparenta a simple vista. Como comprobaremos a través de sus pensamientos y emociones que nos transmite Óscar Martín, su actitud adusta y estoica es una simple fachada, un mecanismo de autodefensa frente a un mundo que le asquea, pero del que no puede evitar formar parte. En realidad se halla sumido en una continua zozobra emocional. Siente una desesperada nostalgia de su pasado, una completa frustración con el presente y una desesperanza abrumadora con respecto al futuro. Sus reflexiones, cargadas de contenido filosófico, hará que no podamos evitar ponernos pensativos al menos durante un instante.

Conclusion and recommendations  

Solo es ante todo el contraste “ratificado”, en continua tensión entre su faceta pública de tipo duro y su privada de alma atormentada. Sus excelentes habilidades en combate no le harán ser el típico héroe ganador, sino que se verá sometido a toda una serie de fatalidades de las que saldrá relativamente airoso sólo en apariencia.

Aunque las aventuras del personaje de Óscar Martín empezaron como modestas autoediciones en fascículos y casi como un hobby para desconectar de sus pedidos principales, la fama que ha obtenido hace que ahora esté presente en tomos recopilatorios bastante decentes y fáciles de encontrar. Recomiendo ante todo el de Mundo Caníbal (desde 2007 unificado en un único tomo) que sirve de introducción al personaje y al mundo homónimo. Si os gusta su estilo, podréis seguir con el segundo, Los supervivientes del Caos, puesto que profundiza en los orígenes y la vida del personaje. Hay dos tomos de esa aventura y un tercero en camino, y según dice el autor, la saga todavía continuará tras terminar la trilogía. Y si ya os hacéis fans incondicionales, el spin-off Crónicas salvajes os ofrecerá otra perspectiva de ese mundo, menos centrada en Solo y con un estilo de dibujo diferente, de la mano de Raúl Moreno.