Dragonero - The Rebel: The onslaught of the Sparrowhawks, a blow to the heart of the Empire

Dragonero - The Rebel

The number one hundred, in the Bonelli house, has always been the register of celebrations, the glorious achievement that deserved the wonder of color where everything was usually in the traditional black and white. In addition to a chromatic change, the stories that sported the 100 on the rib had a unique flavor, they were small poems that celebrated the character, as happened with The story of Dylan Dog, or that playing with the strong points of the saga allowed future evolutions to emerge. , a choice made for example for Nathan Never's number 100. When Dragonero became Dragonero - Il Ribelle, one of the reactions of the community of readers was the concern that this step backwards would further distance the number of the celebration, that number one hundred that should have arrived on newsstands in September 2021. That is, now, a role which would therefore be the turn of the Assault of the Sparrowhawks, which on the rib does not have a nice hundred, but the twenty-three of the numbering of Dragonero - Il Ribelle.

And of course, it's black and white. It is easy to suppose that someone will turn up their noses, but while accepting every opinion, it must be recognized that the saga of Ian Aranill has previously unhinged some apparently iron laws of the editorial staff of Via Buonarroti. The color, for example, arrived well before the number one hundred, wonderful and delighting us readers with an even more vivid and exciting Erondar. There have been spin offs, from Dragonero Adventures to Senzanima, we have seen many signs that have identified Dragonero, understood as a saga, as a series with a double soul, traditional and innovative at the same time, maintaining the typical Bonellian quality level and exploring new solutions.

The assault of the Sparrowhawks: high-risk mission for the Rebels

Although, as a reader, the number 100 is a volume that has a particular charm, read The Assault of the Sparrowhawks without seeing that figure on the cover it wasn't a drama. I have not seen a betrayal of the authors, I have not missed the color (thanks also to Antonella Platano, simply perfect). Instead, I enjoyed a nodal point in the plot of the saga, I saw in this issue twenty-three of Dragonero - The rebel one of those turning points that shake the beliefs of readers, setting in motion new dynamics and revealing secrets that deeply shake our beliefs .

Because once again, reading the Assault of the Sparrowhawks I seemed to have Enoch and Vietti behind me, grinning, enjoying the astonished reactions of a reader taken aback. For months they have prepared us for a broader vision of the saga, alternating obvious machinations with court subterfuges, confusing us with the incomprehensible behaviors of some characters that could take on new relevance starting from The Assault of the Sparrowhawks. Above all, the feeling is of being in front of the register that could represent the first step of a showdown long evoked by the readers most eager for action.

Ian and Myrva decide to use an invention forbidden by the Technocrats to attempt an impossible mission: to kidnap Prince Nahim from the imperial palace. To accomplish this daring undertaking, I intend to use the Sparrowhawks, small air vehicles that, through the blowing jars, allow the raiders to reach their targets quickly and not intercepted. To fulfill this task, Ian, who had previously used these means, decides to ask for help from the old comrades in arms with whom he had previously brought these incredible aircraft.

What should be an operation daring, once they arrive in the imperial palace, it soon turns into a mission of a completely different nature. Saying more would be wrong, but once again the plot of a Dragonero - The Rebel album reveals how the construction of the Ian Aranill saga was meticulously curated by Enoch and Vietti, who demonstrate how their narrative structure is not only solid. but also capable of constantly surprising the reader. Not that in the past we have had the opportunity to doubt this ability, but the last period of Dragonero - The Rebel made their desire to expand the story of Ian's exploits the vital spark of exciting stories like The Thieving Magpies and When the waves sing. Moments that, although seeming to be a slowdown in the progression of the horizontal plot of the saga, have proved to be important pieces of the series, capable of showing new sides of the protagonists.

Enoch, with L'Assalto degli Sparvieri, manages to capture all of them the emotions that the protagonists experience in this mission. From the anxiety before the launch to the furious tension of the clashes, playing admirably on the amazement of the readers with surprising revelations revealed immediately after apparent moments of quiet. A calm and measured tranquility in The assault of the sparrow hawks, which by its nature is an adrenaline-pumping and nervous book, in which clashes and revelations alternate with impeccable precision. The answers to the many questions of recent months emerge from Enoch's narrative verve, only to leave room for new questions and perplexities that become the potential foundations of the next period of Dragonero - The Rebel.

The beauty of duotone and an unmissable cover

Given the tenor of the story, the Assault of the Sparrowhawks allows you to further appreciate the authors' care in conceiving the technological and mechanical aspect of the means used by the characters. Enoch and Vietti do not fail to amaze with ideas that are technologically coherent with the setting and at the same time surprising, capable of evoking a military and tactical supremacy that is reasoned and never forced for narrative purposes, but which always shows its concrete value aligned with continuity. of the series. The Sparrowhawks fall within this conception, while allowing a familiarity with the aircraft seen in Nausicaa in the valley of the wind to emerge, they show a well-finished technical concept, in which mechanisms and functioning are enhanced, graphically rendered in a sublime way by Platano and Pagliarani.

We mentioned earlier that fortunately this number is in black and white and not in color. Without detracting from the colorists of the series, who have always shown an exciting chromatic vision, Antonella Platano's work with two-tone is, in no uncertain terms, perfect. Whether it is to take your breath away with double pages or to portray the most excited moments of this reckless incursion, the Platano never loses lucidity, impresses movement where it seems impossible and creates an acid vision and harbinger of future misfortunes where necessary. The assault of the Sparrowhawks is probably one of the most intense books, narratively and emotionally, of the last year of Dragonero - Il Ribelle, and this centrality has found the right realization care in Antonella Platano's work.

This merit goes, once again, also attributed to the duo Pagliarani - Francescutto, who now seem determined to constantly outdo each other, cover after cover. For L’assalto degli Sparvieri, Pagliarani gives his table a point of view that enhances the movement of the Sparrowhawks, an angled aerial perspective dominated by the imperial palace. Ian's upward turning position is the perfect opportunity to appreciate Pagliarani's work as a chiseller: not only is every element of the background enriched with details, but the Sparrowhawk on which Ian flies shows the whole series of mechanisms, levers and joints that allow operation, almost as if it were a technical manual of the aircraft. An enhancement of the single gear that is further enhanced by the coloring of Francescutto, which performs a real magic in being able to convey the feeling of a night mission in a table with a white background. The color in the shades of blue of the background, contrasted by the access fire that devastates the imperial palace, conveys this sense of stealth mixed with the accomplishment of an act capable of deeply wounding the imperial power.

Complete The assault of the Sparrowhawks the lively Cronache dell'Erondar by Luca Barbieri and the lettering by Marina Sanfelice, which with its punctual, invisible perfection gives voice to the protagonists of the register.

The events of Assalto degli Sparvieri will have a sure impact on the future of Ian, finally opening up to a resolving clash between empire and rebels, with new figures who will be able to make a significant contribution to the final battle.

From the shadows we rise. In silence we strike.