Heartfelt And Visually Stunning — Reviewing ‘Yucatan 1512’

Welcome to the table,

I’ve been following Alex Vede on Instagram for a while now. I can honestly say my anticipation for Yucatan 1512 has been really high. Let’s get into it…

Yucatan 1512 follows an expedition of Spanish soldiers who arrive on the Yucatan Peninsula in search of a fabled city of gold. As with most stories of conquest and invasion, things turn bloody rather quickly. The death of many innocents at the hands of greedy and prideful men follows.

The story follows Sorolla, a world weary and grizzled Spanish soldier who rebels against his once-allies to save one of the local children.

Together, Sorolla and the child (known only as ‘child’ because of a brilliantly depicted language barrier), return to an ancient city. Through powerful ancient magics, they summon massive construct warriors to clash with the Spanish soldiers who seek to plunder the land and its people.

This is the first original graphic novel from Vede, who serves as both artist and writer. It’s an absolute masterpiece of artistic expression and a brilliantly heartfelt exploration of the transformative fury of grief and a soul’s capacity for redemption.

The world presented in Yucatan 1512 is rich and full of visual world building that hints at a larger story we will hopefully see in further offerings from Alex. Even if this remains a standalone story, it will go down as a timeless favorite of mine that I return to over and over when I need to sink into a tale that is as beautifully stunning as it is emotionally complex.

Until next time, you will be doing yourself a disservice if you skip this book. I implore you to go find it and experience something amazing on the printed (or digital) page.