A love without cracks: the emotional lesson of friendship between a man and his dog through the years

There are many love stories. This one is special because it's a story of unconditional love. Its Scent After the Rain (Astiberri) is a moving account of the relationship between a young mountaineer, Cédric, and his beautiful dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog named Ubac, whom he adopted as a newborn.

In this comic, José Luis Munuera adapts the book of the same name by Cédric Sapin-Defour, a non-fiction bestseller in France and also translated into Spanish and Catalan. Munuera takes the original story as his own and transforms it into a beautiful and sensitive album, capable of conveying the tenderness of a story in which dogs and humans share their lives, their dreams, and their affection, in which they forge strong, mutual relationships.

The Smell After the Rain, translated by Rubén Lardín, is also a book about how relationships with others affect us (positively in this case). Cédric will discover a new way of seeing the world thanks to Ubac's way of relating to his surroundings. We see him happily moved by his curiosity, his joy, and his vitality.

Munuera's ability to portray this playful and endearing dog, as if it were a cartoon, is astonishing. There is realism and also a great deal of affection in the lines that draw the dog. Also in the delicate way he portrays both the landscape and the emotions, with a stroke of enormous sweetness. Munuera starts with a realistic base drawing and adds a touch of distortion, just enough to give it the greatest expressiveness. Another successful approach is the coloring by Sedyas, a frequent collaborator on Munuera's works (The Campbells, Zorglub, Corazón de hojalata ) and whose contribution is essential to conveying the emotion. There is a sequence whose meaning can only be understood through the use of color.

Cédric will change his life to be with Ubac. And through his dog, Cédric will also meet Mathilde, and his daily life will change. Her scent after the rain is an invitation to change the way we relate to our surroundings. To live differently. With the same authenticity and enthusiasm that Ubac displays.

We find emotion, tenderness, laughter, and tears in the pages of The Smell After the Rain , because all beginnings have an end. This is a book of wonderful encounters, but also of farewells that make our hearts sink. And Munuera tells it with the same sensitivity in both cases. From the very first pages, he warns us that the lifespan of a Bernese Mountain Dog will hardly ever reach ten years.

Love, loyalty, and generosity. Their scent after the rain is a testament to our relationship with dogs, how we enjoy their presence and how we cope with their absence. It will move anyone who has or has ever had animals, but beyond that, it will touch the hearts of all readers.

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The note Mourning the death of our dog

His Smell After the Rain is a comic that connects with other recent readings that address the relationship between dogs and humans, and more specifically, their loss. In a small and delicate illustrated book entitled Jim , Belgian artist François Schuiten depicts the grief over the death of his retriever , who accompanied him for 13 years. In Trufa , Catalan artist Glàfira Smith creates a beautiful evocation of the love between a man and his dog, a black Labrador portrayed with enormous vividness in this comic. Meanwhile, Japanese artist Jiro Taniguchi, a specialist in intimate stories drawn with enormous elegance, tells us about the aging and death of his dog in a short story entitled Having a Dog , included in his book Pets .