Comic Book / Los Surcos del Azar

¿Para qué llamar caminos
a los surcos del azar?...
Todo el que camina anda,
como Jesús, sobre el mar.

— Antonio Machado, "Campos de Castilla"

Los Surcos del Azar is a Comic Book written by Paco Roca in 2013, that tells the tale of Miguel Ruíz, a Spanish soldier that fought in World War II as part of the French Army, in the Régiment de marche du Tchad, more popularly known as La Nueve since it was most formed by Spanish soldiers.

The story is similar format to Maus, with the main character telling his story to the person that later writes it down, although that's where the similarities end, because instead of speaking about survival in Poland after the invasion of the Nazis, it is more about survival in a war as a war prisoner and then as a soldier.

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Tropes:

• Accidental Misnaming: a minor example, when Captain Dronne is called "Bronne" in the newspapers. And the photo used in them shows one of the Spanish soldiers.
• Bittersweet Ending: by the end of the book, Miguel's neighbour Albert and the latter's children look up to him as a hero, the town is going to pay tribute to him for what he did, and he is finally able to get rid of the weight of his past.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Estrella, the young girl Miguel meets at the Stanbrook becomes the young woman he enters a relationship with after reaching Paris and the person buried at the tomb Miguel visits daily.
• Downer Beginning: the story begins just as thousands of people are trying to escape Alicante before the fascists arrive, just after the surrender of the Republic.
• Downer Ending: the part in the past, at least. The Spanish soldiers were never able to enter Spain as part of an army, forcing them to either be exiled or hide their true identities. Also, Miguel was not able to remain with his family in Spain, nor with Estrella.
• Driven to Suicide: a soldier and a civilian implied to be Estrella's father commit suicide when it turns out that they will not be rescued before the fascists arrive.
• Ernest Hemingway: the writer makes an appearance in a party Miguel attends after the Liberation of Paris.
• Heroic BSoD: Miguel suffers this after a mine blows up the car he was in, killing Estrella.
• Hollywood History: one of Miguel's main issues with the Allies was that, while what the collaborationist French did was more or less swept under the rug, the contribution of all the foreigners that fought in the French army was pretty much ignored.
• Irony: Paco (the man that is talking with Miguel) points out that one Spanish officer that was very good with vehicles died in a car accident.
• La Résistance: there are several mentions about them. Estrella was one of its members.
• Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Miguel Ruiz, a veteran of World War II, isn't exactly the nicest of people. At least, at the beginning of the story.
• Spanish Civil War: the story begins at the tail end of it, as the fascist troops approach Alicante after the Republican government's surrender.
• Stranger in a Familiar Land: Miguel mentions that, when he returned to Spain after the end of the war, he was unable to feel a connection to his wife and son, so he did not stay for long.
• Wham Line: when Miguel mentions the name with which he joined the French Army (Miguel Campos), Paco becomes surprised: Miguel Campos appeared in Captain Dronne's memoirs as his favourite out of all the Spanish soldiers, but went supposedly missing during a night mission and his body was never found.
• World War II: most of the story takes place during this conflict.