Treasure of the Black Swan, The

This thrilling graphic novel, based on real events and which has been adapted into an AMC Plus miniseries (La Fortuna) starring Stanley Tucci, chronicles the intense legal and political battles sparked by the discovery of a priceless shipwreck.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

May 2007. When an American treasure-hunting company uncovers a shipwreck containing the greatest underwater trove ever found, the world is captivated by their discovery. But over in Spain, a group of low-level government officials surmises that the sunken ship is in fact an ancient Spanish vessel. Thus begins a legal and political thriller, pitting a group of idealistic diplomats against a rich and powerfully connected treasure hunter, in which vital cultural artifacts and hundreds of millions of dollars hang in the balance.

Cartoonist Paco Roca and writer Guillermo Corral bring a cinematic flair to this graphic novel, combining threads of Tintin-inspired seafaring adventure, political intrigue, tense courtroom drama, and, in the midst of it all, a budding romance. A gripping dramatization of a little-known, unbelievable true story of money, political power, and cultural heritage.

The Treasure of the Black Swan was adapted into an original television series, La Fortuna, starring Stanley Tucci and debuted in the US on AMC Plus in January 2022.

 

Full-color illustrations throughout

Paco Roca is an acclaimed Spanish comics artist whose translated works with Fantagraphics include The Treasure of the Black Swan (2022), Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas (2023), and Return to Eden (2024).

Guillermo Corral has worked as a career diplomat since 1997. His career highlights include serving as general director of cultural policy and industries and as cultural attaché in Spain’s embassies in Washington, DC, and Havana, Cuba. He has published a collection of short stories, Mientras crece el bosque, as well as numerous stories in journals such as Granta, Sibila, and Librújula. The Treasure of the Black Swan, a work of fiction based on real events that he witnessed firsthand, marks his debut as a comic book writer.

Andrea Rosenberg is a translator who has worked on a variety of novels and graphic narratives in Spanish and Portuguese. Her translations of the graphic novels Run For It by Marcelo D’Salete and The House by Paco Roca won Eisner Awards in 2018 and 2020, respectively.