This sedate yarn of sunken treasure and political intrigue is classified as a thriller, but only under the loosest of definitions for that genre. What little action there is mostly happens off-screen, with the exception of the shortest and least exciting car chase ever.

Ostensibly, this is the story of treasure hunters finding a treasure trove of gold and silver coins that has been on the ocean floor for centuries. But we skip the search and discovery and jump right to the legal wrangling of who actually owns the treasure. The tale is told from the perspective of a low-level Spanish cultural ministry official who becomes involved in the legal filing and paperwork to stake Spain's claim, and -- in an unexpected twist for the genre -- he never really does anything but paperwork and administrative tasks. Mostly, he serves as an audience for anyone in the story who needs to make an exposition dump.

This is a roman à clef by a former Spanish diplomat who was involved in similar circumstances during his career. If he had written this as nonfiction, I think I would have been interested in the details, but as a work of fiction it's just too dull to win me over. ( )

I love archaeology and I love legal battles and this was the best of both but in a graphic novel form. Based on true events, The Treasure of the Black Swan chronicles the plunder of a centuries old treasure ship and the legal battle to give the gold back to Spain and out of the hands of the modern day "pirates" who are no more than looters. The treasure hunting company, Ithaca and Spanish diplomats will go head to head battling out who legally owns the treasure. Fast paced, informative, and fun - this is a must for fans of underwater archaeology, ethics, and more. ( )

Lo descubrí por casualidad en la librería y me llamó mucho la atención la portada. Me sorprendió que fuera de Paco Roca porque no lo reconocí en el dibujo a primera vista. El guión es del diplomático Guillermo Corral van Damme, que se ha basado en una historia real y que, al mismo tiempo, ha servido a Alejandro Amenábar para escribir el guión de su serie La Fortuna.

Me ha gustado mucho. Una novela gráfica de aventuras muy entretenida y bien documentada. ( )

Premio Splash Sagunt a la mejor novela gráfica nacional de 2018

Mayo de 2007. La principal empresa cazatesoros del mundo capta la atención de la opinión pública al anunciar que ha descubierto en aguas del Atlántico el mayor tesoro submarino encontrado jamás. Según la limitada información difundida por la empresa el hallazgo corresponde a un buque misterioso, el Cisne Negro. Sin embargo, hay indicios que apuntan a que se trata en realidad de un pecio español. Comienza así una fascinante trama jurídica y política, cuyas raíces se remontan a hechos acaecidos dos siglos atrás, y en la que un pequeño grupo de funcionarios va a enfrentarse en defensa de nuestra historia a todo el poder mediático y la influencia de la compañía norteamericana.

Con El tesoro del Cisne Negro, Paco Roca plantea, a partir de un guión original del diplomático y escritor Guillermo Corral, una intriga trepidante basada en hechos reales que recupera para los lectores todo el atractivo de la aventura clásica, a la vez que ofrece una perspectiva inédita sobre los entresijos de la política española, del poder y de las relaciones internacionales.