ORIOL VLAK

Oriol Vlak (@oriolvlak) is a comic book artist who trained at Escola Joso and began his professional career in animation before devoting himself fully to comics.

His early work was aimed at younger audiences, but his career took a major step forward through his collaboration with Belgian writer Zidrou. After contributing to the 2010 collective album Joyeuses nouvelles pour petits adultes et grands enfants, he published the graphic novel La piel del oso (2013) with Zidrou, a highly acclaimed work that earned him the New Author Award at the Barcelona International Comic Fair. Other titles followed, including Los tres frutos, Naturalezas muertas, and Madriguera. He later published El oro del tiempo (2024), written by Rodolphe, further establishing a career marked by narrative sensitivity and graphic excellence.

In 2026, he presents Soy un gato, his first graphic novel as a complete author and the first work he has signed under the name Oriol Vlak. Initially conceived as a personal and therapeutic project following a particularly difficult period in his life, the book adopts the format and spirit of manga to tell a poetic, dreamlike, and deeply emotional journey starring a cat with no memory. The story combines fantasy, social commentary, cinematic and artistic references, manga influences — particularly those of Akira Toriyama and Hayao Miyazaki — and numerous settings inspired by his city, Terrassa.

His style is characterised by a combination of traditional and digital techniques, a wealth of cultural references, and a highly personal visual narrative, making him one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Catalan comics.

Alongside his work as a comic book author, he also works on illustration projects, covers, teaching, and tattooing.

✍️ Signing session on Sunday, October 11, at 11:30 a.m.