EDICOLA NEWS: THE REVIEWS nr. 184
stickers: 192 (1-152, L1-L30, P1-P10) + 36 cards (C1-C30)
starter pack: album + 5 packets 4,90€
packets: 4 stickrs + 1 card 1,00€ (box of 36 packets)
It is foreseeable that Panini would have set his sights on Lyon after the incredible success of card’s previous album, a result probably well beyond expectations given the difficulties in various parts of Italy to find him. With Panini everything changes, of course.
Another reasoning is the increasingly clear awareness of the current short circuit between the graphic sector and the commercial / production sector of Panini. Not being Paganini we can repeat ourselves and once again we have to find a very poor quality of the album paper, an image damage that we do not understand in the face of an album that is truly incredible, well done as they were previously the Calciatori or Marvel 80th and several others.
It is clear that Panini focuses heavily on Lyon, so we wonder why not to use the good matte paper used for some recently released albums such as Poopsie or L.O.L. Probably and simply they do not care, we do, we will continue to be pedantic and, until necessary, repetitive in reporting it. In Modena they don’t read our reviews or even if it were we are nobody to change choices, we hope sooner or later things can improve (they must). The stickers are a popular and mass phenomenon, the quality must be within everyone’s reach.
Incredible album, really. The work is so interesting that we imagine months of work to prepare it, for this we can only thank. Given the success of the previous one, quite sui generis as a card album, one could fear a standard album, it would probably have sold the same, instead Panini makes Panini and comes out with something special, already a candidate to be one of the best albums of 2021.
The first part of the album is an introduction to the world of the explorer of virtual worlds, nothing schematic or didactic, the stickers are presented to collectors themselves. The setting is to prepare for the fights, not easy but very fun, very colorful and dynamic pages to enjoy even more the videos and the whole world of Lyon.
The central part of the album is a nice surprise, comic stories are back! After Tex and the superheroes, Lyon also has a comic story (unpublished) to be completed with the shaped stickers. Just 8 pages but that little bit more than in an album of this kind can make the difference.
Second part of the album even more interactive than the previous one, after selfies, tests and a cruise trip (here too all the stickers are shaped), we venture into crimes and misdemeanors, a sector that will probably make each album different from the other. In fact, the 30 stickers numbered L do not have a precise sequence and can be attached at will in the five stories narrated. However, there is a logic and the directions on the back of the stickers must be followed, but after this aspect, maximum freedom of choice!
Speaking of free stickers, even the 10 numbered P with the ingredients to create potions do not have a predetermined sequence. You can find them around the album and you can attach them as you like (in the spaces provided, do not overdo it).
It’s not over yet, the album closes with more classic pages, seen in many albums and a grand finale with other shaped stickers. An end that is not final, on the last page Panini already plans to release a subsequent album. It is not over yet also because we have not told you everything.
In several pages we find interactive games and quizzes, we invite you not to go to the last page to see the solutions, as is done with crosswords. The stickers are very funny and colorful, another big difference with the first album of card, this album clearly distances itself from the bigger brother Minecraft (perhaps also because now the publisher is the same ..) and becomes in effect a mix between game, comic and cartoon.
The stickers are an added value, if you smell strange don’t worry, you will probably have one of the special stinkers in your hands (orange frame). For the magical ones, you will have to use the warmth of your fingers to find out what’s underneath. We wonder who knows what estate they will have over the years ..
Central poster integral part of the album with stickers to be attached on both sides. Discover the investigator in you, this part is in fact connected to the pages of crimes and misdemeanors and, if you have noticed that some of the L stickers remained there, this is where they have their own space. No extra stickers, they are all destined to complete the album!
Finally (yes, this time it’s really the end) we have the 36 cards. Meanwhile, good indeed excellent that Panini is limited to making 36 and not 50, we find the creatures protagonists of the Lyon universe, also different here from those made by Officina Edicola. In general they are two albums born and developed with two very specific different types, undoubtedly we prefer this one by lovers of comics and cartoons.
After all, it’s simple: are you passionate about Lyon? You will have fun completing this sticker album. You don’t even know who Lyon is? You will have fun all the same!
(EN)