Blacksad
Writer: Juan Díaz Canales
Artist: Juanjo Guarnido
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Comic books are a market dominated by America. Not a bad thing, except when we let slip a few amazing European classics. Blacksad is one of those that almost passed by, I’m so glad it didn’t.
The book is broken up into three episodes which feel more like three feature length films - or nine if you’re getting Peter Jackson to direct. Each of these films takes our hero John Blacksad working a different case. I realize now I should have introduced him as a hard boiled private detective – who is also a cat - so that last sentence made sense. However, I’m already in too deep so I’ll just keep writing and edit it out later.
The first of the three stories has John tracking down the killer of his ex-lover. The second deals with the touchy themes of the KKK and Nazi Party, and will even bring grown men to tears. The third is a story about the scientists behind the atomic bomb. Each of these stories covers mature themes for a mature book for a mature audience, and deals with the issues at hand with a mother’s touch: tenderly at times firm at others, and never allows you as many cookies as you want.
Blacksad is nothing short of amazing. The water coloured art style is rarely seen in mainstream comics, but beyond that is the incredible amount of detail that goes into each of the panels presented. If this comic had no words, it would still be worth the asking price. As someone who is knowingly ignorant about art as a practice, it still managed to capture my imagination. Which I’m sure is high praise for the artist, and not a self-deprecating joke about my lack of imagination.
Good art works with the story, great artwork elevates the comic to another level, and this is definitely a case for the latter. Blacksad is noir, and noir at its best is dull and washed out – much like water colours. This artistic choice is such a simple yet genius move, and brings the art and writing closer together.
One of the more impressive things about this review, is that I’ve made it this far talking about Blacksad but haven’t mentioned that all of characters are anthropomorphic – animals that have personal traits. Although in this case it’s more of the opposite that is humans with animal looks.
Coming from a writer’s background, I find that the role of pictures in comic books is to tell a thousand words. Therefore leaving only the necessities to be mentioned through dialog, the anthropomorphism in Blacksad is a great example of this. Each character not only looks the part of an animal, but shares the traits of that animal. For instance someone being a snake will be sneaky and aggressive, where someone who’s a mouse will be timid and scared. This representation of each of the actors speaks so loudly of their character, that they need not say a word for you to understand who and what they are.
Being a member of the Cult of Raymond Chandler, noir and hard boiled detectives in general just touch my heart in a way I never thought possible. Keep that in mind when I say the writing in the first episode isn’t that great. However, with each episode the writing improves and by the end it was like I was sitting in front of buffet of doughnuts. I wanted it all inside of me. Considering that it was originally written in French and then translated to English, it makes it all the more impressive.
The creative team do a tremendous job of creating these extremely memorable moments. For instance there is this one scene where Blacksad has just witnessed a murder, and instead of freaking out he just lights up a cigarette and relaxes. That scene alone tells you so much, not just about the character but also about the genre that I so much adore. Scenes like this strewn throughout the three stories, and every one as brilliant as the last.
The amazing stories, the excellent writing, and the incomparable artwork, you’d think that I’d give this book a ten. Well, I’d like to but I can’t just be handing them out like candy – we already have an obesity epidemic. Instead with the faulty start, I’m giving this one a well-deserved nine, and can’t wait till pay day to see more of my favourite cat, Blacksad.
Artist: Juanjo Guarnido
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Comic books are a market dominated by America. Not a bad thing, except when we let slip a few amazing European classics. Blacksad is one of those that almost passed by, I’m so glad it didn’t.
The book is broken up into three episodes which feel more like three feature length films - or nine if you’re getting Peter Jackson to direct. Each of these films takes our hero John Blacksad working a different case. I realize now I should have introduced him as a hard boiled private detective – who is also a cat - so that last sentence made sense. However, I’m already in too deep so I’ll just keep writing and edit it out later.
The first of the three stories has John tracking down the killer of his ex-lover. The second deals with the touchy themes of the KKK and Nazi Party, and will even bring grown men to tears. The third is a story about the scientists behind the atomic bomb. Each of these stories covers mature themes for a mature book for a mature audience, and deals with the issues at hand with a mother’s touch: tenderly at times firm at others, and never allows you as many cookies as you want.
Blacksad is nothing short of amazing. The water coloured art style is rarely seen in mainstream comics, but beyond that is the incredible amount of detail that goes into each of the panels presented. If this comic had no words, it would still be worth the asking price. As someone who is knowingly ignorant about art as a practice, it still managed to capture my imagination. Which I’m sure is high praise for the artist, and not a self-deprecating joke about my lack of imagination.
Good art works with the story, great artwork elevates the comic to another level, and this is definitely a case for the latter. Blacksad is noir, and noir at its best is dull and washed out – much like water colours. This artistic choice is such a simple yet genius move, and brings the art and writing closer together.
One of the more impressive things about this review, is that I’ve made it this far talking about Blacksad but haven’t mentioned that all of characters are anthropomorphic – animals that have personal traits. Although in this case it’s more of the opposite that is humans with animal looks.
Coming from a writer’s background, I find that the role of pictures in comic books is to tell a thousand words. Therefore leaving only the necessities to be mentioned through dialog, the anthropomorphism in Blacksad is a great example of this. Each character not only looks the part of an animal, but shares the traits of that animal. For instance someone being a snake will be sneaky and aggressive, where someone who’s a mouse will be timid and scared. This representation of each of the actors speaks so loudly of their character, that they need not say a word for you to understand who and what they are.
Being a member of the Cult of Raymond Chandler, noir and hard boiled detectives in general just touch my heart in a way I never thought possible. Keep that in mind when I say the writing in the first episode isn’t that great. However, with each episode the writing improves and by the end it was like I was sitting in front of buffet of doughnuts. I wanted it all inside of me. Considering that it was originally written in French and then translated to English, it makes it all the more impressive.
The creative team do a tremendous job of creating these extremely memorable moments. For instance there is this one scene where Blacksad has just witnessed a murder, and instead of freaking out he just lights up a cigarette and relaxes. That scene alone tells you so much, not just about the character but also about the genre that I so much adore. Scenes like this strewn throughout the three stories, and every one as brilliant as the last.
The amazing stories, the excellent writing, and the incomparable artwork, you’d think that I’d give this book a ten. Well, I’d like to but I can’t just be handing them out like candy – we already have an obesity epidemic. Instead with the faulty start, I’m giving this one a well-deserved nine, and can’t wait till pay day to see more of my favourite cat, Blacksad.
A Look Inside
