Blacksad (2000), Volume 1-3

Starred review from July 12, 2010
First making waves a decade ago, Blacksad, created in Spain, published in France, has since garnered well-deserved critical success and status as an international bestseller. Writer Díaz and illustrator Guarnido take the detective noir genre and breathe new life into it with a trio of anthropomorphic animal gumshoe dramas centering around John Blacksad, a methodical PI who conducts his investigations in early 1950s America, a post-WWII society deals with upheavals involving racism and the "Red Scare." Within this atmosphere of ready-to-explode tension, the creators weave what can only be called narrative magic. This current edition collects the three graphic novels that have been released to date, the first being a standard (though beautifully executed) murder mystery, the second centering on the machinations of a white supremacist organization and those whose lives it has thrown into a very personal bedlam (perhaps the most affecting of the lot), and the third addressing the perceived threat of communism within the United States. All of this material is riveting, and Guarnido's artwork is atmospheric and full of indelibly captured characters—he's a true master of the form. Blacksad is a comics classic, and American readers are fortunate to have these first three in one volume.

Starred review from September 15, 2010

A European classic reappears in English, and a rich gift it is. This noir thriller set in 1950s America stars a cast of anthropomorphic animals, with the dirty-handed hero an impeccably trenchcoated black cat. John Blacksad is a sort of private investigator, and these three stories visit territory both familiar and unusual. Our hero's lost love is inexplicably murdered, a misinterpreted killing rocks a white supremacist movement, and a coterie of radical intelligentsia crosses agendas with a version of Commie-hunter Joe McCarthy. The second story, especially, offers complex and subtle plotting that earned an Angouleme award. But story aside, Blacksad soars on the art. If anyone could convince you that animal-headed beings could be real, these artists do. The evocative character renditions, draftsmanship, and painted colors simply take the breath away, from the polar bear police chief turned bad to the hog bartender, cockerel "Senator Gallo" (McCarthy), and bad guy reptilians. VERDICT A prime ambassador for the adult comic, Blacksad reinvents funny animals to a whole new purpose: suspenseful, sophisticated, and beautifully visualized drama with violence and sensual sex quite appropriate to plot and readership. Highly recommended for adult collections.--M.C.

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