Blacksad... simply brilliant

I want to try something new, fresh and cool! Okay, this is not fresh or cool, but it’s new to me. I’m making a great effort, because I don’t speak English very frequently and I’ll write slower and the articles can be shorter.

Let’s talk about this new section: the English post! (Yeah! A new section! Party... enough). I think this kind of post will be monthly, more or less… more than less, I think… definitely, more than less. So monthly (more than less) El Pico mellado del Cuervo will change to The Crow’s jagged Beak.

To start this section, I think I’ll talk about a comic. And which have I chosen at this time? Blacksad. Yeah, a Spanish comic! Why? Because is so logical. If I speak about an English comic in Spanish, I must speak in English with a Spanish comic. I’ve blown your minds with my logic, right? It’s completely normal, don’t worry. Spock is crying right now, I know.

 
Okay, enough. Blacksad. What can I tell you about this comic? It’s a Spanish comic, as I said before… Juan Díaz Canales is the writer and Juanjo Guarnido is the artist. It’s a detective story, which happens after the 2^nd World War, at the beginning of the Cold War… Oh! All the characters are anthropomorphic animals. It has been published in 2000 or 2001. There are like five volumes of the comic; the latest was published in November 2013. Until now, I’ve only read the first volume, so I’m just going to review the first one.

So… let’s start with the review (I’m so nervous, right now)!

The story begins in a crime scene. A famous actress has been murdered. John Blacksad, our main character, a detective and an old lover of the actress is there with some police officers. Nobody knows how she has died, who killed her or why. A mysterious crime, at first sight. Blacksad’s “boss” demands him to not do anything about it. But he is a 50’s detective… he’s going to do what he wants! Who gives a shit? Anyway, Blacksad begins to investigate. And during the investigation... some things happen... I can't say which things happen, because it could be a spoiler, and nobody likes spoilers, right?

I’ve spoken about the story; and what about the characters? John Blacksad: the main character, the private detective and the kitty fucker… I mean… because he fucks with every kitty… like… inside, outside, inside, outside… you know what I’m talking about! He is the classic detective, like Phillip Marlowe. A tough guy. Someone who’ll break all of your fingers if you don’t say what he wants to hear. Oh, I forgot! He is a black cat (this guy). 

The commissar Smirnov is another character. He is Blacksad’s officer (more or less… because Smirnov is a police and Blacksad is a private detective), a visionary. A man (or a dog) who dreams about a righteous world and someone who wants justice. He is an Alsatian. I can’t tell you anything more about him, because he only appears three times in this first volume. Hopefully, he’s going to appear in the rest of the comics. 

After that, there are no more characters to talk about because this tome is like an introduction and the important characters aren’t specially explained… well, one or two, but it could be a spoiler, so read the comic.

And now, I’m going to give you my opinion about the artwork… this is a fucking masterprice! Juanjo’s drawing style is absolutely awesome. It’s like Zootopia but +18. Seriouslly, it’s like a Disney animal film but in a comic with blood, guns and sex. Well, I probably exaggerated, but that’s what I thought sometimes. 

 

I just can say I’m so excited with this story and I’m very impatient to read the rest of the series.

TITLE: Blacksad (Blacksad: Un lugar entre sombras)
EDITORIAL: Norma Editorial
WRITER: Juan Díaz Canales
ARTIST: Juanjo Guarnido
PRICE (In Spain): 12,00€

PAGES: 56

QUALIFICATION: 8.8/10