Blacksad (2010) by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, it’s just like someone deliberately set out to make 1537 bait.
Three great 1940s/1950’s style film noir detective graphic novels in one collection? stories dealing with power and corruption, white supremacy and the communist threat? excellent, nuanced characters? humour and pathos? some great artwork? a guaranteed sex scene in every episode? Reader, I was powerless.
The fact that all the characters in it are animals, talking and moving in a very realistic human world is an absolute master stroke. The species of the animals often reveal their characters to us in the most interesting ways, a stolid cop may be a grizzled Alsatian, a wily professor is an owl, a nasty little underworld fixer is a rat etc. It all comes together a bit more subtly and playfully than that, but you get the picture. I guess it is the cardinal opposite of anthropomorphization – zoopomorphization ? just guessing.
I had seen Blacksad around for a while before I bought it in 2012, I danced around it a bit because it was expensive but it was worth every penny. It’s a quality hardbound book which has been lovingly put together, one of the stories is appearing in English for the first time – translated from the original Spanish and, hell, there’s even a Stan Lee quote on the cover.
The comics manage to be both emotive and fast-paced, as well as being pretty adult in nature. All three are very good stories, the middle one ‘Arctic Nation’ particularly so, portraying as it does a society meaninglessly divided between white and black animals and the hypocrisies and (ironically) inhumanity that fan the flames of this ridiculous notion.
Lords and ladies I commend this beauty to you heartily and you should know that owning a copy of this makes you 24.1% cooler and more attractive than you already are; yes, even me.
In order to avoid giving away the plot I have been rather constrained in what I can show you, the artwork throughout is fabulous.
799 Down (still).
I detest cats. But I do like the looks of this.
I think cats are secret assholes, personally.
Cats are the best thing in the world, apart from LPs obvs. You’re wrong dude!
Cats, Dogs, Animals, Birds – love ’em all – more than peop. May the meek and the wild and the domesticated inherit the Earth.
Cats doing it doggie style… mind blown…
I am -24.1% less cool for not owning this, and -24.1% less cool again for not even having heard of it. Holy crap I need this.
So, this is what a graphic novel looks like, eh?
Very intriguing, that’s all I have to say.
That’s a fun feeling when it seems like something was designed with you specifically in mind as the target audience – I’ve had that feeling with some songs.
I’ll keep my eyes open for this, I wouldn’t mind a 24.1% boost in coolness/attractiveness!
That is interesting. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like that. That puts the Graphic in Graphic novel.
Would be interested in your thoughts… From the mini-selection in your post, it seems that the female characters are far more human than the males. Kind of updated 50s male fantasy voluptuousness with cute pointy ears. I dunno. It’s probably grumpiness that my kitty charming days are over, but I struggle with such subtle objectification these days.
No the faults mine, the women in Blacksad mirror the femme fatales you get in that kind of detective fiction, but as I can’t show any real plot I’ve played it for prurience; the love scenes not giving much away. I should add in the interests of balance there is possibly an equal amount of male nudity, albeit with a dearth of pointy ears.
Rats. (Not literally). It’s the pointy ears that do it for me.
Dirty noir animal sex. I’m in.
It’s pretty much what the label says on the front!
Then why did you wait so long??