Blacksad (2000), Volume 5

Starred review from January 5, 2015
The return of feline 1950's-era gumshoe John Blacksad is always worth looking forward to. In the wake of the tragic events of the previous story, A Silent Hell, Blacksad seeks short-term employment in any field other than private investigation and accepts a wealthy Texas's offer to drive his flashy Cadillac from New Orleans to Tulsa. That seemingly simple gig gets crazier when a pair of radical beatnik poets riding steal the car and take it to Amarillo, Texas, where a traveling circus, a mysterious woman with a secret, attempted rape, a vengeful former FBI agent, and a gang of bikers straight out of The Wild One swirl in a maelstrom of cold-blooded murder. Once again Canales and Guardino pull off a noir tour de force, skillfully crafting a riveting script bolstered by stunning watercolor illustrations, proving that their previous Eisner and Harvey awards â and acclaim in Europe, where Blacksad is an icon â were no hollow accolades. But while the script is a solid Chandler-esque thriller, it's Guarnido's animation-influenced artwork that's the true draw here, with each panel rife with detail, color, and unforgettable character designs.

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.