Blacksad | Great Comics You Should Read
Written by Juan DÃaz Canales Art by by Juanjo Guarnido
Rarely does a comic impress me as much as Blacksad has. Not only is it one of the most beautiful comics I’ve ever laid my eyes on, but it’s also an incredibly solid noire detective comic that features twist and turns that will keep the reader guessing until the final reveal of who the true culprit is. Blacksad features anthropomorphic characters that are captured in some of the most expressive and stunning panels you will ever see. ‘Blacksad’ looks like a gritty Disney cartoon come to life on the page.
 While reading it I got the feeling this comic was part of the ‘Tailspin’ series, but tucked away in one of the darker corners of that world. There’s a Tiger in a double-breasted business suit that I could have sworn was inspired by businessman Sherkhan. While ‘Blacksad’ does feature animal protagonists, it’s not a book for kids in any way. This book is violent and addresses racism, crimes of passion, murder, kidnapping. It’s 100% a detective comic.
Originally published as three separate comic albums written by Juan DÃaz Canales & drawn by Juanjo Guarnido. ‘Blacksad’ was originally published in Spanish, but intended for the french comic market and published in french before making it’s way to America and being published in English by Darkhorse. Each story is a stand alone case that doesn’t require the reader to have read the previous story, but within this trade they are kept in order of the date the stories were published.
 'Blacksad' follows the adventures of hard-boiled detective John Blacksad.The world John lives in is historically the same as ours. It is set in the late 1950's and John himself fought in World War II. Even though this is a world where every character is an animal, you forget about that after the first few pages because the characters are conveyed with such human emotion. The comic is set up in a way that slowly lets the reader in on the relationships Blacksad has established, and skillfully builds a world by only giving the reader very little information through John's interactions with other people. John is a black cat (which in this world is analogous to being a black man in this society, and plays a part in one of the stories that deals heavily with growing racial tensions in a community when a young girl goes missing.
Instocktrades is currently selling the complete Blacksad collection for $17s. It’s probably the best value for any collection of outstanding comic available. Reading Blacksad is a grounding experience for a comic fan since it reminds you that amazing comics are being published all over the world, and that great comics don’t need to feature capes and cowls.