I had the pleasure of being able to read the comic “Blacksad” in Spanish. Oddly enough, even though its authors are Spanish, the comic is first published in French, as that is the main audience. The Spanish version follows shortly after. Blacksad is represented as a film-noir style of storytelling with a gorgeous collection of watercolor pages to depict its events. I really have to emphasize how good and consistent the artwork is for this series. Beautifully drawn, and dynamically composed, it really is a treat to read as an artist. Unfortunately the first story-arc (the only one I have read so far) isn’t as strong as the artwork itself.
While it’s not a terrible plotline, it definitely falls short to it’s visuals and can become quite predictable. The storytelling itself, though, is top notch and fun to read through. Also contributing to this comic is the play of words used. Every character is depicted as an animal. The main animal being a cat and other characters like bodyguards are depicted as huge rhinos. Often you’ll see jokes about the main character’s nine lives. Another example is when one character, a lizard, being followed into a bar by a spy, depicted as a rat. As soon as the rat enters, he sees the place is full of other reptilian characters who later tell him something along the lines of “we don’t take kind to your furry kind” reminding the viewer that these aren’t just people drawn as animals, but that it is a conscious fact in this world.
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