Blacksad: Somewhere Within The Shadows
By Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido
I love me some animals. Anthropomorphism has been a love of mine since I was a wee one singin' Old MacDonald. And here we are with it in an entirely new way!
It's always clever how an author can find the inherent characteristics of an animal and use them in a story, there's all kinds of cases where it was down well--go way back to the Fairy Tales and see how wolves were characterized as evil and mischievous; or skip up to the 20th century where the Chronicles of Narnia use "King of the Jungle" is the God of all animals. Blacksad is a nice twist on it as well, delivering these animals to us in a typical noir tale. Sex, violence, death, lust, money, power, corruption and a shady police department. The story itself is one that's been done before, but the way these characters are drawn, and the story the illustrations tell? I've never seen anything like this before.
P.I. Blacksad: he's a cat. But he's not a sweet, little kitty cat. He doesn't purr. When they show the flashback of him making love to his ex-girlfriend, also a cat, their bodies are drawn to show the musculature of the jungle creatures that they are. It's mixed with enough human traits so that the illustration is...actually? Totally sexy. (And yes, that's weird! I know that it's weird. But it was HOT.)
All the choices and drawings of the other characters are fantastic - whether it be the pig as a bartender, looking perfectly slovenly and having a truly piggish way about him, or the rat who, as it turns out, is a dirty rat. He's drawn to look gaunt, too skinny and with all the mannerisms that indicate a self seeking, sneaky creature.
On and on I could go, but I feel like I'd ruin the story for you if I begin to discuss some of the reptiles. But let's just say, that lizards and frogs do not disappoint.
I'm about to go back and reread it to enjoy it some more. Blacksad is the most debonair cat I've ever seen. There's a suave look about him, and a darkness that he'd rather shake. (This is so funny, I feel like I'm writing a theater review and am afraid to leave out anyone's performance, lest one thinks that the rest of the cast "was just okay".) Smirnov! Way to come through for your pal! And it doesn't even matter that you're a dog, and that he's a cat. You're friends, and that's what matters. I don't know my dog breeds real well, but I bet Smirnov is drawn as a breed who is loyal (well, aren't all dogs?), intelligent and even tempered.
So, what can I say? This was totally enjoyable. I'm excited to read the rest of this collection. This opening was a perfect little teaser. Check it out.
-Nina Stone, 2010
So Tucker what's it like being married to a furry?
Posted by: LurkerWithout | 2010.06.16 at 02:16
Smirnov is a German Shepherd, the ubiquitous police dog breed :)
Posted by: Dirk | 2010.06.17 at 13:38