Juan Díaz Canales

SUMMARY Back on the losing side of life, Blacksad takes a step back from the rough world of PI work and opts for a seemingly harmless job as a valet through the valleys of Route 66. What follows is a travelling circus of criminal chaos with one man leaving his mark in each town, a down on his luck lion with a one hit wonder novel. Even with Blacksad and a stampede of bad decisions on this lion’s tail, everyone deserves a second chance to do one good thing. ART Coincidentally, the colouring throughout this comic is like a brand new coat of paint on a 50s Cadillac; redefiningly classic and exuberantly bright. Brightest of this palette is the condimental combination of red and yellow. While it’s symbolism is tailored more towards carnival cosmetics, there is a fitting air of Summer poetry to the warm and passionate colours of red and yellow. Guarnido demonstrates his artistic ingenuity in designing and engineering intricate watercolours throughout this wanderlusting adventure. In the midst of gorgeous train stations and populated city landscapes are atomic nuances of artistry such as concentrated expressions among 100 different animal civilians at once. WRITING As we reach the final instalment (for now) of the Blacksad series, it seems only fair to take the arcs of the series into consideration here. While Canales’ characterisation is immediately brilliant from the moment we are introduced to a character, the real beauty comes from the friends we made along the way. Or rather, their development as beloved characters. For the short time that we see Weekly in this comic, it is a wholesome time to be had as he and Blacksad have formed a genuine admiration for each other. Despite his external and fowl flaws both moral and physical, his inner talents and personality are a breath of fresh air! Canales strays from the path of his usual storytelling tropes of razor sharp relevant subject materials and instead offers his most unique and deep addition to the series. I’m not entirely sure of the overall theme, the human condition? The larger balance of work and passion? A powerful and gripping message of mental health? Whatever it is, I relate to it way more than the other volumes. There’s an element of self-discovery to be found in Blacksad: Amarillo that is as intriguing as it is daunting. OVERALL In conclusion, Blacksad: Amarillo is a fast paced and fascinating addition to the story of Blacksad. Where previous tales focused on subject matters grounded in scarily relevant realism, Amarillo instead offers a simple but convoluted by the numbers classic detective story with uniquely engaging twists and thrills. Heavily detailed and beautifully consistent in both Guarnido’s artistry and Canales’ writing, this duo when separated are stand-alone virtuosos but together are a real tour de force that are ahead of the curve in the world of comic books. [yasr_multiset setid=1] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=1] Let us know in the comments your thoughts on Blacksad: Amarillo and be sure to check out my reviews for Blacksad: Somewhere Within The Shadows, Blacksad: Arctic Nation, Blacksad: Red Soul, Blacksad: A Silent Hell & Blacksad: Under The Skin! Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE

SUMMARY Taking a trip down to New Orleans, Blacksad and his repellent rascal of a reporter Weekly are tasked with finding a beloved missing musician in the mayhem of Mardi Gras. However, the Masquerade of the local music industry has prowled through the poisonous streets of New Orleans longer than any parade. In the hometown of Jazz and voodoo, Blacksad is soon to find out that A Silent Hell awaits those with a Life Everlasting. ART With a loud and proud colour palette party and an intricate gallery of water-coloured storytelling throughout, Guarnido has a field day with this volume of Blacksad. You know you are witnessing something special when even the simple use of colour can tell a dynamic story. With the subject matter dealing with the harsh realities of drug abuse, Guarnido takes the opportunity to show off his abstract chops with some truly trippy compositions that are both moving and menacing all at once. These in their own right could be covers for the comic or installations in a renowned art gallery for kaleidoscopic prowess. WRITING Crossing the line between art and writing, I wasn’t sure how to talk about the English translation of this comic. Unfortunately, it’s shoddily done both in it’s style and translation. Slapped across the original speech bubbles like a tacky elbow patch on a tailored suit is a grammatical nightmare of an English translation from it’s original French text, in a lifeless husk of a font no less. Canales is a genius with his immersive dialogue and sadly there’s enough immersion-breaking mistakes in the translation that really break the flow. I’d happily learn French for Blacksad but I think it’d be easier to re-release the comic with a more collaborative translation. That being said, Canales is a tour de force when it comes to his virtuosic talents for as a writer and not even a poor translation can stop him from creating a riveting tale of fabled realism. Arctic Nation dealt with racism, Red Soul a commentary on political warfare and now with A Silent Hell, a dark descension into the world of drugs and exploitative nature of the music industry. OVERALL In conclusion, Blacksad: A Silent Hell, is a maddening Mardi Gras of mistreatment and music. Just like Jazz, there’s a beauty to the dissonance of Canales’ story coupled with a fun and lively appearance atop an exhausted internal struggle from Guarnido. Despite it’s rough and staggered translation to the English language, this comic is essential reading for anyone attending the Blacksad party! [yasr_multiset setid=1] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=1] Let us know in the comments your thoughts on Blacksad: A Silent Hell and be sure to check out my reviews for Blacksad: Somewhere Within The Shadows, Blacksad: Arctic Nation, Blacksad: Red Soul & Blacksad: Under The Skin! Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE

Review – Blacksad: Arctic Nation SUMMARY Blacksad puts himself in the crossfire of a visceral race war within The Line, a decrepit district of New York. Being a black and white cat is a dangerous thing to be when stuck between the Arctic Nation and Black Claws gang, but Blacksad is willing to go the distance in order to save the life of a kidnapped child torn from childhood. Not for the faint of heart, Animal Farm meets A Time to Kill in Blacksad’s coldest case yet. ART Guarnido’s artwork throughout Blacksad: Arctic Nation is comparable to every detective noir novel cover you’ve ever seen; hyper detailed with an aged complexion of scarred stoicism and brooding nihilism. Simultaneously and in contrast, underneath this cold and dark exterior is hearty anthropomorphic artistry, comparable to early Disney animation with carefully crafted and exaggeratedly expressive characters. As if the subject matter itself wasn’t enough to earn this comic it’s R rating, Guarnido looks to offend your eyes with equally scarring imagery of white supremacy, among other things best left unsaid. Regardless of the subject matter, the artwork throughout is wholly and undeniably masterful. WRITING Canales, in my humble opinion, has cemented himself as one of the greatest noir writers of all time with Blacksad. With a deep understanding of the genre, he manages to poke fun at the clichés while maintaining his own brilliant brand of gritty detective allegories by pushing the envelope further than his predecessors; that is by putting anthropomorphic animals into the stained shoes of the human condition. Orwell would be proud! With the comic’s original publisher being the French company Dargaud, the English translation at times can be a little askew which is forgivable, though there is one speech bubble that is just totally in French for some reason. That being said, the dialogue and storytelling do not suffer one bit with it’s pure poetry and tragic realism burned into an unapologetic apologue. OVERALL In conclusion, Blacksad: Arctic Nation is a paragon in the world of comic books and even noir novels that is sure to fluctuate your core temperature throughout. Dialogue is dripping with poetic prowess and melodramatic magnificence while the artwork pulls your heart strings back and forth with it’s adorably industrious mythology eclipsed by a painfully relevant avalanche of reality. To reiterate, this is not for the faint of heart and has garnered a harsh R rating for it’s various subject matters. If you can brave the cold of Blacksad: Arctic Nation, you’ll be rewarded with a one of a kind comic experience that will stay with you forever. A brilliantly harrowing crime story worthy of your attention. [yasr_multiset setid=1] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=1] Let us know in the comments your thoughts on our Review of Blacksad: Arctic Nation and be sure to check out my reviews for Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows & Blacksad: Under The Skin! Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE

Review – Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows is a 2016 fable comic written by Juan Diaz Canales and illustrated by Juanjo Guarnido. Published by Darguad. SUMMARY Pronounced dead at the scene, the concrete jungle of New York mourns and scorns a beloved actress after her cold-blooded murder. One man is on the case to catch the killer; Private Detective and coincidentally her former lover, John Blacksad. With a personal grudge and a city of wild animals out to stop him, justice is hidden Somewhere Within the Shadows. Also, he’s a cat! ART Even if anthropomorphic animals aren’t your thing, you can’t help but admire the gritty details in the designs of these colourful cartoon characters. Guarnido is able to portray and balance a multitude of thematic scenes such as comic relief and crippling despair or primal fury combating intellectual charm. The pages of this comic are coloured like a sunny Sunday morning; faded red wine and smeared lipstick from a wild Saturday night, steamed over with the smoke of lit cigarettes and stained fresh coffee. Blissfully warming even its hazy agitated complexion, you can’t help but be wrapped up in the cruel world of John Blacksad. WRITING One gripe I have is that the characters refer to themselves both as human and animals. This could be a cheeky jab at mankind as a whole being more animalistic than humane in their day to day lives but that only works in continuity sake or with a clear idea of a human being. In this case however, mankind is absent from the setting so it comes off more like a glitch in the system. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, back to praising this wonderful City of Animals fable noir! At face value alone, Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows is an outstandingly grizzly crime story with anthropomorphic animals. Take a deeper dissection of this world that Canales has created and you uncover beautifully intricate characters in a very bleak but familiar setting alongside a gripping satirical narrative laced with hierarchical social food chains and brilliant stereotypical character casting, for better or for worse. This Animal Farm has moved to the big city. OVERALL In conclusion, Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows is an impassioned masterpiece in every way. The premise of a walking talking cat detective solving cases alone is enough to scratch the itch for any fan of detective novels looking for a unique noir story. Once you add the gorgeous artwork and James Ellroy-esque writing styles of Guarnido & Canales, you know you are in for something special. The heavily detailed and creative art combined with charmingly sophisticated storytelling, characters and dialogue makes this triumphant social satire comic a must have for anyone who has ever collected a comic. Blacksad leaves you begging for more and thankfully, this isn’t his last case. Rate our Review of Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows [yasr_multiset setid=1] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=1] Let us know in the comments your thoughts on Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows and be sure to read our review of the video game Blacksad: Under The Skin. Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE