Blacksad (comic series)

Blacksad is a comic album series created by Spanish authors Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist), and published by French publisher Dargaud. Though both authors are Spanish, their main target audience for Blacksad is the French market and thus they publish all Blacksad volumes in French first; the Spanish edition usually follows about one month later.

The series has been translated from the original French and Spanish into Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, English, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Hungarian, Swedish, and Turkish.

The first volume Quelque part entre les ombres (literally Somewhere between the Shadows, but simply called Blacksad in the US) was published in November 2000. The second volume, Arctic-Nation, was published in 2003 and the third, Âme Rouge (Red Soul), was published in 2005. An English translation of the third volume was delayed due to the bankruptcy of its North American publisher, iBooks. In 2010, Dark Horse Comics published all three translated volumes as one volume. The publication of this 184-page collection also coincided with the European release of the series' fourth installment, L'Enfer, Le silence (literally Hell, Silence), in September 2010. In 2014, a fifth installment of the series, Amarillo, was released in various translations.

The series attempts to reflect a dirty-realist outlook and a dark cinematic style through fairly clean, realistic lines. Detailed watercolor drawings, including real-life places and cities, also contribute to the realistic feel of the series, despite the fact that characters are animals. The style of drawing has evolved throughout the series, with later issues displaying sharper, higher-quality colour and fewer grainy lines.

Guarnido and Diaz Canales have received several prizes for the series, including three Eisner Award nominations in 2004, two Eisner Award wins in 2013,  and an Angoulême Prize for Artwork.

Synopsis
The stories are set in late 1950s America, rendered in a film noir style. All of the characters are anthropomorphic animals whose species reflects their personality, character type and role in the story. Animal stereotypes are often used: for example, nearly all of the policemen are canines, such as German Shepherds, Bloodhounds, and foxes, while underworld characters are often reptiles or amphibians. Female characters are often much more human looking than their male counterparts.

Somewhere Within the Shadows
Main article : Somewhere Within the Shadows

Somewhere Within the Shadows is the first graphic novel of the Blacksad series, published in 2000 for the French market by Dargaud. In the United States, the book was simply retitled Blacksad by now-defunct publisher iBooks in 2003. The story is about Blacksad avenging the murder of famous actress Natalia Willford whom he used to be closely involved with in the past.

Arctic Nation
Main article : Arctic Nation

Arctic Nation is the second title in the series. It was published in 2003 by Dargaud for the French-speaking market, and republished in the United States in 2004 by iBooks for the English-speaking market. This volume deals with inter-racial violence and racial segregation of the 1950s in a pseudo-American suburbia called The Line. The story also addresses issues of economic depression, sexual repression and perversion, all intended to expose the social malice and prejudice that exist beneath the apparently harmonious surfaces of communities.

Red Soul
Main article : Red Soul

Blacksad gets involved with a former Nazi scientist, Communist Sympathizers, and the FBI. This mirrors the 1950's elements of McCarthyism, fear of nuclear warfare, and the Red Scare.

A Silent Hell
Main article : A Silent Hell

In 1950's New Orleans, John Blacksad gets hired by Jazz producer Faust to find the missing pianist "Little Hand" Sebastian, a gifted pianist with a difform arm and an addiction to hard drugs. While looking for him, Blacksad gets entangled in a past pharmaceutical scandal - and all goes to Hell when the music stops.

Amarillo
Main article : Amarillo

Taking place immediately after the events in Hell, Silence, Blacksad is hired to deliver a Cadillac Eldorado to Tulsa. When it gets stolen by a down and out writer on the run from a murder, Blacksad finds himself in pursuit.