Comic review: Blacksad, volumes 6 and 7 (2021-2023)

This is a belated review of the last two official volumes of Blacksad, the French hardcover comic series about a cat detective written by Spanish author Juan Díaz Canales, with gorgeous anthropomorphic art by Juanjo Guarnido. Credit to StratoKasta who beat me to it back in 2024! So why am I getting around to this now? Because I want to read something new that's Blacksad-adjacent, and didn't want to do that without reviewing these first.

I'd last read Blacksad volume 5 (Amarillo) ages ago, and had largely forgotten it. So diving back into the series felt like riding a bicycle after a long absence - a bit wobbly at first, then getting back into the groove. The last two volumes are a two-parter called They All Fall Down (French: Alors, tout tombe).

With a higher page count, the pace feels a little slower, but none of that is wasted, because it gets to weave a story with more characters. The setting is New York City in the late 1950s, possibly 1960. The subway system is under expansion, being constructed by unionized rodents. The president of their workers' union, a leaf-nosed bat, fears assassination and hires Blacksad to protect him. A side-story involves a theatrical troupe performing in Central Park, directed by a llama named Iris.

Unfortunately the stage is under threat of being torn down by Lewis Solomon, an ambitious peregrine falcon who's in charge of multiple large-scale construction projects. Weekly, Blacksad's newspaper friend, attempts to date one of Iris' actresses, a beatnik named Rachel. Weekly also has a new editor who doesn't want any more of his muckraking journalism, so he begins working on a biographical puff piece about Solomon.

All of these plotlines gradually converge as murders happen and Blacksad tries to track down the culprit. There's a new character, a street-wise shoe-shine raccoon kid. Several previous characters come back - including one from several volumes ago, whose backstory I'd completely forgotten! Fans of police commissioner Smirnov may be happy to see him again; sadly he's only on four pages, looking a little older and less fluffy. His fox lieutenant is back too, and boy do he and Blacksad hate each other's guts more than ever!

It's often noted that Guarnido's art depicts female characters differently than male characters. Most of the women's faces are barely anthropomorphized. There are exceptions to this - those more important to the plot, like Iris - and yet it still feels arbitrary. Rachel the beatnik is one of the more anthro ones; I think she's a fox of some sort? When we first meet her, she's wearing a wig, and she's got a weird blue-gray forehead. So I'm really not sure what she is. In contrast, the male characters' species are so easy to identify immediately.

The plot has its twists and turns, a convenience or two, some laughs, dark and violent bits, and genuine surprises. Weekly has his own story arc - I feel sorry for what he goes through, but I don't like how he acts at all. Honestly, I'm not reading this for the story; all of Blacksad veers towards detective noir, with bittersweet endings that are more bitter than sweet. In all of the volumes, it's unsure if justice will ultimately be served, but at least there's some measure of peace achieved. This latest story is no different.

Really, I go for the artwork: the anthro animals, the facial expressions, that's what engages me. And Guarnido puts so much work into the whole thing! Background details, crowd scenes - I've only visited New York City twice, and I actually recognized stuff in the comic, like The Cloisters.

For history buffs, Solomon the construction mogul is absolutely based on Robert Moses, a controversial urban planner who held sway in New York for decades. I wouldn't have known about him, if I hadn't coincidentally listened to a podcast about him last year. (Episode 11, specifically, and that was enough for me to recognize his presence in Blacksad!)

If you appreciate high-quality anthropomorphism from outside the fandom, it's difficult to ignore the artwork in Blacksad. Story-wise, it depends on your tastes! The English translation has been published by Dark Horse Comics (ISBN 9781506730578 and 9781506743981), with a digital edition released through Kobo (ISBN 9781506730646 and 9781506743998). Digital editions have also been distributed by Europe Comics (volume 6, volume 7).