Day One: A Review of the first volume of "Blacksad"
Disclaimer: Blacksad is an amazing book that is meant for mature readers. If you have any afinity for mysteries, detective/noir stories, you will not go wrong with this series. The art alone, from Guarnido, is worth the price of admission. I wanted to start the review with this blurb because I will have minor spoilers peppered throughout this review. If you do not mind the spoilers, please continue. If you do, please check this story out and come back to my review. Thank you and back to the first day of Blacksad reviews...
The world of Blacksad is brought to us from the vivid imaginations of Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido. With this first volume, presented by Dark Horse Comics, we are presented with the first three stories in the Blacksad series: Somewhere Within The Shadows, Arctic Nation, and Red Soul. Today, we are going to dive into each story individually and see why each one carries a tone that lingers with you long after the story has concluded.
Somewhere Within The Shadows
Summary:
The first page, shows us John Blacksad at the scene of a murder of a past Love. Our detective informs the police on the scene that their relationship was estranged and we see how the threads of their past love became undone. Against recommendations from the Chief Smirnov, John decides to look into what happened to the starlet. His travels take him to film sets, seedy bars like La Iguana and Cypher Club, and eventually to a graveyard where it seems like it may the end for our protagonist.
Luckily, for him, more is required from him and the mystery isn't solved yet. From lizards in the dark to no-good rats in the alley, Blacksad finds his way to the killer of his previous Love but wonders if his conscience would allow him to take the final step into the darkness.
Thoughts on Somewhere Within the Shadows:
This first story connects back to what detective stories revolve around: a dark underworld, a beautiful dame, hard-boiled criminals, an a person trying to make sense of it all. John Blacksad sees things from a point of a man that always walked on a moral high ground but he starts to see that in order for him to maneuver in this new element, he will have to move differently, even if it causes him to keep his conscience at the door.
The story shows us that even though John can hold his own, he sometimes step into situations that is over his head. He moves haphazardly but after taking a beating, he learns to move with more poise and caution. When he was overtaken by the goons in the graveyard, he was taken off guard but eventually he knew that he had to approach them differently when he sees them again at the business building.
One element that stood out about the story was the failed love connection between John and Natalia. Through his writing, Diaz Canales shows us how the romanticized image that John had of Natalia continued to be knocked down by the reality of her interactions with others. From Jake the boxing Gorilla to The Lizard, everyone saw Natalia for the faults that eventually broke up the love she had with Blacksad. Even through all of the messy parts of their relationship, John couldn't deny that he still cared for her and it fueled the narrative of the story.
After the climax of the story, Chief Smirnov leaves John with one of the comment that stuck to me. While standing outside of the precinct, Chief started cleaning his glasses and mentioned "The truth is John...I use to see clearly, but now...". He too has noticed that it is difficult for a man to continue to be moral when he spends his waking moments combating with those who are morally bankrupted. John smiles it off but he too understands the internal struggle the Chief is dealing with.
This story is a great jumping off point into the dark world that Blacksad has only seen the a glimpse of. The last phrase ends on a point allowing us to see how his future journey will descend him down a darker path. The next chapter in his life will prove that the his resolve will continue to be challenged.
Arctic Nation
Summary:
John Blacksad ventures onto another city, and is faced with another sickness. Racism seems to be the issue that face this town and John also finds out there is a kidnapping of a child named Kaylie. As he looks into it, he introduced to a new companion name Weekly and even though John works alone, he starts to realize that this new partner will prove to be helpful.
Throughout the town, John is confronted with the Arctic Nation, which promotes white supremacy. Their leader, Chief Karup, also has other issues to worrying about, as he is the leader of his church and married to an attractive young wife, Jezabel. From Oldsmill to Karup’s right hand man, Huk, so many individuals murk the waters of what happened to Kaylie. Even beyond the racial tension, something else is providing more tension in the town. As the reader, we hope for Blacksad to solve this case before innocent lives are lost.
Thoughts On Arctic Nation:
The second story in this series connects with a divisive issue that separate so many around the world: racism. Even though the series Blacksad is shown the world through the eyes of anthropomorphize characters, the creators wanted to show the harsh nature of racism and the hate some project towards others simply because of the color of their skin. The fear of others sometime results in the ignorance that we have about them and can also be fueled by the fear of one’s self image being erased. Either fear is irrational and to have it placed in this setting helps to highlight that sentiment.
To hate one’s Love because of societal restrictions provide more pain than help. The Chief loved his first wife but allowed the Arctic Nation cloud his judgement, which in turn started the chain of reactions. If he continues to love his first wife, the family he was destined to have would have still existed. Sometimes, we are the authors of our own tragic end.
The depths of Dinah and Jezebel's relationship and plans to bring light to something hidden was an amazing element into the story. I would love to dive more into it but to explain all of the elements wouldn't allow you, the reader, to fully appreciate the twists as they come. One of the saddest parts is seeing how the ignorance of so many can hurt the innocent among us: the children. I continue to linger on the page when a particular child throws a snowball at Weekly's head and the next panel freezes on her face. It illustrated the her innocence but also reminds us of what she endured within the story.
Red Soul
Summary:
The collection ends with Red Soul. Our favorite feline detective John Blacksad has found himself in another situation. We find him working as a body guard and collector for an elderly man who eventually has business that leads him to John's hometown. Once home, familiar characters like Smirnov and Weekly are re-introduced and a new crew of characters enters the picture. One of those new characters is Otto Liebber, a professor that knew John in his collegiate years. We see how Otto has continued his work to help the future of many and that their destined reunion will take John down a path that makes him question a time of his youth.
Featuring quotes from the Bible, Allen Ginsberg, and the song "That Old Black Magic", background elements provide nuances about the current mood of pivotal scenes and foreshadowed the tragedies they laid ahead. John's battle does help him find the truth but does that truth completely alter what he knew as fact before? How does it affect him and those he care for in the end?
Thoughts on Red Soul:
Red Soul is a solemn end to the three story collection. We continue to drop into the world of the book through the perspective of our favorite detective, John Blacksad. When he meets Otto after years, we can see that this meeting will lead John down another path of dark secrets. Samuel Gotfield seemed too jolly to be on even ground and other characters like Senator Gallo are more nefarious than good.
This story continued to provide breadcrumbs, in the form of quotes, to keep the reader guessing what will happen next. One quote that stood out to me was the one from Revelation 9:6 :
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
As the story progresses, you start to see how true this verse rings during some of the more tense moments of the story. So many get mixed into the cyclone that is the past and John worked as fast as he could to make sure that death avoids the one he cared most for throughout the story.
The end of the story also displayed the duality of one of the main characters. We see how their actions can be evil but also see them try to find redemption by helping those their sins may have hurt the most.
In this story and the ones before, John always appear to be able to interact with the worlds he enter but can never find peace. Even when he finally makes a genuine connection with Alma, the world cannot allow him to be what he want them to be. Things beyond his control seem to come back to get him. How can John ever find peace when it seems like there's a force pulling the rug from underneath him at every turn?
Final Thoughts
Blacksad continues to illustrate the tragedy of noir stories. At the end of each heroic tale, we are still left with a world that is still broken. The pessimistic look at the world isn't completely bad but does force the reader to have a more grounded look at the world created by the author, which in turn, force us to truly look at our own world. From the writing to the framing of each page, this book provides the perfect depiction of what I want from a story of this genre. While some closure is presented, we realize as the reader that everything isn't over and that the lives in the stories that are affected will continue to feel the elements of what happened through the story. Blacksad is currently available at your local bookstore with the cover price of $29.99. The book is also a mature title due to some of the themes, language, and imagery.
