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Blacksad #4
Hiljainen helvetti
Kaksimetrinen musta kissaetsivä John Blacksad päätyy tällä kertaa myrkkyjen maailmaan, suurkaupungin huumehelvettiin. Murheellinen murhavyyhti ei ala purkautua, koska kaikki siihen sekaantuneet vaikenevat peloissaan. Mestarillinen, runsaasti palkittu eurosarjakuvan huippu saa jatkoa vuoden tauon jälkeen.
56 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
51 people are currently reading
1080 people want to read
About the author
Juan Díaz Canales
69 books409 followersJuan Díaz Canales is a Spanish comics artist and an animated film director, known as the co-creator of Blacksad.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 459 reviews
March 25, 2024
The New Orleans jazz scene in the 1950s is the backdrop for A Silent Hell.
This wasn't my favorite Blacksad story, but it was still good.
Blacksad and Weekly end up looking into the mystery of a missing musician who is hooked on drugs. At the same time, they uncover a secret(s?) about their dying client, a failed musician turned major record producer.
If you aren't reading Blacksad, you should be.
Recommended.
This wasn't my favorite Blacksad story, but it was still good.
Blacksad and Weekly end up looking into the mystery of a missing musician who is hooked on drugs. At the same time, they uncover a secret(s?) about their dying client, a failed musician turned major record producer.
If you aren't reading Blacksad, you should be.
Recommended.
March 11, 2024
Това е четвъртата история за котаракът частен детектив Блексед.
Действието се развива по време на карнавала Марди Гра в Ню Орлийнс и всичко отново е на ниво - класическа притча за дрога, музика, насилие, ревност и мръсни пари.
Във втора книжка обаче подред, забелязвам слабости в превода и това не е по вкуса ми...
Петата, предпоследна част излезе тези дни на бъларски!
Действието се развива по време на карнавала Марди Гра в Ню Орлийнс и всичко отново е на ниво - класическа притча за дрога, музика, насилие, ревност и мръсни пари.
Във втора книжка обаче подред, забелязвам слабости в превода и това не е по вкуса ми...
Петата, предпоследна част излезе тези дни на бъларски!
May 14, 2015
In the fourth outing for black-cat detective John Blacksad he is actually going out from the (New York) metropolis that was the backdrop for the first three albums. His destination is New Orleans, a fictionalized one, peopled with the antropomorphic creatures that give the series its unique flavour, but still one easily recognizable in its landmarks and in its vibrant and colourful street life. The period is also easily established through the car models, the fashions and the hairstyles : the 1950's with its enthusiasm for Jazz and bobbysocks, with its noir novels and movies that amount to a Golden Age for the genre.
Blacksad is a return, a revival, a homage paid to the genre and the period. Blacksad himself is the tough gumshoe of few words and iron fists that was popularized by Chandler, Hammett & Co. I already knew what to expect in terms of plot from earlier experiences with the writing of Juan Diaz Canales : it is competent and complex enough, without really shining in terms of originality or mystery. Blacksad is hired by an elderly and terminally ill music producer to find out a missing person - the best jazz pianist in his stable of artists. The investigation soon starts to run into dead bodies, friends of the missing pianist. Somebody is trying to stop him, by any means, from launching a new protest song and revealing a secret decades old.
I don't honestly follow the series for its writing. I do it for the amazing artwork of Juanjo Guarnido. His characters have more energy and expressivity in their animal faces than most of the human and superhero comic book regulars. His reasearch into the location and the period is faultless. He uses watercolours instead of the black & white starkness of the original noir movies or of the works of Frank Miller, but the resulting play of light and shadow add to the dramatism and the emotional tonality of his panels. Dark Horse Publishing has treated the readers of this fourth album to an extra 50 pages detailing the creative process, the brush technique, the sketches and the experiments with colour swathes that justify the long inception of each album. My favorites are a couple of pages capturing the play of light and shadow from the leaves of an overhanging tree on a lunch table set in an old courtyard, several Mardi Grass scenes full of bright colours and the blue-toned flashback to a pre-war small town.
Another highlight of the album is the greater role played by Blacksad's sidekick, the weasel Weekly (he only washes once a week, get it?). He provides a welcome comic relief to the overall gloomier detective. I have also greatly enjoyed the jazz artists: a boxer dog on piano, a donkey on bass, a rooster on guitar and a cool cat on horn.
The only complaint I could think about is the use of stereotypes: dogs are faithfull, so they are mostly policemen, a voodoo witch is a monkey, a goat is somehow connected to the Devil, a fat local detective is a hippoppotamus, a stripper is a spotted leopard, etc. It works in the end through the expressivity of the faces and poses, but it doea feel simplistic at times.
An Easter Egg for lovers of the city of New Orleans is hidden in one of the detailed panels of Bourbon Street, where one character in the corner can be easily recognized
Next in line is album no.5 Amarillo, but after it I must take a break since the next two Blacksad stories are not expected before 2016. They will be available only in France, with no estimate for an English translation, but since I am mostly interested in the artwork and I can read passably well in French, I might not wait for Dark Horse and the English version.
Blacksad is a return, a revival, a homage paid to the genre and the period. Blacksad himself is the tough gumshoe of few words and iron fists that was popularized by Chandler, Hammett & Co. I already knew what to expect in terms of plot from earlier experiences with the writing of Juan Diaz Canales : it is competent and complex enough, without really shining in terms of originality or mystery. Blacksad is hired by an elderly and terminally ill music producer to find out a missing person - the best jazz pianist in his stable of artists. The investigation soon starts to run into dead bodies, friends of the missing pianist. Somebody is trying to stop him, by any means, from launching a new protest song and revealing a secret decades old.
I don't honestly follow the series for its writing. I do it for the amazing artwork of Juanjo Guarnido. His characters have more energy and expressivity in their animal faces than most of the human and superhero comic book regulars. His reasearch into the location and the period is faultless. He uses watercolours instead of the black & white starkness of the original noir movies or of the works of Frank Miller, but the resulting play of light and shadow add to the dramatism and the emotional tonality of his panels. Dark Horse Publishing has treated the readers of this fourth album to an extra 50 pages detailing the creative process, the brush technique, the sketches and the experiments with colour swathes that justify the long inception of each album. My favorites are a couple of pages capturing the play of light and shadow from the leaves of an overhanging tree on a lunch table set in an old courtyard, several Mardi Grass scenes full of bright colours and the blue-toned flashback to a pre-war small town.
Another highlight of the album is the greater role played by Blacksad's sidekick, the weasel Weekly (he only washes once a week, get it?). He provides a welcome comic relief to the overall gloomier detective. I have also greatly enjoyed the jazz artists: a boxer dog on piano, a donkey on bass, a rooster on guitar and a cool cat on horn.
The only complaint I could think about is the use of stereotypes: dogs are faithfull, so they are mostly policemen, a voodoo witch is a monkey, a goat is somehow connected to the Devil, a fat local detective is a hippoppotamus, a stripper is a spotted leopard, etc. It works in the end through the expressivity of the faces and poses, but it doea feel simplistic at times.
An Easter Egg for lovers of the city of New Orleans is hidden in one of the detailed panels of Bourbon Street, where one character in the corner can be easily recognized
Next in line is album no.5 Amarillo, but after it I must take a break since the next two Blacksad stories are not expected before 2016. They will be available only in France, with no estimate for an English translation, but since I am mostly interested in the artwork and I can read passably well in French, I might not wait for Dark Horse and the English version.
July 12, 2023
[ESP/ENG]
Siguiendo las aventuras del gato más duro que te hayas echado a la cara, aquí el bueno de John Blacksad y su fiel amigo Weekly se han ido a Nueva Orleans, porque si hablamos de genéro negro o noir, no puede faltar la visita a la ciudad.
Lo primero que te encuentras son unos escenarios fantásticamente recreados, unas calles que a pesar de no conocer en persona reconocería de lejos, y unos clubs en los que tu cabeza ya está escuchando jazz de fondo. Y en estos entornos es donde se va a mover toda la trama, a veces sórdida (no llega a extremos de El corazón del ángel, pero hay situaciones chungas) y a veces más luminosa.
La trama es quizá la menos elaborada hasta ahora, aunque eso no es decir mucho, ya que las historias anteriores eran muy buenas. Aquí queda algo más "sencilla", aunque nada es lo que parece y hay sorpresas, pero no es mala para nada. El dibujo, una vez más, es sobresaliente. Para muestra un botón:
Para una mejor experiencia al leer esto, un whiskey en la mano y algo de jazz sonando de fondo debe ser lo mejor.
-------------------
Following the adventures of the toughest cat you've ever faced, here good John Blacksad and his faithful friend Weekly go to New Orleans, because if we're talking about noir genre, you can't miss a visit to this city .
The first thing you come across are fantastically recreated settings, streets that you would recognize from afar despite not knowing them in person, and clubs where your head is already listening to jazz in the background. And it is in these environments that the entire plot will move, sometimes sordid (it does not reach the extremes of angel's heart, but there are dodgy situations) and sometimes more luminous.
The plot is perhaps the least elaborated so far, although that is not saying much, since the previous stories were very good. Here is something more "simple", although nothing is what it seems and there are surprises, but it is not bad at all. The drawing, once again, is outstanding. A token of it:
For the best experience reading this, a whiskey in hand and some jazz playing in the background should be mandatory.
Siguiendo las aventuras del gato más duro que te hayas echado a la cara, aquí el bueno de John Blacksad y su fiel amigo Weekly se han ido a Nueva Orleans, porque si hablamos de genéro negro o noir, no puede faltar la visita a la ciudad.
Lo primero que te encuentras son unos escenarios fantásticamente recreados, unas calles que a pesar de no conocer en persona reconocería de lejos, y unos clubs en los que tu cabeza ya está escuchando jazz de fondo. Y en estos entornos es donde se va a mover toda la trama, a veces sórdida (no llega a extremos de El corazón del ángel, pero hay situaciones chungas) y a veces más luminosa.
La trama es quizá la menos elaborada hasta ahora, aunque eso no es decir mucho, ya que las historias anteriores eran muy buenas. Aquí queda algo más "sencilla", aunque nada es lo que parece y hay sorpresas, pero no es mala para nada. El dibujo, una vez más, es sobresaliente. Para muestra un botón:
Para una mejor experiencia al leer esto, un whiskey en la mano y algo de jazz sonando de fondo debe ser lo mejor.
-------------------
Following the adventures of the toughest cat you've ever faced, here good John Blacksad and his faithful friend Weekly go to New Orleans, because if we're talking about noir genre, you can't miss a visit to this city .
The first thing you come across are fantastically recreated settings, streets that you would recognize from afar despite not knowing them in person, and clubs where your head is already listening to jazz in the background. And it is in these environments that the entire plot will move, sometimes sordid (it does not reach the extremes of angel's heart, but there are dodgy situations) and sometimes more luminous.
The plot is perhaps the least elaborated so far, although that is not saying much, since the previous stories were very good. Here is something more "simple", although nothing is what it seems and there are surprises, but it is not bad at all. The drawing, once again, is outstanding. A token of it:
For the best experience reading this, a whiskey in hand and some jazz playing in the background should be mandatory.
July 31, 2021
Историята в този брой се вписва добре към останалите от предходните три и дообогатява персонажите и света им. Но все пак е добре, че не започнах прочита на „Блексед“ първо с този брой, както възнамерявах отначало, защото шансовете да ми допадне, както ми допада сега, вероятно щяха да са по-малки. Дотук най-силно ми харесаха по следния ред – 3, 1, 4, 2.
Корицата на четвъртия брой е една от най-добрите в поредицата (може би само на петата част е по-добра от тази), а като истории за най-завладяващи засега намирам тези в първи и трети брой.
Корицата на четвъртия брой е една от най-добрите в поредицата (може би само на петата част е по-добра от тази), а като истории за най-завладяващи засега намирам тези в първи и трети брой.
July 25, 2021
When Blacksad is hired to find a missing blues pianist in New Orleans, he becomes ensnared in a web of drugs, deceit, and murder...
The first Blacksad book was excellent so I nabbed this one at the first opportunity. I was not disappointed.
Juan Diaz Canales draws from the well of noir masters in A Silent Hell, a tale of decades old crimes coming back to fester at the worst possible time. Blacksad rattles the right cages and punches the right bad guys but there is no happily ever after.
Juanjo Guarnido's art is amazing, watercolor over detailed linework. You can he uses a ton of photo references to get the feel of New Orleans right. Photo references or not, the man is a master. Roughly half of the book is process notes and a couple two pagers. The process stuff was interesting to me but I could see how some people would feel a little screwed. The two pagers were both good.
Blacksad: A Silent Hell is a worthy addition to the Blacksad canon. 4 out of 5 stars.
The first Blacksad book was excellent so I nabbed this one at the first opportunity. I was not disappointed.
Juan Diaz Canales draws from the well of noir masters in A Silent Hell, a tale of decades old crimes coming back to fester at the worst possible time. Blacksad rattles the right cages and punches the right bad guys but there is no happily ever after.
Juanjo Guarnido's art is amazing, watercolor over detailed linework. You can he uses a ton of photo references to get the feel of New Orleans right. Photo references or not, the man is a master. Roughly half of the book is process notes and a couple two pagers. The process stuff was interesting to me but I could see how some people would feel a little screwed. The two pagers were both good.
Blacksad: A Silent Hell is a worthy addition to the Blacksad canon. 4 out of 5 stars.
October 12, 2018
One of the best comics available. Easily a five-star story, with incredibly detailed art and poetically crafted writing. However, where the first book had three hard-hitting stories, this one only had one, which was a small disappointment.
November 8, 2018
★★★1/2
Another Blacksad mystery, this time with some great New Orleans flavor! The plot is pretty standard but as usual, it's all very well done and the drop-dead gorgeous art is the real star here. And the Louisiana setting provides a new atmosphere that sets it apart from the first book. Snuck this in as a quick Noirvember read.
Another Blacksad mystery, this time with some great New Orleans flavor! The plot is pretty standard but as usual, it's all very well done and the drop-dead gorgeous art is the real star here. And the Louisiana setting provides a new atmosphere that sets it apart from the first book. Snuck this in as a quick Noirvember read.
July 20, 2017
Blacksad is a black cat who quite frankly, seems to be the cat version of Idris Elba. Honesty, I want Elba to do the voice of Blacksad in a animated feature. Please!
Like the first volume (or first tranlsated collection to be extact), this installment does touch on race. While I am not entirely sure if the whole plot is historically based, there has been a history of cancer areas in poor and black sections of New Orleans as well as the lead poisioning that occured after Katrina.
Using animals to examine the issues as well as conveay a plot about a missing jazz musican is wonderfully done and harkens back to Maus.
Blacksad is part gumshoe as well.
This edition contains two short stories at the end, and the one about war is particularly powerful.
Like the first volume (or first tranlsated collection to be extact), this installment does touch on race. While I am not entirely sure if the whole plot is historically based, there has been a history of cancer areas in poor and black sections of New Orleans as well as the lead poisioning that occured after Katrina.
Using animals to examine the issues as well as conveay a plot about a missing jazz musican is wonderfully done and harkens back to Maus.
Blacksad is part gumshoe as well.
This edition contains two short stories at the end, and the one about war is particularly powerful.
June 18, 2020
Казвал съм го преди, но не се страхувам да повторя и потретя – „Блексед” на Хуан Диас Каналес и Хуанхо Гуарнидо е един от най-добрите комикси, които някога са виждали печат на български език. След дългогодишна пауза, която ни остави с впечатлението, че „Някъде сред сенките” ще остане единственият преведен у нас том, в крайна сметка от „Студио Арт Лайн” издадоха и „Блексед 2: Арктическа нация”, а в началото на тази година имахме удоволствието да отразим и „Блексед 3: Червена душа“. Поредната блага вест за всички истински почитатели на деветото изкуство у нас – вече можем да се насладим и на „Блексед 4: Адът, тишината”. Готови ли сте за поредното спиращо дъха приключение на детектива с тъмна козина и още по-тъмно минало?Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...
August 10, 2015
P.I. John Blacksad and his sidekick, Weekly, are on the job, this time in New Orleans, not New York. The jazz scene there provides a colorful Mardi Gras background for a case of a guilty conscience, where Blacksad is trying to find a heroin-addicted musician before he overdoses. There is skullduggery and Blacksad takes his usual beatdown, but this fourth book lacked some of the social commentary from the prior three, and I missed that, except a brief flash at the end of one short story at the end. There is also a long addendum written by the illustrator, talking extensively about the graphic arts, with a major focus on materials, technique, and how lighting and color are used.
November 29, 2019
3.5
Creo que de los 4 tomos que llevo este es el que menos me ha gustado por el momento. La historia me parece bastante buena pero si la comparo con las demás, se queda un poquito atrás. Eso no quiere decir que no sea mala, al contrario. Los autores han hecho un gran trabajo y el dibujo sigue siendo una exquisitez.
Creo que de los 4 tomos que llevo este es el que menos me ha gustado por el momento. La historia me parece bastante buena pero si la comparo con las demás, se queda un poquito atrás. Eso no quiere decir que no sea mala, al contrario. Los autores han hecho un gran trabajo y el dibujo sigue siendo una exquisitez.
May 11, 2020
Четвъртият случай на чепатия детектив Джон Блексед ни отвежда в душния Ню Орлийнз, просмукан от бърбън, тютюнев дим, вуду ритуали и дяволски добър джаз. Котаракът издирва гениален, но пристрастен към херцата музикант, а пътят му, както обикновено, бързо започва да се осейва с трупове. Ако не сте, незабавно издирете и предните три албума - Някъде сред сенките, Арктическа нация и Червена душа - препоръчвам ги горещо, защото испанският тандем Диас Каналес (сценарист) и Гуарнидо (художник) определено знае как се твори класен noire в най-добрите традиции на Чандлър и Хамет.
June 4, 2021
Хайде поредната готина история покрай детектив Блексед! Този път авторът е заложил на по-силни човешки емоции - отношения баща-син, раждане-прераждане, смърт. Всичко задържа вниманието на макс, плюс животинската версия на всички герои, всяка специално избрана за конкретния характер.
December 3, 2012
Mid-20th century N’Orleans and Detective John Blacksad is in the Big Easy, hired by the suggestively named Faust, the owner of a popular music label to track down Sebastian “Little Hand” Fletcher, a wayward jazz pianist and the star of the label whose heroin addiction may have gotten the best of him. But as Blacksad investigates the characters’ murky lives in this outwardly jovial town, he finds the place riddled with corruption and murder, a bloody trail leading from the poorhouses to the highest levels of power. But there’s a killer on the streets and the air is filled with mardi gras and voodoo… and time is running out.
For those new to this series – and really, you can just start right here rather than pick up the previous book – this is the world of Raymond Chandler and James Cain; that is, noir. But with animals. Every character is an animal-headed humanoid doing the things humans would normally do. And the book does hit all the noir buttons – the gritty detective, the dames, the drugs, the smoky bars and boozy nights, the fights and deaths and guns. If you love noir, comics, and animals this is your book.
But my problem with this book, like the first book, is the lack of originality in the characters and story. Blacksad is your average gumshoe: he’s tough, he’s street smart, he’s tortured and angry – and he’s unoriginal. Same goes for every character in the book. The evil rich guy, his entitled smug son, the working class depicted as honest, salt of the earth heroes, and so on. And the story of finding the pianist is barely touched on because it’s over really soon and the subplot of the masked killer is easily solved by page 3 – it’s as obvious to figure out as an 80s Columbo TV movie where the bad guy is always the most famous person in the cast. Then the real story begins which takes the form of a staple of the noir genre – the abuse of power and the corruption it brings. The private eye against those in power, the little guy versus the big guy! Etc...
The art is faultless and every page – every panel! - is a master-class in illustration. From the simplest of scenes like Blacksad interviewing a drug dealer in a run-down bar to full page street scenes, Juanjo Guarnido brings it every time. For a noir story, the New Orleans in Mardi Gras setting gives Guarnido the chance to inject glorious amounts of colour to the normally muted stories of Blacksad and he takes full advantage of the newly opened up colour palette for this story, producing page after page of first class art. The full page street scene of the carnival in full swing is a page I would love to buy as a picture to hang on my wall. It’s so detailed and full of mini-stories in the enormous cast of unknown characters living in that page, you’ll find yourself happily pausing the story to examine the scene in the detail it deserves.
“A Silent Hell” is a slimmer volume containing one story while Dark Horse’s previous Blacksad book had three. Dark Horse have beefed up the page count by including a 50-page “making of” commentary by Guarnido who walks the reader through the steps he took in creating this story. While the book is well produced with high quality paper and the artwork is gorgeous, I felt the book was overpriced for what is essentially a 54 page story plus two 2 page short stories. The additional 50 pages of behind the scenes material is really only going to appeal to the devoted fan rather than the casual reader who probably won’t be as interested in finding out how Guarnido decided to draw a particular scene. It’s inclusion seems to be Dark Horse’s justification for charging so much for the book.
While this is a beautifully illustrated, well produced book, look beneath the surface texture and the story and characterisation is lacking nuance, originality and true intrigue. It is an average detective story that is fairly interesting but lacking the integral qualities that would make it a great comic book. In the end it is a pretty but insubstantial and forgettable read.
For those new to this series – and really, you can just start right here rather than pick up the previous book – this is the world of Raymond Chandler and James Cain; that is, noir. But with animals. Every character is an animal-headed humanoid doing the things humans would normally do. And the book does hit all the noir buttons – the gritty detective, the dames, the drugs, the smoky bars and boozy nights, the fights and deaths and guns. If you love noir, comics, and animals this is your book.
But my problem with this book, like the first book, is the lack of originality in the characters and story. Blacksad is your average gumshoe: he’s tough, he’s street smart, he’s tortured and angry – and he’s unoriginal. Same goes for every character in the book. The evil rich guy, his entitled smug son, the working class depicted as honest, salt of the earth heroes, and so on. And the story of finding the pianist is barely touched on because it’s over really soon and the subplot of the masked killer is easily solved by page 3 – it’s as obvious to figure out as an 80s Columbo TV movie where the bad guy is always the most famous person in the cast. Then the real story begins which takes the form of a staple of the noir genre – the abuse of power and the corruption it brings. The private eye against those in power, the little guy versus the big guy! Etc...
The art is faultless and every page – every panel! - is a master-class in illustration. From the simplest of scenes like Blacksad interviewing a drug dealer in a run-down bar to full page street scenes, Juanjo Guarnido brings it every time. For a noir story, the New Orleans in Mardi Gras setting gives Guarnido the chance to inject glorious amounts of colour to the normally muted stories of Blacksad and he takes full advantage of the newly opened up colour palette for this story, producing page after page of first class art. The full page street scene of the carnival in full swing is a page I would love to buy as a picture to hang on my wall. It’s so detailed and full of mini-stories in the enormous cast of unknown characters living in that page, you’ll find yourself happily pausing the story to examine the scene in the detail it deserves.
“A Silent Hell” is a slimmer volume containing one story while Dark Horse’s previous Blacksad book had three. Dark Horse have beefed up the page count by including a 50-page “making of” commentary by Guarnido who walks the reader through the steps he took in creating this story. While the book is well produced with high quality paper and the artwork is gorgeous, I felt the book was overpriced for what is essentially a 54 page story plus two 2 page short stories. The additional 50 pages of behind the scenes material is really only going to appeal to the devoted fan rather than the casual reader who probably won’t be as interested in finding out how Guarnido decided to draw a particular scene. It’s inclusion seems to be Dark Horse’s justification for charging so much for the book.
While this is a beautifully illustrated, well produced book, look beneath the surface texture and the story and characterisation is lacking nuance, originality and true intrigue. It is an average detective story that is fairly interesting but lacking the integral qualities that would make it a great comic book. In the end it is a pretty but insubstantial and forgettable read.
February 20, 2019
The second book, containing fourth Blacksad's story, two short stories and like over thirty pages of Canales' describes how the art, fantastic and hard one - watercolour colouring is science on is own - is born. And that is fantastic. I'm admiring his work on Blacksad and now I know why is so realistic and mesmerising. Canales thinks a lot about light. As a photographer, I know the light is always in first place and it determines everything. And how Canales thinks about light in the scene is very similar to how the photographer thinks. But then it gets hard for him because there is a big difference - the photographer takes a photo and it's done. Artist must recreate the colours, highlights and shades. And especially with watercolours, there is more aspect than this place will be darker a this brighter. But Canales masters it. And even if the story is good but not that dense and intense as with the previous book, the art is fascinating. Bit different too, but still fascinating. With the first book, they were both heroes. But here, the Canales is the one.
S: Art is a piece of art, must have for all Blacksad fans
W: the story is not that intense, rather laid back. And the book is a bit thin.
O: watercolours in Canales' hand are something to look for.
T: the story is getting weaker and more laid back, and that won't help anything.
S: Art is a piece of art, must have for all Blacksad fans
W: the story is not that intense, rather laid back. And the book is a bit thin.
O: watercolours in Canales' hand are something to look for.
T: the story is getting weaker and more laid back, and that won't help anything.
April 2, 2015
I really liked the first volume of this series a lot. It was just so startlingly dramatic: a noir crime series with animals as characters, Blacksad himself as a badass black cat. Visually stunning, with these amazing watercolor washes. So the art basically continues, but the stories feel unoriginal, almost as if parodies of noir stories. And maybe that's part of it, fitting with the animal approach? But no, that doesn't seem to be the intent. It's not parody, it's cliched! It's still great to look at, though the bloom is even off that rose for me a bit. But to underscore that this series is more about Juanjo Guarnido's art than the story, he has a wonderfully detailed appendix on his art in the series that is worth reading and seeing. Great stuff.
May 3, 2016
Not quite as good as the first "volume" and doesn't feel "weighty" enough, as if it needed more fleshing (furring?) out. I think for me was there wasn't enough about Blacksad. He felt more like a secondary character, and was just narrating. The art is still beautiful, although slightly different from the previous chapters.
This hardcover also includes multiple pages where Guarnido gives detailed explanation on his art process, down to the type of paper, how he chooses color palettes, etc.
This hardcover also includes multiple pages where Guarnido gives detailed explanation on his art process, down to the type of paper, how he chooses color palettes, etc.
June 15, 2023
Çizimler hikayesi çok güzel bir seri. Tavsiye ederim.
February 21, 2024
PI John Blacksad and Weekly are on the job hunting down a missing musician with a heroin addiction for a terminally ill record producer. We see the basic elements of noir here. The rich get richer while the poor struggle just to survive, along with the corruption of the elite and politicians. I didn't enjoy this story as much as the previous three, but the artwork is still gorgeous and worth the read of this comic alone. There's also a feature after the main story about the process the artist uses to create the art in this book. Theb at the end are two very short stories. If you like noir and human like animals, this is your jam.
January 1, 2021
Another good instalment in this detective noir series..the art shines as it always does. The story seems to be the weakest and shortest of the ones I've read. Still good stuff
July 14, 2020
Поредна невероятно добра история за частния детектив Блексед. Тук той е нает от успешен продуцент на джаз да открие звездата на лейбъла - гениален, но пристрастен към наркотиците творец. Разбира се - почти нищо не е такова, каквото изглежда, а стара тайна и песен ще вгорчат живота на доста хора!
П.П. Последното, пето приключение щяло да се появи наесен. Дано, макар и да съжалявам, че авторите не са написали/нарисували още...
П.П. Последното, пето приключение щяло да се появи наесен. Дано, макар и да съжалявам, че авторите не са написали/нарисували още...
March 23, 2020
Setting of fourth Blacksad's story is moving to New Orleans and turn around jazz a musicians fighting their inner demons. Atmosphere is great, although I thing potential of New Orleans as city overflowing with magic wasn't used to it's full extend. Also, storytelling is little overcomplicated in some passages I would say. So 4.5 from 5 *
October 20, 2017
The drawings in this book are just beautiful, just beautiful.
February 11, 2022
Art is brilliant and although it came first the world building reminded me of a grown-up Zootopia. The world is vibrant yet as gritty as any noir and left me wanting to read more. Especially as I discovered I'd read the fourth first.
June 12, 2015
Blacksad the feline private dick is back with a fourth, Cajun-flavored mystery. Stranded and strapped for cash in New Orleans, our hero takes a job looking for a missing blues musician with a heroin problem. But Blacksad has a bad taste in his mouth about his employer, an entrepreneur that runs a prison as well as a respectable record label that specializes in convict musicians. Throw in a meddling son, the missing pianist's pregnant wife, a sleazy hippo of a rival PI, a voodoo priestess, some lowlife drug dealers, some bitter burn-out bluesmen and the sinister figure of skeleton shrouded within a blood-red cape, and you get a convoluted but satisfying graphic novel in the tradition of a Raymond Chandler mystery. Vibrant, disturbing and heartfelt, this is another quality addition in a must-read series.
January 8, 2017
En este episodio seguimos a John Blacksad a Nueva Orleans donde tendrá que investigar el paradero de un músico adicto a las drogas, durante su búsqueda Blacksad irá descubriendo los motivos que le llevan a esconderse... destapando un misterio que comenzó muchos años antes.
Una buena historia con buenos personajes... entre las mejores de las aventuras de John Blacksad
Una buena historia con buenos personajes... entre las mejores de las aventuras de John Blacksad
August 27, 2016
Absolutely loved this volume's setting.
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