Blacksad 1

Blacksad is, without a doubt, a beautiful collection of stories to look at. Its setting and characters are meticulously detailed and as emotive as it gets – but this beauty is largely skin-deep, and held back by a story that struggles to move past the clichés of the noir genre. Sometimes this pays off, creating a moody atmosphere that will almost certainly make you want to listen to a jazz saxophone whilst staring out of shadow-drenched window blinds at a rainy, downtown street. But other times, it makes for boring reading, and the mystery of each story tends to fall flat as you find that John Blacksad doesn't investigate so much as repeatedly beat up the bad guys until they give him the name of someone else to thrash, and so on until he stumbles onto a solution. While there is certainly a brilliance in the way each character's species reflects their attitude and part to play in the episode, the characters themselves are largely stock and uninteresting. That said, Blacksad hits its stride mid-way through the second episode, when the story dares to explore more complex themes such as race and revenge, and livelier characters are introduced to give Blacksad opportunities for more offbeat interactions. It's a treat to explore the many elaborately crafted environments, from a dilapidated aircraft factory blanketed in snow to a shiny, beach-side mansion, and I often found myself pausing to soak in the clean, colourful world presented by Guarnido.

Overall, Blacksad is veritable treat for the eyes, but is constrained by its derivative characters and story.