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A review by leandrathetbrzero
Blacksad by Juan Díaz Canales
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
John Blacksad, P.I. 🐈
John Blacksad is a private investigator. He’s also a black cat. Set in the 1950s and heavily inspired by hardboiled detective fiction (and, adjacently, film noir), this anthropomorphic world mirrors the dark realities of our own. Paired with gorgeous illustrations, Blacksad’s cases cover themes of race-related tension and violence, deep-seated corruption, and gray morality.
I’m getting more into graphic novels this year! And I’ve been on the lookout specifically for those in the mystery genre. I found this 3-volume edition at my local library, and it was a pleasant bonus to discover it happens to be a translated work as well! As someone who continues to be wary of the classic hardboiled variety, I found Blacksad to be far more palatable as a historical mystery clearly written in modern times. With that said, misogyny and the objectification of women—an unfortunate habit in classic hardboiled—shines through in this graphic novel. It’s more subtle, but even the illustrations depict the anthropomorphic women characters with bodies that mirror the human body, while men characters had the bodies of the animals they represented.
This was a fascinating graphic novel to read, for sure, with a likable BIPOC protagonist investigating these cases. If only the hardboiled genre could *finally* be rid of misogyny and sexual objectification of women, I would have liked this more.
Content Warning: illustrated depictions of s*x, heavy physical violence and blood, depictions of white supremacy and racism, gun violence
John Blacksad is a private investigator. He’s also a black cat. Set in the 1950s and heavily inspired by hardboiled detective fiction (and, adjacently, film noir), this anthropomorphic world mirrors the dark realities of our own. Paired with gorgeous illustrations, Blacksad’s cases cover themes of race-related tension and violence, deep-seated corruption, and gray morality.
I’m getting more into graphic novels this year! And I’ve been on the lookout specifically for those in the mystery genre. I found this 3-volume edition at my local library, and it was a pleasant bonus to discover it happens to be a translated work as well! As someone who continues to be wary of the classic hardboiled variety, I found Blacksad to be far more palatable as a historical mystery clearly written in modern times. With that said, misogyny and the objectification of women—an unfortunate habit in classic hardboiled—shines through in this graphic novel. It’s more subtle, but even the illustrations depict the anthropomorphic women characters with bodies that mirror the human body, while men characters had the bodies of the animals they represented.
This was a fascinating graphic novel to read, for sure, with a likable BIPOC protagonist investigating these cases. If only the hardboiled genre could *finally* be rid of misogyny and sexual objectification of women, I would have liked this more.
Content Warning: illustrated depictions of s*x, heavy physical violence and blood, depictions of white supremacy and racism, gun violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism and Antisemitism
Minor: Alcohol and Toxic relationship