Blacksad (data9724-DCP + Morskaya Korova-Novus) [NVS-D]

And here you go, a pack of the amazing Blacksad series, published by Dark Horse.
This is one of the most gorgeous pieces of artwork you will ever get, so do yourself a BIG favor and BUY these two books, they are worth it.



Its a great euro anthro book about the private eye Blacksad, a huge black cat...it is recommended by people you might have heard of, such as:
Jim Steranko, who wrote the foreword
Neal Adams: A tour-de-force! ...brilliantly drawn. Don't miss this!
Will Eisner: Brilliant art and an unusial display of anthropomorphic realism.
Stan Lee: The art is totally fantastic. The story is like following the most gripping movie directed by the most inspired director. It's everything a sensational graphic novel should be - and more. In case I didn't make myself clear - I think Blacksad is as good as it gets!

OH, and it has been nominated for 3 Eisner Awards, Best Graphic Album New, Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art), and Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material


Since the first Dark Horse book covers the first 3 books, here are a little description of each:

Somewhere within the Shadows:
This first story introduces us to our hero, the detective John Blacksad, and it tell the story of Blacksad's investigation into the murder of an old flame. It's a very straight forward revenge tale, but does a great job of introducing the world of Blacksad with it's law enforcement dogs, bear and rhino heavies, and reptilian assassins.




Arctic Nation:
The second story, "Arctic Nation" makes great use of the anthropomorphic animal ensemble for an even darker story about race relations. This is probably a good time to mention that Blacksad is much more mature and even salacious than you might imagine when you hear "black cat detective." There are adult themes aplenty in these stories, limited not only to violence, but also to sex (I won't call it bestiality because Guarnido actually evokes some smoldering sensuality, if you can believe it) as well as political intrigue and bigotry. "Arctic Nation" actually features a white supremacy regime within a snowy suburb, with white-furred animals actually lynching a black-feathered bird. It's a richly textured story and a major step up from the first album in terms of complexity.




Red Soul:
The third and final story in this collection, "Red Soul," focuses on the assassinations of various communists within a group of scientists and artists in a collective called the Apostles. Blacksad gets involved when a former college professor is targeted by the killers. This one even features a Joe McCarthy analogue in the form of a…ahem..cock.




And finally, the second Dark Horse book, Blacksad - A Silent Hell:
In A Silent Hell, Blacksad is hired by Faust LaChappelle, a music producer, to find Sebastian, a troubled but brilliant musician that LaChappelle regards as a surrogate son. Sebastian is addicted to heroin and recently walked out on his pregnant girlfriend and LaChapelle fears the trouble the musician might be in. Blacksad takes the case and soon becomes embroiled in a deeper mystery than just the missing pianist as Sebastian’s friends are being murdered one-by-one and a secret over thirty years old threatens to be uncovered.