Review - Blacksad: They All Fall Down Parts 1 & 2

Out now from Europe Comics and reviewed below by fan of the series and my brother Alex Nimmo, this is Blacksad: They All Fall Down.

Everyone’s favorite cat detective is back, and yes, we mean John Blacksad. This time, he’s on a particularly thorny case, as he’s responsible for protecting the president of a mafia-infiltrated union. This new four-volume story of the bestselling series takes us from soaring heights to terrifying depths as Blacksad navigates from the lofty world of New York theatre to the seedy nether regions of the city, where the criminal classes ply their questionable trades. Towering above them all is the figure of Solomon, a construction magnate well on his way to rebuilding the five boroughs, come hell or high water.

Script by Juan Díaz Canales - Art by Juanjo Guarnido

Blacksad has been around for 20 years now! I’m not sure how I first came across Blacksad, however, I suspect it was around the same time I started reading Corto Maltese. At the time I read the first volume, there were already two more volumes out in English and I quickly worked my way through them.

For those not familiar with the world of Blacksad, it’s a world filled with anthropomorphic animals set in 1950s USA. Blacksad, the titular feline, is a Private Investigator and the stories are set in a film noir style world. Blacksad is created by the writer and artist duo of Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido.

They All Fall Down is broadly a story of a transport union, the city council and an acting troupe, with Blacksad and his reporter friend in the middle of it all.

The art is beautiful. The world feels real and pulls you in instantly. The watercolours help reinforce that we’re in a time gone by. The characters are full of expression and I love seeing all the details given in the backgrounds. In particular, the nighttime scenes really stand out for me.

Alex Nimmo

The story flows well with quickly engaging characters. There is a good balance of what is shown and revealed without making it too predictable and keeping the mystery there. At a couple of points only, the dialogue felt a bit out of place which I would assume is down to translation; however these moments are easily brushed aside. 

My only disappointment is that there is now the wait for more to come to finish off the tale. Once it’s all out, I’ll be getting the hardback to join my collection of the previous volumes.

Follow Alex on Twitter here.

you can get Blacksad: They All Fall Down from Europe Comics here - Part One - Part Two.