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Blacksad 4. El Infierno, El Silencio (2010)

by Juan Díaz Canales(Favorite Author)

4.18 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

8467903015 (ISBN13: 9788467903010)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Norma Editorial

series

Blacksad

review 1: Bookworm Speaks!Blacksad: A Silent Hell Review. by Jaun Diaz Canales and Jaunjo Guarnado.The Story: Blacksad and his friend Weekly are on vacation in New Orleans and also on the case. Assigned to locate a pianist who has gone missing, Blacksad and Weekly stumble into a dark underbelly of drugs, corruption, racism, and murder, all beneath the glittering surface of Mardi Gras. The Good: The artwork is absolutely stellar, once again. The atmosphere of New Orleans, at least from the perspective of an outsider seems right on the money for the time period. One scene in particular, where Blacksad and Thomas Lachapelle are having lunch outside under a tree really stands out. Rather than simply drawing a dark area to represent the shade of the tree, the artist draws the shadows of ... morethe leaves and branches themselves, just like what would be encountered in the real world. The amount of skill and patience required in order to pull a feat like this off really illustrates the artist’s skill. Atmosphere is an important part of any media, especially comics and novels and it is right on the money with a Silent Hell. The candlelit chambers of Madame Gilbraltar, the dark and gloomy settings of dive bars and Hannah’s apartment, the bright, sunlit settings of the streets of New Orleans, the narrative is given time to breathe which is critically important and an undervalued skill, especially in comics, and Silent Hell nails it. Furry fandom tends to be put down by the higher echelons of culture, the not completely inaccurate assumption being that it is the domain of fetishists and immature cartoonists. That kind of work definitely exists but Blacksad in general manages to surpass all of that and really become a serious tome. Especially in regards to the quixotic nature of the African American that was present American culture during that age and than many say still remains to this day. On the entertainment scene, they received some manner of respect. The majority liked them for their music or their athletic prowess, they probably were good sources of income, but outside of the theater they were treated as second class citizens, which in a very real way they were. In addition to the main story, the book offers a behind the scenes sketchbook of A Silent Hell. Bookworm really likes things like this. The story behind the story. The commentary is really insightful and offers a glimpse into the world of a comic book artist. If there is one fault with it, is that it is only from the perspective of the artist and not the writer, which would be very interesting. The Flaws: One of the strengths of the this work is how, despite starring anthropomorphic animals, for the reasons stated above, always transcends its reputation. This is weakened however in the character of Weekly. Weekly’s antics are much more cartoonish than the other characters and contrast with the dark setting of the story. Weekly is intended to be comic relief for the main character but it would be nice to see him be taken a bit more seriously in later volumes. The main flaw with Silent Hell is a problem that faces a multitude of modern graphic novels: the non-linear storyline. According to the creators, Silent Hell takes place over the course of a single night. It is very difficult to see that, the saving grace being that the writer knew how to sync up the present and past in a way that was coherent, but this a trend that needs to be revamped. There is nothing wrong with beginning, middle, and end in that order. Some of the short stories at the end don’t make a lot of sense. They are a little too short, especially the second story. Mostly they are just Blacksad’s musings on society. Poetic perhaps, but not exactly what Bookworm is looking for in a hardboiled detective story. Final Verdict: Blacksad A Silent Hell, is a worthy fourth volume to this wonderful series, with new characters and new setting that is a colorful as it is deadly. Four out of Five Stars. thecultureworm.blogspot.com
review 2: I have no idea in what order the Blacksad stories are published, but it might not matter. Despite not being a mystery reader, I was drawn to the first stories that I read because the characters, especially Blacksad, were so intriguing and the locations and art work so perfect. This is one story set in New Orleans, and while I still love the art I had a harder time connecting to the characters this time around. The storyline is similar to the others, and the noir tone still works well. Also included is a long piece by the artist and author which I didn't read! less

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