Blacksad is a comic album series created by Spanish authors Juan Diaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist), and published by French publisher Dargaud.
The strip attempts at recreating a dirty-realist outlook and a dark cinematic style through fairly clean, realistic lines. Very detailed watercolour drawings, including real-life places and cities also contribute to the realistic feel of the series.
Rendered in a film noir style, the stories are set in late 1950s America. All of the characters are anthropomorphic animals whose species reflects their personality, character type and role in the story. Animal stereotypes are often used: for example, nearly all of the policemen are candids, such as German Shepherds, Bloodhounds, and foxes, while underworld characters are often reptiles or amphibians. Blacksad is a graphic novel (as well as Sweet Tooth) that inspired me to produce an anthropomorphic character. The idea of animal stereotyping also influenced my own work, as it is often seen that rats are incredibly adaptable in changing situations such as a post-apocalyptic environment.
