Notes on Blacksad Vol. 1

Okay, so first off--I love this comic. No wait, scratch that...I LOVE this comic (see what I did there...I put that word in bold and uppercase). Because I've loved this comic since high school, I thought it was high time to read it again. In particular, the second issue. Which while it may not be as great as the first, has a lot more symbolism and talks a lot more about politics during the sixties.

Overall, the comic is about a detective named Blacksad, a black cat featured as the noir character of the story. In the second issue, he is tasked with finding out the disappearance of a young girl. He is also given the job of finding out more about the leader of Artic Nation--the equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan--featuring animals with pure, white fur/skin. It is said that the leader is a pastor and head of the police in the town Blacksad needs to check out--because of this, he uses his power to even threaten Blacksad to keep him from getting his nose into trouble. Of course, Blacksad doesn't back down, and eventually goes to the Mother to look for more information, while his assistant trails one of the leader's confidants. At the same time Blacksad meets the extremes of the Klan, we're also introduced to the equivalent of the Black Panthars (known as the Black Claws Gang). These guys even try to get Blacksad recruited into the group, but he denies.

In the end, the comic discusses the idea about sticking with your beliefs, while not going so far as to hurt others or force your ideals upon any race, gender, etc.  In the comic, the leader of the KKK ends up going as far as killing other animals to get what he wants. He even bullies his confidant, an Artic Fox, to the point where the leader's friend successfully dispatches him via hanging. A similar situation occurs with the Black Claws Gang, where their leader attempts to rob a store of its goods and paint Blacksad's face black. Among all this, Blacksad keeps his composure and manages to focus on the real problem at hand--the disappearance of a little girl from her mother. In a world that seems so clearly black and white, he manages to stay neutral, and never gives in.