Blacksad by Diaz Canales and Guardino

I couldn't resist reading this. I assume its creators, though they're from Spain, must have come across one of my Norwegian, British or American relatives at some point. 'Blacksad' is just too close to 'Blakstad' to be a coincidence.

Plus who could resist a the idea of a graphic novel about a detective cat in a furry noir Los Angeles? Not I. Sadly I was in for a disappointment. True, the artwork is beautiful, though its pulp style lends just a little too much to Sin City-era Miller. But the storytelling is sloppy and uneven in the way of many over-painted comics. The writing is hindered by a leaden-eared translation, but even if the dialogue was by Chekhov the stories would be weak and laboured. Tip to pulp fiction writers: not every plot revelation should come from the lips of a dying character who's just been shot from outside the window. I'd go once max in any story.

Still, though: nice cat.