You are about to play a game like this: In the game, you play a hard-core detective, handsome, chic, cynical, with a little sense of humor, and deep-rooted calmness. You will experience a lot of joys and sorrows, love and hatred, cowardly and helpless good guys, rosy lovers, justice police, and overbearing villains are all passing through your life. Danger accompanies every step you take, and you will turn the danger into a breeze at a critical moment. After the dust of one event has settled, the next one will appear immediately, and you can only regain your energy and plunge into it. The most important thing about
is that you are a black cat, and all the above-mentioned handsome and cynics have to be tripled. "Although everyone says we have 9 lives, I don't want to verify this." In your yellow-green eyes, lizards, tortoises, lions, white bears, foxes, ferrets, owls, etc. are reflected. Animal figures, some are kind, some are evil; some are weak, some are cruel; some are clever and cunning, some are ignorant and vulgar; some are resolute and decisive, some are painful and entangled... they are intertwined to form a A three-dimensional picture scroll that looks absurd but true.
This is the world of "Blacksad" you are about to enter. The game of
"Black Cat Detective" is like this
"No detective in this world can allow his trench coat to be destroyed."
"Black Cat Detective" is written by Spanish writer Juan Diaz Canales (Juan Díaz Canales, screenwriter) and Juanjo Guarnido (painting) co-created comics. The original edition was published by Dargaud in France in 2000. In 2015, this set of world-renowned comics was released in Simplified Chinese. It can be easily bought at Xinhua Bookstore and book shopping platforms such as Mason, Moudang, Dong, and Mao-it sounds like an advertisement. , But believe me, with the standard of this set of comics, the recommended articles full of praise that you can read on various media and social platforms are basically not exaggerated. Even if I did put a purchase link at the end of the article (rest assured, there won't be any), at best, Amway sells a bit harder, and it is definitely worth the money.
"Black Cat Detective" Chinese version (purchased from some east)
"Black Cat Detective" currently has 5 volumes, which are "Between the Shadows", "Cold Land", "Red Soul", "Silent Hell" and "Amarillo". Each volume is divided into chapters, and the only clue that runs through the book is the protagonist, Blacksad, the black cat detective.
"In some mornings, the breakfast I ate fell heavily in my stomach and was hard to digest..." This sentence in the style of Raymond Chandler was also the beginning of Messard's story. He was commissioned by the sheriff to investigate a murder case, and the victim was his ex-girlfriend, film star Natalia. Like all cases with complex backgrounds, Messad encountered numerous obstacles and dangers during the investigation. The "big man" behind not only wanted to suppress the case, but also wanted the life of a detective. Fortunately, the sheriff secretly helped and reached an agreement with Messad: Messad is responsible for killing the real murderer, and the sheriff will help him with the aftermath. In the end, Messad shot and killed the arrogant murderer, the rich man Statok, and the sheriff fulfilled his promise. However, this incident left a deep shadow in the hearts of both the detective and the sheriff. The sheriff felt "a very disturbed conscience", while the detective "feeled that he was surrounded by an atmosphere of hatred, vengeance, and corruption." "Since then, I have become a prisoner in this world: it is a place where the weak and the beasts are inseparable. The jungle. The path I took is on the darkest side of my life."
Sheriff Smirnov is a character who "does not look like a good person" but is actually a good person.
"Between the Shadows" successfully rendered the film noir tone for the story of "Black Cat Detective". Although the story does not clearly show the time when the protagonist lived, readers can easily judge from the character's behavior and details of the picture that this is the United States in the 1950s. At that time, the U.S. economy was becoming increasingly prosperous, but the social environment still tended to be conservative, and racism and McCarthyism were rampant. But it was also at this time that new trends of thought began to appear. The "Beat Generation", blues jazz and new-style movies made people think more deeply about themselves, society and the country.
"Cold Land" and "Red Soul" inherited the theme of "Between Shadows". The story of "Cold Land" takes place in a small town called "Boundary Line". As its name suggests, the white animals and the black animals organize their forces and fight against each other, surrounding a small "black" The girl’s kidnapping case, a story of revenge caused by racism was staged wonderfully. "Red Soul" puts the stage in the drunken Las Vegas. It revolves around the assassination of a scientist, the panic caused by the Cold War and nuclear weapons, and the shadow of McCarthyism over everyone. The reservation is exposed.
Although many small characters have only a few descriptions, they are enough to impress readers. In "A Frosty Country", the story of the old magpie Curton is like this: as a bird, he has never flew or pulled S Vegas Casino has a blind magpie who is obsessed with it. He is by no means a good person, and he has done bad things, but he is a sad poor person
. Poet who appeared in "Red Soul" and "Amarillo" Greensburg is based on the famous American poet Alan Ginsburg. He is cynical, arrogant and arrogant, he is not merciful, and he never cares about the eyes of others. This kind of personality finally caused trouble for him.
arrived in "Silent Hell" and "Amarillo", the theme of the story is more inclined to human nature-a The seemingly inferior and incurable person may be burdened with a heavy past. The struggle in his heart will keep him in pain at all times, and eventually turn all the truth into a swan song before death. Coincidentally, a novelist will also fall into deep suffering: Does he have any creative talents? How to look directly at your heart and what you really want to express? Creation may be explained as an impulse, just like killing intent.
Of course, the story of "Black Cat Detective" cannot be summarized simply by plot outline, its charm is more reflected in the rich details. Juan Diaz used meticulous brushstrokes to shape the various animal images in the book, and Juanjo Guarnido used a brush to make them come to life. In the review of the "Black Cat Detective" Amazon bookstore, I I once read a very special message: The parent of a 4-year-old girl said that although his child is not literate, he felt that "the details of the pictures inside are very good" when reading this book, "animal ears are in different emotions." The child can study for half an hour by himself in different postures.” This shows the author’s creative skills and attitude. Of course, from another perspective, this set of books is indeed not suitable for 4-year-olds. Those parents who see it as a "comic" and buy it for their children should be more concerned in the future...
Tough guy detective Messad also has a cute side, but the work itself is not suitable for children to read
"Poetry and courage" "
If a work has the plot of a suspense movie, the writing style of an excellent novel and the pictures of excellence, then it is undoubtedly a masterpiece.
"Black Cat Detective" is just such a masterpiece.
Many readers' first impression of "Black Cat Detective" is its strong narrative ability. Each volume of the manga is not long, the first "Between Shadows" is 46 pages, and the remaining four are slightly longer, with only 54 pages. Such a volume determines that it is not the kind of orthodox detective work that is pierced and interlocked, but rather promotes the plot through the relationship and interaction between the characters. But in this short fifty-odd pages, it can also design multiple suspense, reversals, and finally unexpected endings. It can even take into account the narration of several story lines at the same time, and let the protagonist talk about love. ...This also determines that there is almost no "useless" plot in the book, and every picture may be a clue to the next scene. If you use the way of evaluating movies, it belongs to the kind of "no peeing point" work.
Even Messad’s styling plays a role in the story-just like the black cat sheriff we are familiar with, although Messad is called "Black Cat Detective", it is not black from head to toe. There is a circle of white hair. In "Cold Land", he heads to a small town where racism prevails. In a restaurant with a "No People of Color" sign, he confronts a ferret who comes to find fault (that is, "Harry Potter"). "Rimalfoy changed the one), pointing to his face with a smirk, and said, "I have a circle of white hairs here, is it enough?" Also because of this circle of white hairs, pure black animals are not pleasing to him, but Messad also has a tough guy method to deal with them, "You give me a beauty mole and I will kill it.You". The white hairs and white beards around the mouth of
can be said to be the standard configuration of the "black cat"
. This is exactly how "Black Cat Detective" is outstanding in the character setting. Just look at the first page of the comic. It can be found that although the characters on the stage are all animals, some of them are quite in line with the images in people's minds (the one called "Leon" is of course a lion), but their animal characteristics are only reflected in the head, and even limited to ears and hair. A few parts such as, nose, etc., other aspects such as eyes and facial expressions are still human, especially the body-Messad has a tall and straight figure that is not lost to action stars, and young female characters are also forward and backward; whether it is crawling Animals, mammals, or birds, without exception, have human-like fingers, and at most they stretch out their paws in certain scenes-this is of course not because the author does not know how to draw animal bodies. Considering the overall tone of the story, It’s more like a deliberate sense of incongruity, making readers almost immediately aware that it still tells some stories about people and human nature.
Many readers who have watched "Black Cat Detective" will unconsciously compare it with George ·Orwell’s masterpiece "Animal Farm" is compared with each other. In fact, the expression of "Black Cat Detective" is much gentler than that of "Animal Farm." It may have the kind of European-born nature that Milan Kundera said The ability to control the “fiction” does not become an impure political fable. In the final analysis, it can always be read as an excellent leisure and entertainment work—even if a reader is concerned about American history, film noir, and Chandler. Le and Orwell know nothing about knowledge. He can still get pleasant feelings from the exciting plots of the investigation, the background stories of various characters, the rich emotional descriptions and the delicate and ingenious pictures. Readers looking for extensions, tribute, innuendo, and sublimation in the gap can also find what they want. As a comic, the picture is naturally one of the most important elements. "Black Cat Detective" is also impeccable on this point. , Juanjo Guarnido’s painting style is exquisite and highly recognizable. He is especially good at expressing animals. The watercolor coloring makes the picture clean and expressive. The only place to complain is probably the Chinese version, because the original is oriented towards For adult readers, a certain degree of violence and erotic scenes are inevitable. When it was introduced in China, all places involving nudity were marked, and violent scenes such as mutual beatings, bloodshed, and even headshot scenes were left untouched. . Of course, I both support "grading + authenticity" and also consider the publisher’s desire to survive. However, this coding standard still reflects something that everyone is tacitly aware of... a shot from
"Silent Hell" , Messard and the client’s son ate under the sunny shade of the tree, and the light and shadow effects are depicted extremely meticulously
. Only when you buy a book collection can you appreciate its beauty. The
code can be considered very carefully... There are many Chinese versions of
in similar coding books. Another flaw is that it lacks others. The draft in the version, the picture shows the English version published by Dark Horse Comics (purchased from Amazon)
"Who can completely abandon the past and live?" "
After watching "Black Cat Detective", everyone will probably have the same question: Where is the author of such an excellent work?
Although the comics were originally published by a French publishing house and the language is French, However, the authors Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido are Spanish. This is not surprising—for Chinese readers, European comics are often collectively referred to as "Ou "Manga", in fact, the development of the comic market in European countries is not balanced. The "centers of comics" are France and Belgium. When authors from other countries (including South America) publish, many people prefer to choose from these two countries. Publishing House.
Juan Diaz Canales
Juanjo Guarnido
Juan Diaz Canales is an animation director, and awards prizes. He has won a lot. Juanjo Guarnido is known to readers as a painter and animator for a long time. He has worked in Marvel and Disney’s European branches.
According to Juan Diaz himself, he originally He was not very happy in Spain. He even described the 90s as a "dark time", claiming that "manga talents were not valued in Spain at all." In 1990, he went to Madrid, SpainWorking in an animation studio called Lápiz Azul (literally translated as "blue pencil"), I met Juanjo Guarnido there. But they only worked as colleagues for a year, and Juan Huo moved to the Disney branch in France. The two separated, but they still kept in touch. It wasn't until nearly 10 years later that they had the opportunity to collaborate on creation, which is "Black Cat Detective".
"Black Cat Detective" was originally a series of short stories created by Juan Diaz in the 90s, in which he tried various themes and expressions, and wanted to make it "a modern fable". He first voted this work for the Spanish underground comic magazine "El Víbora", but the other party was very moved, and then rejected him... Later, he showed them to Juanjo Guarnido who works in France. The author greatly appreciated and suggested to try his luck with a French comic publisher. This time, Dago Publishing House signed the work and established the creative mode of cooperation between the two.
Spanish underground comic magazine "El Víbora", with the words "solo para adultos" in the upper left corner, which means "read only for adults". It has been suspended in 2005.
may be because of this, Juan Diaz I have always been a little bit brooding about the acceptance of comics by popular readers. Even after "Black Cat Detective" became popular, translated into more than 20 languages, and sold more than 3.5 million copies, he still believes that the comics need to be more understood. In 2013, "Silent Hell" won the Eisner Award (the most well-known comics award in the United States, founded in 1988), but he disagrees with the name of the Eisner Award "Oscar in the comics industry", thinking it is a "comic phase". An obvious example of being underestimated than other art", "just like comics must be compared with other things".
Regardless of whether his views are a bit extreme or not, at least Juan Diaz and Juanjo Guarnido have their own set of insights in the creative practice of comics and the exploration of themes and expressions. When faced with the expansion of American comics on a global scale, they are indifferent to "American themes". Unlike some European writers, they feel shameless when it comes to "Americanization"-in a sense It is said that the United States is just a cultural symbol, "when I want to discuss social issues, or even some existential content, it is a perfect container that can contain those serious and in-depth topics", and the powerful promotion ability of American comics is even greater. It can be used for reference, "its external packaging can be easily accepted and absorbed by the public."
hope it is a good start.
, the game "BLACKSAD: Under the Skin", which is expected to come out in 2019. Judging from the currently visible promotional images, it is naturally difficult to restore the original comics. Shen Yun, however, from the setting of some scenes, it can be seen that it is at least trying to get closer to the level of the original, which is hard not to let people look forward to it. In the original comics of
and the detective agency of Messard in the game, it can be seen that the game is also trying to restore the villain in the original
comics (rhino). It seems that
also appeared in the game. "Before, there were not many games adapted from European comics. If it can get a good level and become a successful example of European comics adapted games, and then drive more European comics to be known to more readers through the game, it will be even more exciting.
Another game "The Adventures of Tintin" which is familiar to players from Oman, is actually adapted from the animated film of the same name directed by Spielberg, or
made by Ubisoft. Welcome to follow Touch in the headlines, read more interesting Game content.
