Two graphic novel anthologies that deserve your attention

Yes, another anthology. And another one cooking on all cylinders.

John Blacksad is a hard-boiled private detective, a two-fisted gumshoe plying his trade in late 1950s New York. This is cinematic noir at its Mickey Spillaniest, with corrupt institutions, amoral politicians, femme fatales and sleazy underworld characters.

And they are all anthropomorphic animals.

No, wait! Come back! It’s not important that they’re animals, because creators Juan Diaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist) craft a world and its people so convincing that you’ll forget the animal bit within a few pages. Promise!

Blacksad is a panther, all black with a white muzzle, which comes into play in this Jim Crow era. Most of the police are dogs or foxes, as you’d expect, and underworld characters are usually amphibians or reptiles. The women have very few animal traits — some whiskers, maybe, or cat ears — and are so human-looking that, as I said, you will forget the animal aspect entirely.

“Somewhere in the Shadows” follows Blacksad as he investigates the death of his first love, movie star Natalia Wilford. They had long since parted, but her murder burns in his gut as he pursues clues that take him higher and higher into the upper echelons of New York money and power. It’s a story that would fit neatly in Raymond Chandler’s oeuvre.