Yeah the devil’s gonna get you man, as soon as you’s born

In A Silent Hell, John Blacksad and his reporter pal Weekly head down to New Orleans and become involved in searching for a missing blues musician. Right off the bat, the look of this book is arresting. Bringing the Crescent city to life. From the rainy shadowed city scapes of the first book, we are thrust firmly into the Louisiana sunshine. And my, is it ever grand. The dappled sunlight, the bustling street and of course the color and chaos of Mardi Gras. Just ravishing.

The story itself was alright, the back and forth between Blacksad and Weeks is always entertaining but the story meandered a little too much before finally coming together. A small quibble, though, because the characters were great company. There’s plenty of local color, though, and that kept me turning the pages.

This edition has a whole section where Guarnido outlines his watercolor process and other techniques, complete with studies and sketches of the story. It was really interesting to get this glimpse into not just the art but how books of this kind come to life.

At the end there are a couple of short stories, Spit at the Sky and Like Cats and Dogs, little vignettes filling out the life and times of John Blacksad. I am more than happy to spend time with this unique PI.