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Blacksad #5

Amarillo

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Hard-boiled feline detective John Blacksad is back in the latest tour de force from the multiple-award-winning duo of writer Juan Díaz Canales and artist Juanjo Guarnido! Taking a much-needed break after the events of A Silent Hell, Blacksad lands a side job driving a rich Texan's prized yellow Cadillac Eldorado across 1950s America, hitting the back roads from New Orleans to Tulsa. But before long, the car is stolen and Blacksad finds himself mixed up in another murder, with roughneck bikers, a shifty lawyer, one down-and-out Beat generation writer, and some sinister circus folk! When John Blacksad goes on the road, trouble is dead ahead! * Eisner and Harvey award-winner! * Available in English for the very first time! * Translated by Katie LaBarbera and Neal Adams! * Introduction by Neal Adams!

72 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2013

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About the author

Juan Díaz Canales

70 books416 followers
Juan Díaz Canales is a Spanish comics artist and an animated film director, known as the co-creator of Blacksad.

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5 stars
2,097 (36%)
4 stars
2,334 (40%)
3 stars
1,185 (20%)
2 stars
186 (3%)
1 star
17 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 402 reviews
Profile Image for Anne.
4,745 reviews71.3k followers
April 8, 2024
After his stint in New Orleans, Blacksad takes on an easy job in order to go home.
All he has to do is drive a rich guy's car to Texas.
But if everything went smoothly for him, we wouldn't have a story, would we?

description

Amarillo is full of characters that don't fit into a neat character box. Are they good? Are they bad? Are they brave? Are they weak?
Yes to all of it.
The story is wild, and its characters are far more complex than what you normally see.

description

In classic hardboiled noir style, no good deed goes unpunished and while trying to keep two writers from getting the well-deserved shit kicked out of them by a group of bikers, John ends up with his car being stolen by the very same assholes he was trying to save.

description

Everything goes off the rails in a big way, and then to the literal circus, as John tries to track down the men and get the Texan's car back. Due to some random bad luck, the two FBI agents from a previous issue are also in hot pursuit, trying to pin a murder on him.

description

This was quite the ride.
Highly Recommended.
Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,804 reviews13.4k followers
December 31, 2014
Set in 1950/60s America, a Jack Kerouac-type writer murders his antagonistic poet friend in cold blood and goes on the lam. Blacksad is mixed up in this beatnik writer’s life after the Cadillac Eldorado he was entrusted with gets stolen and trashed by him. But then the feds go after Blacksad after his wallet is found in the car – and the poet’s body in the trunk.

Amarillo is definitely the weakest Blacksad story yet. Everything about the plot is maddeningly happenstance. Blacksad happens to need a ride back home and happens to come across an eccentric cowboy millionaire who gives him the keys to his car. And then he happens to intervene in an argument between the beatnik writers and some Wild Ones-esque bikers and then his car happens to be stolen by them. Then he happens to come across the writer’s agent who just so happens to know where the writer’s headed and who happens… well, I won’t get into every element of the plot but. Every. Single. Thing. Is a coincidence.

Why does the writer immediately join the circus when he decided to disappear? That’s such a childish idea! Couldn’t he have run off to Mexico or something more adult? And while it’s heavily implied the writer is Kerouac, from the scroll manuscript to the beatnik background, and the Williams Burroughs-esque friend, Juan Diaz Canales tries to work in a half-assed supernatural element to the unpublished work. Everyone the writer comes into contact with – dies! Woooo! And it really didn’t work.

Blacksad himself is barely a character in this story. He bumbles along with the plot, completely at odds with his strong characterisation in the previous four Blacksad stories, and a new reader starting with Amarillo will probably wonder why the series is named after him.

There’s also a lot of filler here, and the book’s hardly long at 53 pages! There’s a pointless scene where we meet Blacksad’s sister, there’s a rambling backstory to the writer’s love interest that doesn’t have anything to do with the main story, several pages are devoted to the circus’ code of punishment which doesn’t go anywhere. There’s far too much padding! And I hate that there are no consequences to anything – the writer gets away with all the murders because… he’s a tortured, brilliant artist?!

Juanjo Guarnido’s art once more rescues a sub-standard story with gorgeous – GORGEOUS! – pages. Amarillo is also his brightest book yet, the Southern heat giving the colours a vivid look, in sharp contrast to the murky noir overtones of the previous Blacksad adventures. The Cadillac Eldorado with Blacksad behind the wheel is a fabulous image, the sheep bikers were awesome designs. So many scenes looked terrific from the beatnik party, to the circus sequence. Guarnido’s street scenes in particular are some of the best you’ll ever see in a comic and his animal-headed characters’ faces are extremely expressive, so much so that if you looked at the comic untranslated into English, you’d still follow what was happening in the story.

New readers to the series should check out the collected hardcover of the first three Blacksad books from Dark Horse for much better fare. Amarillo is really only for returning fans than a good place to start.
Profile Image for Algernon.
1,844 reviews1,167 followers
May 27, 2015

I like to call this the Yellow Album - the cover is a giveaway of the thematic colour palette. Blacksad also visits Amarillo, Texas in what turns out to be a sort of holiday album in the series: after looking for missing persons and getting in trouble over women our feline private investigator takes the long way home from New Orleans to New York. He's on a roadtrip adventure more than on a criminal case - riding vintage cars, Harleys, pick-up trucks and trains, with an interlude in a travelling circus.

bikers

We do have here a murder or two and troubles with police and federal agents, but once again, I was more impressed with the artwork than with the actual plot. That is why I believe these Blacksad albums always work best if they are read twice in succession : once for the story and the second time for lingering over the detailed panels, looking for light effects and unusual camera angles and the subtle transitions of watercolor swatches. It was a three star story with a five star photo album (hint: there actually is a great photo album at the back)

The plot is introduced by two new characters, both writers, but with opposite temperaments : a volcanic Bison and a rather timid, introverted Lion. An argument over artistic expression ends in a murder, and the criminal escapes in the yellow vintage car that he has earlier stolen from Blacksad. From Amarillo the chase is heading to Denver and the circus - a setting that unleashes to full potential the talent for antropomorphic portraits of Juanjo Guarnido. A pulp-inspired adventure must have a femme-fatale, and once again she is of the feline persuasion: Luanne a Siamese cat with psychc powers and a knife-throwing boyfriend. She lives up to her name by getting the fugitive deeper into trouble. Competing with Luanne for the title of Miss Curvaceous is Blacksad's own sister which he visits in Memphis with a new sidekick.

route 66

I talked in my previous review how some of the antropomorphic transitions tend to be obvious : A Texan millionqaire is a steer, a southern crook is a flamingo, a FBI agent is a puma, etc. The funniest connection is Neal Beatto, the new sidekick: a Hyena lawyer that specializes in litigation cases and insensitive racial jokes.

roadtrip

I greatly enjoyed the artwork, as usual, but I had some reservations about the conclusion of this fifth album - it feels rushed and contrived, with one too many twists and reversal of fortunes to accept. The general mood was also less 'noir' than I have come to expect from the series, with more frequent joking and less doomed actors. On the plus side - the circus performers were rendered with imagination and verve, the musical references continue to be spot on. I am happy to notice that the duo of artists are nowhere near running out of ideas for scripts and new characters, and I look forward to the promised new albums in 2016. Bring 'em on!

jam session
Profile Image for Andrew.
2,539 reviews
August 9, 2017
I have to admit that the more I read of Blacksad the more impressed I am. The stories are entertaining and intelligent and the artwork is amazing. Each page is filled with subtle intricacies you have to re-read in case you miss something.

When you break down the story you realise at its most basic the story is a road trip (and that is far as I will go without breaking my own rules). However it is how this story unfolds in so many unexpected and entertaining ways, that makes this book such an addictive read.

I will be the first to say that the medium of art, comics and graphic novels is something I am the most weakest at. However I do know that taking a story which in the face of it seems conventional enough, changing it in some fundamental way (here we have a world filled with anthropomorphised animals) and yet make the story so easy to related to you do not realise it.

There are so many things that you pick up on - from the retelling of American history in the 50s to creativity of the artists who are able to encompass the full spectrum of emotions (on an animal) and yet weave them so effortlessly in to the story.

Sadly so far this is the last of the volumes that have been translated in to English - I hope the remaining two will be in due course - as I for one will be eagerly waiting to buy them.
Profile Image for Теодор Панов.
Author 4 books155 followers
August 12, 2021
Отличен 5-ти брой на комикса със страхотна корица. Тук историята като че ли е още по-добра и надминава предишните. Хареса ми силно.
Profile Image for Metodi Markov.
1,729 reviews442 followers
March 11, 2024
Честно казано, разочарован съм доста от този, пети по ред комикс за Блексед...

Некохерентната и предвидима история, както и маргиналния превод на български ме водят към едно наистина неприятно решение - ще си купя оригиналните албуми за колекцията ми, а от българските просто ще се отърва! 😖

Моята оценка - 2,5*.
Profile Image for Drew Canole.
3,179 reviews44 followers
September 29, 2025


2014 review:
This is a pretty forgettable crime thriller. But it's presented so wonderfully. I love the line art and the colors. The best part, by far, however, is the faces. The artist can draw amazing emotion in the faces of the characters.

There are a few really amazing laugh-out-loud moments in this book that feel incredibly authentic. I felt many of the more somber moments, where the reader should feel sad about the situation, fell a bit flat.

Overall, it's a high quality rendition of a classic crime thriller with a couple good characters, great artwork, and some slick writing. But the plot itself is a bit too familiar.
Profile Image for Skip.
3,851 reviews585 followers
August 30, 2015
Weakest book in this series. Artwork is still fantastic, and arguably improving, but the plots have lost the social message of the first three books. This book takes place in the 1950/60s are, with a Jack Kerouac-type writer killing his antagonistic poet friend in cold blood and goes on the lam, joining a circus. Meanwhile, Blacksad crosses paths when the Cadillac Eldorado he was entrusted with gets stolen and trashed by the writer. Then the feds go after Blacksad when his wallet is found in the car and the poet’s body is found in the trunk. The plot seems random, including the gratuitous introduction of Blacksad's sister and nephew.
Profile Image for Димитър Цолов.
Author 35 books442 followers
June 13, 2021
Единственият недостатък на Блексед-албумите е, че се четат буквално за броени минути, а искаме още и още, и още... е-е-х :)
Profile Image for Elena Rodríguez.
1,201 reviews491 followers
November 29, 2019
Quinto tomo del investigador privado Blacksad. En él, nuestro protagonista decide tomarse un descanso y encontrar un trabajo en el que no tenga que disparar a nadie, ni meterse en ningún tipo de problema con la policía. Pero como el destino es caprichoso, al pobre no van a parar de sucederle más que problemas.
¿Que puedo decir aparte de lo ya dicho en los tomos anteriores? Bueno, quizá que el tomo 2 es el que más me gustó. Que me gusta mucho estas series, sobretodo el dibujo y espero que saquen un nuevo tomo pronto. Lo espero con muchas ganas.
Profile Image for Dan.
3,209 reviews10.8k followers
July 26, 2021
When Blacksad is tasked with driving a vintage Cadillac from New Orleans to Tulsa, things don't go as planned...

This is going to be a fairly short review because if it goes too long, I'm going to shit on it and give the impression that it's not good and that's not the case.

The art is Blacksad: Amarillo is spectacular, just as it was in the previous books. My beef with this book is that Blacksad isn't in all that much of it. Most of the pages go to Chad the lion. It's also pretty thin for the price.

That's that. Three out of five stars.
Profile Image for Dave Schaafsma.
Author 6 books32.1k followers
March 30, 2015
This was my least favorite of the three Blacksad volumes I have thus far read. Hardboiled hero Blacksad gets mixed up with two Beatnik type characters, which I ordinarily would like to see, but this just feels light and silly compared to the first two I read. The color and light in this one makes it less intense.. . just, lighter. This feels like a kind of interlude or departure issue. The art is what really elevates this series, but even that seems less accomplished in this one than the previous volumes.
Profile Image for Tony Vacation.
423 reviews344 followers
June 12, 2015
Still down on his luck and growing increasingly more world weary, John Blacksad - a tenacious PI with a deep moral code that also happens to be a kitty cat - takes on a simple job of driving a rich eccentric's canary-yellow Cadillac Eldorado across a few state lines in the hopes that a road trip will do some good for his troubled soul. But things take a deadly turn when anthropomorphized versions of Allen Ginsburg and Jack Kerouac steal the car for a booze-fueled joy ride that culminates in murder and the destruction of a federally protected mail box. Naturally, Blacksad goes hunting after the car, and with the assistance of one of the thieving authors' literary agent - an affable, smooth-talking hyena - he tracks the car to a travelling circus ran by a greedy koala. And to make matters worse, a pair of dimwitted G-men with a hard-on for Blacksad enter into the chase, forcing things to an unnecessarily violent and tragic conclusion. Juan Diaz Canales seems incapable of doing any wrong as he delivers another terrific installment of the adventures of Blacksad. The offbeat nature of the plot, along with some much-appreciated developing of Blacksad's character, makes this one a bona fide winner.
Profile Image for Václav.
1,127 reviews44 followers
February 21, 2019
Canales and Guarnido deliver again, this time in a story about how misery loves company. Guarnido is master in watercolour art, spot on with interpreting light both in colour and contrast (of shadows and highlights). I enjoyed Amarillo better than A Silent Hell, almost as first Blacksad book. Still, this is very fine comics.
Profile Image for Unai.
975 reviews55 followers
November 16, 2013
Reseña completa en http://guardiaoscura.com/2013/11/16/b...

La historia nos aleja de los casos detectivescos que suelen complicar la vida a Blacksad y esta vez intenta relajarse un poco, a ser posible ganando algo de dinero que no implique liarse a tiros, gente muerta, femmes fatales y marrones espectaculares. Esta vez John se compromete con el dueño del coche, a conducir el Cadillac hasta Texas, pero su camino se cruzara con 2 atormentados y atolondrados escritores y poetas Beatniks que amargaran lo que pretendía ser un simple viaje en carretera.

Quizás esta un poco por debajo con respecto a los otros tomos, pero es solo por el cambio de ambiente, la apertura de escenario y trasfondo y el tono roadmovie y de cruce de un detective de la vieja escuela y cuentas pendientes, con un mundo que va cambiando poco a poco con estas moderneces de la generación Beat y sus contradicciones. Simplemente es un álbum un poco diferente, pero absolutamente recomendable, por no decir imprescindible en vuestra estantería, juntos con los otros 4 tomos.

Blacksad es siempre una apuesta segura con unos Canales y Guarnido que parece que no saben estar mas que inmensos. Canales no dando puntada sin hilo y donde las razas de los seres antropomórficos que se cruzan en el camino de nuestro gato negro, no son elegidas al azar precisamente y son representadas por Guarnido con un dibujo excepcional. Todo un detalle ademas que al final del cómic vengan los títulos de las canciones que “suenan” en las viñetas.
Profile Image for Roybot.
414 reviews9 followers
December 15, 2015
A two star story book bumped up to three by the brilliant artwork. Amarillo is easily the weakest of the three Blacksad books I've read. There's far too little detective work and far too much happenstance happening. Blacksad bumbles along from one contrived situation to another, letting luck carry him along, tripping over important people everywhere he ends up. For such a short work, there's a lot of wasted space.

Too bad, because, as usual, the artwork is glorious. Flip through it for the artwork and you won't be disappointed.
Profile Image for Stefan Bogdanski.
Author 9 books9 followers
February 8, 2022
I love Blacksad, because the noire style and flair is great, and let's be honest: There isn't much modern noire to go around. And Blacksad knows how to deliver.

That being said, while I enjoyed the previous books immensely (5 stars!), this time around I'm kinda disappointed.

It might, in all honesty, be entirely my fault for setting such high expectations. Then again, after the first 4 installments, I thought I had every right to.

This story tries to blend Noire with road trip, and the final result feels like the fusion has gone wrong. It's hard to follow the turn of events, and while style and flair is still great, the plot feels weak.

So let's wait for the next one, shall we?
Profile Image for Marcos GM.
435 reviews287 followers
January 3, 2022
Para terminar la lectura conjunta de estos volúmenes, vamos a la quinta historia del gato detective. Esta historia, por primera vez, empieza justo donde acababa la anterior, a diferencia de las demás que podían ser leídas en otro orden. Tras la última aventura, Weekly debe volver a casa, pero John no tiene prisa, quiere un cambio de aires. En un golpe de suerte, consigue un trabajo sencillo y honrado, llevar un coche conduciendo hasta su destino. Esto, que sucede en 3 páginas, sucede sin novedad, hasta que...algo pasa.

Esta historia es la que me ha parecido más floja, aunque el final es emotivo y está bien llevado. Es la típica historia que podría pasarle a cualquiera de estar en el momento equivocado y en el lugar equivocado. El arte sigue siendo sobresaliente, nada más que decir en ese aspecto.
Profile Image for etelium.
25 reviews6 followers
August 28, 2024
“önceden düşünülmüş ve şiddet içeren hiçbir eylem duygudan yoksun değildir.”
Profile Image for Emre Yavuz.
Author 119 books25 followers
December 4, 2025
Çizgi her zamanki gibi muhteşem ama hikaye, ilk dört kitabın yanına bile yaklaşamıyor.
Profile Image for Книжни Криле.
3,610 reviews202 followers
June 9, 2021
Когато човек споделя впечатленията си от поредица като „Блексед”, рано или късно му свършват суперлативите. Чисто и просто творбите на сценариста Хуан Диас Каналес и художника Хуанхо Гуарнидо са едно от най-добрите произведения, което може да предложи съвременния комикс в световен мащаб. А ако сте се отбили към щанда на „Артлайн Студиос” на Пролетния базар на книгата, то може би вече сте се сдобили и с все още топлото родно издание на последния (но не за дълго!) пети том от тази знаменита серия! „Блексед: Амарило” скоро ще удари и книжарниците, но ние си знаем, че вече нямате търпение... Кой може да устои на черна пантера и жълт Кадилак? Прочетете ревюто на „Книжни Криле”: https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...
Profile Image for Yodamom.
2,208 reviews215 followers
February 12, 2015
Fantastic illustrations, interesting story and beautiful coloring. The whole animal kingdom is here and the jobs given to them get the personalities I'd put on them. I can't wait to get more in the is series
Profile Image for Maija.
593 reviews202 followers
June 18, 2015
The art continues to be awesome, the story continues to be forgettable. I'm tired of the film noir masculinity & femininity.
Profile Image for Frank.
889 reviews26 followers
March 27, 2016
3.5 Stars
Volume 5 in the Blacksad series, and in my opinion the weakest entry. Great artwork, however the story seemed a bit rushed, and could have had more depth, as earlier entries.
Profile Image for Stacia.
1,030 reviews131 followers
March 30, 2021
I don't read lots of graphic novels, but have tried to add a few to my reading when I come across something that looks interesting. For some reason, my library has this one (#5) but none of the others. So, I can't compare it to others in the series.

The artwork is stellar, just loads of fun to look at, lots of nice time/place details. The story is a tip of the hat to hard-boiled PI/noir. The story itself was fine, neither outstanding nor bad. I enjoyed it overall & think it must be a fun series. If I come across another issue in the series, I would read it.
Profile Image for Bogdan.
986 reviews1 follower
November 24, 2019
I must say that I`m a big fan of the anthropomorphic genre in the graphic novels so this series it`s a big Hit for me. The artwork it`s great as usual. The story it`s kind of ok-ish, nothing special or surprising, maybe a death or two, but the artwork guys (!), the colors, the style, all are on top notch levels!!!

Five stars without a doubt!
Profile Image for Rumi Bossche.
1,092 reviews17 followers
November 4, 2025
Blacksad Amarillo, by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido.

Another short but sweet adventure. John Blacksad is on a much needed vacation, but ofcourse everything goes wrong.. The artwork is again phenomenal, a great style of Disney with watercolor and not kid like graphics, this is a great series.
Profile Image for Dávid Novotný.
590 reviews13 followers
March 23, 2020
Last and also weakest of the Blacksad's stories, but still pretty above the average. Some characters from the past reappearing, and there is a lot happening. But i don't thing it really holds together, sometimes less is more.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 402 reviews

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