Juanjo Guarnido: Rejected by Marvel, rescued by cats (comic-book video).

Once upon a time, Juanjo Guarnido was just another talented bloke knocking on Marvel’s door and being politely (or not) shown the exit. Fast-forward a few years, and he’s illustrating one of the most visually sumptuous and thematically rich comic series of the 21st century: Blacksad. So, how does a man go from getting the cold shoulder in the superhero sweatshops of the States to reshaping Franco-Belgian comics with a hardboiled detective who just happens to be a cat?

Let’s rewind. Guarnido, originally from sunny Granada, studied painting, flirted with Marvel, and then fled Spain’s tiny comic market for the animation world, eventually becoming a Disney lead animator in Paris. Yes, that’s the Paris, not the one in Texas. There, he brought Hades to life in Hercules and made Helga snarl in Atlantis. But like all good noir protagonists, he couldn’t ignore the call of the darker alleyways forever.

Enter Juan Díaz Canales, fellow Spaniard, writer, and co-conspirator. The pair cooked up Blacksad, a series that shouldn’t work on paper—anthropomorphic animals solving crimes in 1950s America? Sounds like Who Framed Roger Rabbit’s moody cousin. But in execution? It’s a masterpiece. Each panel is a love letter to classic noir—cigarette smoke curling through sunbeams, trenchcoats flapping in rain-slicked alleyways, and a world dripping with moral ambiguity… and actual ink.

Our hero, John Blacksad, is a jaded feline PI with war wounds, emotional baggage, and a trenchcoat that deserves its own BAFTA. From the murder of a former lover in Somewhere Within the Shadows to lynchings, race riots, and systemic rot in Arctic Nation, this series doesn’t just dabble in noir tropes—it embraces them like an old flame at a jazz club.

And unlike many comics that flirt with politics in the shallow end, Blacksad dives in, headfirst. Volume after volume tackles McCarthyism, racism, nuclear paranoia, and even sneaks in animal-shaped versions of Hitler and Ginsberg for good measure. It’s social commentary with claws.

Let’s not forget the art—Guarnido’s lush watercolours are so detailed, you’ll smell the stale whisky and feel the grit beneath your paws. Each character’s species cleverly mirrors their role in the story: dogs as cops, reptiles as criminals, cats as morally flexible gumshoes. It’s a zoological take on noir that somehow never feels gimmicky. It’s not “animals doing people things,” it’s “people revealed as animals”—and that’s a key distinction.

Despite being a Spanish duo, Canales and Guarnido launched Blacksad in French, targeting the Franco-Belgian market first, then letting the rest of the world scramble to translate it (into over 30 languages, mind you). Even the English editions were delayed by the tragicomic demise of their North American publisher. Enter Dark Horse, swooping in like a caped owl to save the day in 2010 with a glorious collected volume.

Awards followed, naturally. Eisners, Angoulême trophies, and enough critical acclaim to make most artists retire into smug oblivion. But Guarnido wasn’t done. In 2019, he teamed up with Alain Ayroles for Les Indes Fourbes, a gorgeously illustrated literary romp through colonial deception, proving he’s not a one-cat wonder.

Here at SFcrowsnest magazine, we’re used to tales of rejected geniuses going on to reshape the genre landscape, but Blacksad stands out as a beacon of what happens when artistic integrity, stunning illustration, and a good bit of noirish pessimism collide in just the right alleyway.

So yes, he may have been turned away by Marvel. But that was Marvel’s loss—and our gain. Because while capes and spandex come and go, cats in trenchcoats solving morally murky mysteries? That’s forever.