Blacksad
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Main and Recurring Characters
John Blacksad
"I had chosen to walk the dark path in life...And I'm still on it."
Blacksad is a hardboiled and successful private detective. He can be cynical and harsh but he has a good heart and is dedicated to justice. He is incredibly unlucky in matters of the heart, but has a wide network of connections.
- Badass Boast: Emphasis on Badass.(a large member of a black gang moves to put black paint on Blacksad's white muzzle)
Blacksad: (pokes his gun into the guy's belly) You give me so much as a freckle and I'll end you. - Badass Longcoat: One that he is very fond of as his internal monologue in the first book states.
- Bavarian Fire Drill: He has a bunch of fake badges and business cards that he flashes when convenient. He admits this is a cheap trick and seems to have abandoned it when his customs worker one didn't work.
- Berserk Button: Racism is a pretty good reason to get angry but what really triggers Blacksad is comments about his white muzzle. With the white supremacists, he mocked them before beating one of them up but when a black horse tries to paint his muzzle black, Blacksad goes Tranquil Fury mode and is ready to shoot the horse in the gut (or crotch) if he touches him with the finger full of paint.
- Born Unlucky: Being a black cat, it's almost a given. He gets into a lot of trouble in his investigations and gets beaten up almost once per story at least. He and Weekly end up discussing this in Amarillo.
- Butt-Monkey: A rare non-comedic example, as stated before. Read his Born Unlucky example for more.
- Cats Are Snarkers: Always, but especially with Weekly.
- The Charmer: Has a confident and genial manner that makes him easy to approach. This allows him to easily and effectively lie his way into places he's not supposed to be in for his job.
- Combat Pragmatism: When the odds are against him. The best example is in the first book where he has to deal with two Made of Iron security guards who already beaten him badly once. Blacksad just catches them off guard and bludgeons them with a fire extinguisher.
- Cool Uncle: Revealed to be one to his sister's son in the fifth album.
- Cultured Badass: He appreciates the finer things and is often quite eloquent. Otto remembers him as a brilliant boy and put a lot of effort helping him. Moreover, Blacksad knows his history by making an apt description of General Lee, and quotes Jean-Paul Sartre.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- In Somewhere Within The Shadows he said he had learned one or two tricks in the slums. Then proceeds to parry his assailant's knife and head-butts him.
- In Arctic Nation we learn that he is a World War II veteran and what he says about it heavily implies he has pretty bad memories of the war.
- In Red Soul we learn that Blacksad had a rough childhood and grew up in a bad neighborhood. Otto became his mentor and father figure as part of the pastor's initiative to help the destitute.
- In Amarillo we learn that for some reason he and his sister have mostly lost contact with their father.
- Deadpan Snarker: Most obviously in the video game where he can be fittingly sarcastic.
- Does Not Like Guns: Downplayed in that he has no problems using someone else's guns against them but doesn't own one. The game expand on his scene with his nephew in Amarillo that good guys don't carry guns as a rule.
- Does Not Like Spam: When Weekly offers him a taste of his bourbon milkshake, Blacksad declines because he doesn't like milk.
- Everyone Has Standards: Blacksad took an instant disliking to Samuel Gotfield the first time he saw him, but when Sam was drowning in the sea, Blacksad wasted no time in fishing him out. John might think Gotfield's an asshole, but he's not going to let him die for that.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: In Red Soul, a string of badly paying cases left John in debt and nearing bankruptcy. At that time, he happened to be found by Hewitt Mandeline, a very wealthy tortoise who hired Blacksad to be his bodyguard and debt collector. It paid well and John was given a taste of the Las Vegas highlife, but he hated the gig.
- Good Is Not Nice: He tries to do the right thing and help the innocent, even if it means breaking a few laws or bones.
- Good Is Not Soft: He's a good man at heart, and is usually very amiable and friendly to his friends and to the people who come to him for help. Don't mistake his good nature for weakness, though; he has killed people on more than one occasion, and is quick to use violence if provoked. That being said, anyone who gets a beating from him typically has it coming. See Good Is Not Nice above.
- Guile Hero: His best attribute is not his fist or his aim with a gun, it's his quick thinking. He explains it in Red Soul that the only reason a rich and powerful man like Gotfield would sell his friends to the government is if he was promised something better not made public, in this case a place in a bomb shelter reserved only to the senator Gallo's friends, and therefore has one last recourse in case he is caught. Comes with being a good detective.
- Half-Breed Discrimination: Ocassionally alluded to, particularly in "Arctic Nation". Neither the Black Claws nor the Arctic Nation are kind to him for his black fur and his white muzzle, and one member of the former tries to smear over his muzzle in black paint. Most discrimination is against his black fur, though, as he's ocassionally barred from no-colored establishments.
- Hardboiled Detective: A private investigator, with a somewhat cynical outlook, prone to the occasional Private Eye Monologue, and his stalwart determination and ability to think quickly helping him through most situations? He is pretty much the trope to a T.
- Head-Turning Beauty: He's seen as quite the Hunk in-universe. When he visits a university to visit an old friend who teaches there, every girl in the hallway gives him admiring glances, and their boyfriends jealous ones.
- Hidden Depths: For a grizzled detective, John has a passion for history and archeology, keeping several books and a few artifacts in his office. He had gone to university for a history major, but got himself expelled in the first year.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's filled to the brim with cynicism and brooding angst, but his heart is in the right place. He confides to Weekly it's mostly an image that attract clients, but otherwise he's pretty joyful and even somewhat of a romantic when the situation asks for it (though being a noir series, the situation rarely does).
- Kleptomaniac Hero: Primarily in Under the Skin where he steals a lot of sports star cards from several characters.
- Mr. Fanservice: In universe, this is played for humor. Otherwise, it's played straight.
- Multiple-Choice Past: Invoked. During Under the Skin, he uses several half-true versions of his personal history to endear himself to certain targets.
- Noble Bigot: Deconstructed. There's a common societal distrust towards reptiles in Blacksad's world, but Blacksad is ashamed he shares it due to it not being too dissimilar to the discrimination he himself faces from white supremacists. Unfortunately, a number of his adversaries happen to be reptiles.
- The Nose Knows: Lacking real forensic equipment or modern knowledge of the same, John relies on his keen sense of smell to gather clues his eyes might miss.
- Scary Black Man: In a sense. The way his black fur is perceived by other persons, especially in Arctic Nation, has many allusions to how African-Americans were perceived in the 50's, and there is the fact he often employs his looks for intimidation.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Under the Skin has John complain about veteran support groups trying to reach out to him. In spite of his annoyance, the sound of gunfire and aggravated combat can be heard when he looks at his seemingly pleasant photos of himself back when he was a soldier. Even before that in Arctic Nation he doesn't want to talk about his time in World War II.
- Smoking Is Cool: Smoking was fashionable in the 50's after all.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He is one big and handsome black cat, as most female characters would attest.
Weekly
"Your good friend Week is here full of good vibes."
An Intrepid Reporter with an odor problem and a perverted mind. Weekly befriends Blacksad during the latter's child abduction case in "Arctic Nation". Despite Blacksad's initial dislike of Weekly the two have become good friends and they work together often. His nickname's origin comes from him only coming to his place of work once a week to deliver his articles, like a mythical monster (or so he says). In actuality, he reveals he got his nickname because of a rumor that he changes his clothes or underwear only once a week.
- Aside Glance: After Blacksad and Alma borrow his apartment.
- Bumbling Sidekick: Averted. Weekly has proved very useful to Blacksad.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He smells bad and is a pretty big pervert but he is great at his job and famous if Rose is anything to go by.
- Casanova Wannabe: Hilariously played for all it's worth in Hell, Silence: Week gets women coming on to him all over the place but is too busy snooping to pay any attention to the– (BUMP) "Oops, pardon me."
- Chivalrous Pervert: He finally meets a cute skunk girl that admires him but gets a lead for Blacksad that can stop a murder about three panels later, so he has to keep it in his pants.
- Embarrassing Nickname: It turns that "Weekly" is one. Not so much for the name itself, but the reasons behind it. Blacksad finds it absolutely hilarious when he learns said reasons.
- Friend in the Press: Despite their frosty beginnings Weekly and Blacksand become friends, with Weekly frequently acting as Blacksad’s eyes and ears, and providing him with whatever information he can to assist with his cases.
- Intrepid Reporter: Odor problem aside, he's not a bad reporter.
- Naughty Birdwatching: Accidental as it is, when he snoops around outside Jezebel Carup's house searching for clues regarding Kylie's whereabouts, he witnesses her very physical affair with Huk through a window. His reaction? Deploying his camera, taking some shots, and thinking to himself with a smile how he loves his job.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name has not been revealed in the comics yet, and even Blacksad only seems to know him as "Weekly".
- The Pig-Pen: His weird personal odor is commented much upon. The only person who Weekly encounters who's not at all put off by his stench is a skunk woman.
- Plucky Comic Relief: He lightens the mood a lot, even accidentally cheering up Blacksad after the Arctic Nation case.
- Second Episode Introduction: He debuts in the second volume Arctic Nation.
- Sidekick: To Blacksad, particularly in Arctic Nation.
- Snipe Hunt: During the first act of Under the Skin, Blacksad tricks Weekly into pursuing a deceptively high-profile but ultimately worthless lead to get him out of the way until he really needs him.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: A could-be example with Rose the skunk, whom he met in the finale of A Silent Hell. Just as they were beginning to seriously flirt in a bar, he figured out the whereabouts of the musican he and Blacksad were looking for, forcing him to run out on her. Blacksad, who stayed in town a bit longer than Weekly, tried to find her for him, with no luck.
Commissioner Smirnov
"Truth is, John...I used to see clearly, but now..."
A police commissioner and friend of Blacksad. Because Smirnov realizes the failings of the justice system, he helps Blacksad to reach criminals that he himself cannot.
- Friend on the Force: Given that he's the police commissioner. Notably, he provides Blacksad with a pretty waterproof alibi after he has shot and killed Statoc.
- Happily Married: "Red Soul" shows us his family, a wife and two kids.
- Heroic Dog: A damn good police officer.
- The Ingenue: Derisively calls himself one when asked why he is willing to compromise his career and makes powerful enemies for his wish for a world where the powerful have to answer for their crimes. He even regrets his Cowboy Cop attitude toward Natalia's murder even if it had to be done to get a semblance of justice.
- Men Are Uncultured: His wife dragged him to an art gallery since she thinks it's good for the kids, but as far as he's concerned it's costing him his day off for their sake and he has to stop himself from calling the art "crap" and "shit".
- Old Friend: It's never said when he and Blacksad met but they seem to go way back, he calls John about Natalia's death since he knows about their past relationship and want him to know before the news.
- Policeman Dog: Commissioner Smirnov, Blacksad's Friend on the Force, is a morally upright but world-weary German shepherd.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: With him being the police commissioner.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Smirnov helps cover for Blacksad after he kills Ivo Statoc, because Statoc bribed his superiors to close the case of Natalia's death and Smirnov can't stand that the rich and powerful can escape justice, so he facilitates Blacksad's revenge so that some justice is served.
- Smoking Is Cool: Believe us when we say that a German Shepherd letting out a drag of smoke is pretty darn cool.
Somewhere Within The Shadows
Natalia Wilford
- The Beautiful Elite: A movie star that frequents the high sphere.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: For someone who was shot point blank in the head, her corpse should've looked a lot worse.
- Bodyguard Crush: The reason why she fell in love with John.
- Fatal Flaw: Her infidelity is what ends up killing her. Due to cheating on the wrong man.
- Old Flame: Was John's lover in the past.
- Posthumous Character: Given that the comic starts with her death, we only get to know her in flashbacks.
- Pretty Little Headshots: How she died. Despite being shot point blank in the face, her visage was still untainted.
- Really Gets Around: Implied to be the reason for her and Blacksad's break up, she never was a one man woman. And unfortunately for her she was killed for cheating on Statoc with a movie director.
- Stalker with a Crush: Was the victim of this, which is when she hired Blacksad to deal with the guy.
Ivo Statoc
- Big Bad: The one behind Natalia's murder.
- Death by Irony: He meets his end with the same snub-nosed revolver he used to kill Natalia, it also helps in making his case into a suicide due to having his own prints on the gun.
- Evil Gloating: Does this quite a bit and even gives John one. Unforunately for him, this smug cold-blooded gloating is the final push Blacksad needed to put a bullet in his head. As an extra case of irony it's a pretty little headshot just like what happened to Natalia.
- Emotionless Reptile: He claims that this is what makes him strong, allowing him to do things that Blacksad's conscience wouldn't condone. Unfortunately for him, that same emotional nature is what gives Blacksad the burst of vengeful rage that pushes him to pull the trigger and kill him.
- Faux Affably Evil: He tries to pass off as magnanimous and polite but is nothing but a slimy cold blooded sociopath. He laughs at the concept of conscience since such scruples are why his foe can't stop him while he tortured his mistress' lover before killing him without any feelings.
- Hidden Villain: He remains a shadowy figure for the entire first album until Blacksad personally confronts him at the end.
- Hypocrite: He murdered Natalia because she cheated on him. If the picture on his desk is of any indication, he's himself married with children.
- I Love the Dead: According to the author's commentary version of Within the Shadows, he had his ways with Natalia's corpse after killing her.
- Lack of Empathy: Views conscience as a weakness and think he can buy off Blacksad for murdering his Old Flame.
- Never Suicide: After Blacksad murders him with his own revolver. He plants it on his body, due to already having his prints on it (and with Smirnov's help), the police manage to close his case as a suicide.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: When Blacksad confronts him at gunpoint, he smugly gloats that Blacksad won't be able to shoot him, as he is fundamentally too moral of a person to kill anyone in cold blood. Unfortunately for him, his gloating causes Blacksad to feel a short, but strong jolt of contempt, which is enough to convince himself to actually pull the trigger.
- Pretty Little Headshots: How he meets his end, ironically.
- Revolvers Are for Amateurs: He doesn't seem to be the type to get his hands dirty. Save for killing Natalia and even then he had to shoot her in the head point blank with the Snub-nosed revolver.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: He thinks he can get away with murder because he's rich. John proves him otherwise.
- Starter Villain: He is the first real villain that Blacksad has to deal with it, and one of the most vile.
- You Wouldn't Shoot Me: Statoc tries this on Blacksad. Ironically, his smug Evil Gloating is what Blacksad himself attributes for making him decide to shoot him.
Arctic Nation
Dinah Smith
- Abusive Parents: Downplayed. While she does get her daughter involved in a convoluted revenge scheme against the girl's grandfather by staging her disappearance, but it's clear from the flashbacks that it was a hard decision and as it goes on she's barely able to keep it together due to maternal instincts.
- Best Served Cold: The reason why she went along with the plan to frame Karup. However, things went very wrong and she didn't live to see the results.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: We only get to see her corpse lying on the ground after she is killed by Huk and even then we don't get to see her slashed throat.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Being one of the abandoned daughters of Karup.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Ironically enough not only is her own mother dead, but she also dies in the near end of the story leaving her own kid an Orphan.
- Disappeared Dad: Miss Gray mentions that she never met her father. We do find out who her father is later on.
- Distinguishing Mark: She has a white birthmark on her chest. Her twin sister has a similar looking mark on her chest, although in black/brown fur.
- Mama Bear: Only in name. She puts her daughter at risk for the sake of revenge and the moment her maternal instincts fully take over, Huk kills her.
- Polar Opposite Twins: She is hot-tempered and impulsive compared to Jezebel. Further punctuated by the opposing color schemes, including the color of their birthmarks.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: Blacksad immediately notices how attractive Dinah is and passes her some admiring glance in his car's side mirror. She later changes out of her work clothes right in front of him.
- Slashed Throat: How she meets her end, via a saber used by Huk. Which is enough to mislead Blacksad into thinking Karup killed her.
- The Stoic: Tries to be one, and fails. She eventually finds herself unable to keep her emotions bottled-up and considers backing out of The Plan, which leads to Huk killing her.
- You Killed My Father: The reason why she wants revenge upon Karup, her own father. Is for their leaving her mother to die. Unlike her sister however, she has obvious doubts because the plan puts her daughter Kylie in harm's way.
Kylie
- Break the Cutie: By the end of Arctic Nation, she's left an Orpan with her mother being murdered and even before that she had to endure being away from her mother to stage her disappearance. The forlorn heartbreaking look she gives Blacksad is just the bitter cherry on the Bittersweet Ending.
- Children Are Innocent: The only true innocent in this whole fiasco, and what's worse it leaves her an orphan.
- Disappeared Dad: We don't know much about her own father, but she was raised by only her mother: Dinah.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: She is just adorable.
Huk
- Cunning Like a Fox: He is a schemer.
- Didn't See That Coming: While he was in on the Smith sisters' plan to exact revenge on Karup, he failed to make the connection that they were sisters and as such when he killed Dinah to "keep her mouth shut", he didn't expect that the act would spur Jezebel to kill him as revenge for her sister's death.
- Eye Scream: Jezebel kills him by way of stabbing a screwdriver into his eye.
- Hate Sink: Perhaps the most profoundly despicable character in the entire volume, and that's really saying something considering the other villains of the story.
- Hypocrite: To his fellow Arctics, he says Karup has betrayed sacred Christian values by "murdering that little black girl", denounces him as a traitor to their cause, and loudly abhors race-mixing. In private, he kills Dinah and Cotten without hesitation when he thinks they'll reveal what's been going on, conspires with Jezabel to slander his superior's name in the community, and has an affair with her for his own gratification.
- The Klan: Is part of it.
- Non-Action Big Bad: The main antagonist of the story but since Karup and Blacksad are way bigger than him he prefers having lackeys doing the dirty work or pleading for his life. Although doesn't mean he's not completely afraid to get his hands dirty. Such as murdering Dinah and Cotten when he gets the chance.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Unlike every other anthropomorphic character in the setting, Huk has a tail.
- Oh, Crap!: When Karup locks the door after Blacksad revealed his affair with the chief's wife.Huk: By the way, talking about the cat, you didn't believe...
- Pedo Hunt: Frames Karup for Kylie's disappearance and by planting rumors about Karup being a pedophile.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He is the spokesman for the Arctics.
- The Starscream: He is Karup's right hand man and he's been planning to betra Karup in more ways than one.
- Smoking Hot Sex: One of the flashbacks showing Huk and Jezebel's infidelity shows him satisfied and smoking a cigarette, while Jezebel is having a Shower of Angst.
- White Hair, Black Heart: He's a deeply racist Arctic Fox and pulls some very heinous stunts throughout Arctic Nation.
Chief Hans Karup
- Ambition Is Evil: His racism came with trying to fit in with the elites of The Line until it became part of him.
- Asshole Victim: While he may not be a pedophile, leaving his pregnant wife out in the cold to die earns him everything that happens to him.
- Bears Are Bad News: Supremacist, corrupt, abandoned his wife and unborn cubs in the woods to die and he's a polar bear so few can go one on one with him when he is pissed.
- The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: He went into bed with the white-fur supremacists of The Line to set himself up with a better position socially, but in doing so was indoctrinated into their beliefs and became a cruel and hateful racist himself, when he was formerly a kind and loving man who was Happily Married to a dark-furred bear woman.
- Dirty Cop: Zigzagged. While he's not ostensibly using his position as Chief of Police in The Line to facilitate any direct corruption, he is secretly the leader of a racist movement carrying out extralegal lynchings of black animals. When Huk calls him to get Blacksad arrested after he curbstomp a weasel supremacist, Karup just warns John and Weekly that they aren't welcome here since he can't blatantly take side in the race war as chief of police, aside from not arresting the Arctics.
- Domestic Abuse: To his first wife, who was black, Jezebel even says that unlike her he can't simply throw her away.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Betrayed by Huk, his right hand man, in more ways than one.
- Friend to All Children: Played for drama, as it causes people to believe that he's a pedophile.
- Happy Marriage Charade: Jezebel charmed him but made it clear that it is to keep a W.A.S.P image in front of his friends, saying she isn't into men the real reason is that it's a revenge scheme and Karup is her father.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With his wife. Both of them.
- Karmic Death: He is executed by his followers by hanging after he previously inspired public lynchings of black animals.
- Kick the Dog: His treatment of his past black wife, when we get the whole story it's even more cruel.
- The Klan: The grandmaster of it no less.
- Large and in Charge: He is huge, and he is not only the local police chief, but also the grandmaster of The Klan.
- Lysistrata Gambit: Victim of this. For a good reason.
- May–December Romance: He is old enough to be his wife's father (Which he actually is), subverted as Jezebel married him not out of love but part of a revenge plan.
- Parental Incest: Although he was unaware of it and his daughter made sure that it would be a platonic marriage.
- Pedo Hunt: Becomes the victim of this. Being a scout leader and director of the children choir on top of his black maid's daughter being kidnapped with the mom refusing to go to the police painted a narrative. However the kidnapping was part of a Frame-Up to make him look like pedophile and Karup is only seen interested in grown women both in public and private.
- Pedophile Priest: The director of the church's children choir. He may or may not be a pedophile... point is, by the end all the townsfolk believe it.
- The Sheriff: He is the police chief at his town.
- Social Climber: Since he moved to the Line, he has spent considerable effort gaining acceptance from the town's elite. His second marriage was purely political and an attempt to make Oldsmill and the like forget about his black wife.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Used to be a genuinely nice guy in his youth, until he started to buy into the whole racial purity thing.
- Unwitting Pawn: Of Huk and Jezebel's machinations.
Jezebel Karup nee Smith
- Best Served Cold: The reason why she did everything to get at Karup, including using her own niece in a kidnapping plan. By the end of it however she has a Heel Realization and realizes that she's lost a lot in the end.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: She teamed up with Huk, in more ways than one, to bring down Karup.
- Byronic Hero: From a Certain Point of View, and a failed one at that.
- The Chessmaster: She had a great plan. It worked, but she lost more than she bargained for.
- Dark and Troubled Past: The abandoned daughter of Karup.
- Disappeared Dad: Her dad is not mentioned at the start of the story, then we find out who her father is.
- Distinguishing Mark: She has a black mark on her chest. When Blacksad sees it on a picture Weekly secretly took of her while she was naked, he quickly figures out her true identity.
- Does Not Like Men: The reason why she doesn't sleep with Karup and the marriage is just a charade. The real reason is that Karup is her father.
- Head-Turning Beauty: She's a very striking woman. Upon seeing her walk past him and Blacksad, Weekly immediately starts wolf-whistling, annoying Blacksad and shocking her.
- Heel Realization: She gets this during her My God, What Have I Done? moment. Specifically, upon realizing that her vengeance cost Dinah's life, and made Kylie an orphan, which was the whole reason she wanted revenge on Karup.
- Lysistrata Gambit: There's a reason for this: she's Karup's daughter, which he's unaware of.
- Manipulative Bitch: She orchestrated Karup's fall.
- Marriage of Convenience: Not that Karup is gay but because of his past interracial relationship some of his powerful friend like Oldsmill judge him a bit. During a dispute she says their marriage was just an arrangement to make Karup look like a perfect W.A.S.P and her not wanting to be touched by men.
- Meaningful Name: Her name is Jezebel, what did you expect?
- My God, What Have I Done?: Upon realizing that her plan ended up not only killing her sister Dinah, but also leaving her niece Kylie, an orphan just like she once was.
- Parental Incest: Played with. She went to great lengths to get back at her own father, including seducing and marrying him. Although it's made clear that they never had sex.
- Polar Opposite Twins: She is more cold and calculating than Dinah. Further punctuated by the opposing color schemes, including their birthmarks.
- Shower of Angst: In a flashback showcasing one of her and Huk's flings, Huk is having a smoke while Jezebel is in the shower clearly distraught over her affair with Huk to facilitate her revenge plans for Karup.
- Southern Belle: Jezebel says she comes from a socialite family from the South. That was a lie, with her manners and fur color being enough to convince everyone and allowing her to marry Karup.
- The Vamp: Uses her charms and sex to further her schemes.
- Walking Spoiler: It's hard to discuss her because of how central she is to the plot, even if she's just in the periphery of the story for the most part.
- You Killed My Father: The reason why she wants revenge upon Karup, her own father, is for their leaving her mother to her death. Unlike her sister however, she becomes completely consumed with revenge. She also stabs Huk with a screwdriver for killing her sister.
Miss Gray
Kylie's teacher- Cool Teacher: Mixed with Cool Old Lady, in that she cares enough about her students to hire a private detective when one goes missing.
- Parental Substitute: To Kylie, in that she is the only adult figure in the girl's life who legitimately cares about her well being and contacts Blacksad to find her when Dinah refuses to do anything.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Blacksad's narration refer to her as a person that looks frail but with firm and dignified spirit. The illustration makes a good job to show it too.
Cotten
An old blind black magpie janitor. Whom uses his earnings to play a slot machine in order to at least get enough money to go to Vegas.- Dies Wide Open: His blind eyes are open but clear with contentness as he succumbs to his gunshot wound.
- Due to the Dead: Blacksad does this twice for the old bird. He closes his eyes after he Dies Wide Open and as shown by "Red Soul"'s inside cover, Blacksad did good on his promise by bringing a urn with his ashes to Las Vegas and then releases them to the wind near the city.
- The Gambling Addict: What little coin he saves, be it as a janitor or thief, he spends on the local slot machine. He dreams of striking it big and moving out to Las Vegas to experience the casinos personally.
- Go Out with a Smile: He dies smiling after Blacksad states he'll bring him to Las Vegas before finally succumbing to his wounds.
- The Promise: Just before he bleeds out he makes Blacksad promise him to bring him to Las Vegas.
- Redemption Equals Death: By the time he threatens to reveal what has been really happening, Huk promptly shoots him in the gut point blank. Just before he truly kicks the bucket however he also brings Blacksad and Weekly to Kylie.
E.V. Oldsmill
A very rich industrialist Siberian tiger, who uses his considerable fortune to help keep The Line white.- Boomerang Bigot: Downplayed. Like Jezabel, the stripes put enough black in his fur to make him less than completely white, but he considers himself pure and is a reprehensible old bigot all the same.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Implied to be a major financier of the Arctic Nation, and an influential and wealthy enough figure in The Line to make Hans Karup want to befriend him back when he was an ambitious social climber, in turn guiding the young man down the path of white supremacy.
- Meaningless Villain Victory: Though he never suffers any repercussions during the plot, he's getting on in years, and his only son is so mentally handicapped that he can't play tennis or control his bladder in public, something Blacksad attributes to inbreeding — in other words, he and his family's obsession with racial purity was what doomed their chance at further generations. Although he has nothing but contempt for his son, the dig at his "legacy" is shown to rankle him, especially when coming from a mostly black cat.
- Old Money: An incredibly rich keystone of the community, with a mansion located uptown and his name on several businesses. After questioning him at his sport club, Blacksad takes him at his word when following his next lead, saying that Oldsmill was "too rich and too cynical to bother with lying".
- Pet the Dog: While he calls his son garbage within earshot he still plays tennis with him and doesn't try to outright hide him.
- Red Herring: The Claws suspect Oldsmill to be covering for his "mental" (taré in the original version) son who secretly impregnated Dinah. What they don't know is that Oldsmill's son is mental as in mentally challenged (taré is a slur that can mean either the r word or psychotic) and can't harm or court a woman.
- Villains Never Lie: An openly racist industrialist who has nothing to gain or lose about the case he doesn't bother lying. Unintentionally he gives a lot of important information to Blacksad like how Karup dated a black woman and is half sure Kylie is his daughter, which is only off a generation.
Red Soul
Otto Liebber
- The Atoner: Twice. His first failure was becoming a supporter of the Nazi regime. The second is when he passes nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union in hopes of restoring the balance of power. He ultimately returns to Germany to help with rebuilding his destroyed country.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: He and his father helped John during his childhood, thus earning John's loyalty.
- Chummy Commies: Believed to be one given that he's a left-leaning benefactee of Gotfield. He was actually a Nazi. He also sells out secret to the Soviet government out of a belief of mutually assured destruction beign the way to go.
- Freak Out: When he goes back to his old neighborhood and sees the rundown state it is in.
- Herr Doktor: Yeah, he's German, yeah, he was a Nazi, yeah, he even worked with and met Hitler. But he's atoning for that.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Less of character and more of ideology, he caused a lot of problem by putting his mind at the service of people who claimed to bring a better world like the Nazi and Litvak (who wasn't evil but his communism fervor blinded him a bit).
- Insult of Endearment: John and Otto are good friends, but Blacksad had an attitude as a child, so Otto took to calling him a "smart alek". Years later, Otto calls John "Smart Alek" while overjoyed to see him again.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: With the variant that he's actually alive.
- The Mole: Selling secrets to the Russians.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: At least according to Herzl. Giving the H-bomb formula based on a weakly idealistic opinion enforces it.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He's the Blacksad world's equivalent of J. Robert Oppenheimer. His background and history are drawn from Wehrner von Braun and Klaus Fuchs.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: His Nazi past, although only Herzl and Otto himself are aware and refuses to forget it.
- Small Steps Hero: As the pastor's son he helped the destitutes and tried getting financing to make the community better. He thought it was going too slow so he puts his great intellect to the use of people in power believing it will change the world for the best, by the end he realized that was a mistake and goes back to teach kids like he taught Blacksad.
- Those Wacky Nazis: A very, very rare benevolent example. Otto worked for the Third Reich during World War 2, but never believed in Hitler's ideology and is a good man at heart. He views his past as a Nazi scientist as his biggest mistake, and is doing his best to atone for his past, though in a very misguided way.
Samuel Gotfield
- Ambiguously Jewish: Hinted, specially given his last name.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: The more he drinks, the more of an ass he becomes.
- Driven to Madness: Oh boy, he ends up digging in his backyard to make a bomb shelter and hear sirens of imminent attack. Blacksad is saddened by that view.
- Dirty Communists: Is the benefactor of twelve left-leaning intellectuals. Spills the beans on them when pressured by Senator Gallo.
- Freak Out: Suffers one during and after spilling the beans on his benefactees.
- The Informant: He spills the beans to Senator Gallo on all the activities of the left-leaning people he was financing.
- Sanity Slippage: The Red Scare really scares him. When he thinks one of his left leaning friend got messily murdered as part of Senator's Gallo witch hunt he drops his laid back attitude and after he is interrogated by Gallo in a bunker he just snapped.
- Stepford Smiler: He appears confident in public, but he is highly insecure and prone to being an idiot once inebriated.
- The Team Benefactor: He throws his money here and there, helps left-leaning artists and geniuses to have a comfy life, and is a total jackass.
Alma Mayer
- Awful Wedded Life:
- In Red Soul, Alma mentions she has ended up in atleast two marriages that ended up being this, with her most recent failing marriage at the time being with Gotfield.
- Implied with her and Leroy, who is assumed to be her fourth husband from They All Fall Down: Part 2; they're both shown to be visibly disdainful of each other and the two look like they are headed for a divorce eventually, especially since it's implied that she only married him due to how similar he looked to Blacksad. Alma even states the only reason she met with Leroy at the Diner was to indirectly help Rachel get what she needed to sabotage Solomon and the Bridge.
- The Bus Came Back: She unexpectedly returns as a member of theatrical troupe at the end of They All Fall Down Part One.
- Dirty Communists: Believed to be one given that she's a left-leaning benefactee of Gotfield.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Granted, she was all business at first.
- Hand on Womb: The last shot of Alma shown in Red Soul shows her somber and alone at Niagra Falls, with her hand over her womb. The ending of They All Fall Down implies that she later gave birth to their daughter and is raising her in Europe.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Blacksad told her she looked sinister when they first met while at the party where she is casually dressed and let her hair loose, he is clearly smitten.
- Stood Up: Played for drama; In Red Soul, Alma and John were supposed to hook-up at Niagara Falls once everything was over, but because he's caught by the FBI and made it seem he betrayed Liebber, Alma is left to leave the USA alone, thinking Blacksad betrayed the cause she believed in; Although he never intended that to happen.
- Will They or Won't They?: While she and Blacksad still love each other by the events of They All Fall Down, it's left ambiguous whether or not they get back together as Alma decides to return to Europe in order to raise their daughter, and there's no indication whether or not Blacksad leaves America to join her.
Sergei Litvak
- Accidental Murder: He accidentally dies at the hands of the FBI when they use truth serum on him.
- Defiant to the End: Which is why the truth serum kills him.
- Dirty Communists: Believed to be one given that he's a left-leaning benefactee of Gotfield. Actually a Communist. He is even part of a plan to give the Soviets the ways to make a H-Bomb.
- The Mole: Was selling Liebber's secrets to the Russians.
- Retired Badass: He's a former Russian soldier.
- Russian Bear: He's an old brown bear who's a Russian émigré artist and a secret Soviet agent.
- Title Drop: The painting which he was gonna use to give the H-bomb secrets to the Russians was titled "Red Soul".
Otero
- Cruel and Unusual Death: We don't see much aside Ribs putting a razor under his throat but Blacksad and the others refer to his death as gruesome. Gotfield has a complete breakdown over it.
- Dirty Communists: Believed to be one given that he's a left-leaning benefactee of Gotfield.
- The Medic: He was a director of the American Medical Institute.
- Retired Badass: He fought for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. He is the second to jump in to save Gotfield from drowning.
- Last-Name Basis: His first name is never revealed.
- Murder by Mistake: He was murdered when the assassin mistook him for Liebber
Laszlo Herzl
- Anti-Villain: He goes through despicable means to kill Otto because Otto is a nazi that got absolved during operation paperclip thanks to his scientific talents. A former nazi gets zero comeuppance and a nomination for a Nobel prize because he built the H-Bomb didn't sit well with Herzl.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Blacksad accuses him of hiring assassins to kill Otto because he doesn't have the guts to do it himself. Laszlo quickly makes it clear his time in the concentration camps has long since hardened him.Laszlo: The horrors I've seen don't leave me room to be squeamish for much.
- Dirty Communists: Believed to be one given that he's a left-leaning benefactee of Gotfield.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Has a rivalry with Liebber. Most think it's because the scientific community like Liebber more than Herzl, in reality it's because Liebber is a former Nazi, and Herzl is a Holocaust survivor.
- Jewish and Nerdy: A renowned chemist.
- Karma Houdini: Never really got his comeuppance for his involvement in Otero's murder. Or at least it's never seen.
- Nazi Hunter: As a Holocaust survivor, he's been keeping tabs on Dr. Otto Lieber for his Nazi past.
- Revenge Before Reason: Instead of being horrified by Otero's accidental death he doubles down by Giving Ribs a bomb to take out Otto. He is too blinded by revenge to care about collaterals.
- Villain Has a Point: Even without the whole Otto joining the Nazi before World War 2 to improve the world he is right to say Otto is a person full of contradictions as his effort for peace is trading the formulas to make a H-Bomb to the Soviet Union. Otto himself comes to the realization that he is publicly known as a wise man despite making colossal mistakes that he might not have enough time to make amend for.
Senator Gallo
- The Bad Guy Wins: Downplayed; he ultimately was able to arrest Blacksad and indirectly destroy his relationship with Alma, as well as break up the group of communists Otto had organized, but he still failed to arrest Otto in the end. His witch hunt against communists will continue but Blacksad has enough blackmail material to have him lay off the twelve benefactees of Gotfield.
- Corrupt Politician: It is revealed his program was gonna save only those close to him. He also used it to convince Gotfield to sell out his friend.
- Karma Houdini: He's one of the few Blacksad villains who doesn't end up facing any sort of comeuppance or death.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: In the special edition hard copy released outside the US, it's revealed that the cougar FBI agent actually blew the whistle on him years later, and his crimes are implied to have been revealed to the public.
- Knight Templar: Sees the Red Scare as his crusade against the communist non-believers, using the bible a lot in his speeches and the nuclear war as raining down fire.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He's a stand-in of Senator Joseph McCarthy, being a fanatical anti-communist U.S. Senator in the 1950s with a supposed list of names on suspected Communists.
- Punny Name: Gallo means Rooster in Spanish.
- Red Scare: Uses it to wield his power in Washington.
Ribs
A hitman- The Dreaded: According to Smirnov his reputation makes Al Capone look like a choir boy. His murder of Otero is seen as especially brutal.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: A contract killer known to get physical a lot with his victims.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Ribs is just an alias.
- Professional Killer: He is a highly priced hitman.
- Put on a Bus: While promising Blacksad that they'll meet again before running away he is never seen after that in this or the next three stories.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: After his second failure he leaves the story. Justified as the police are looking for him and his client got exposed not long after.
- We Will Meet Again: Says this after escaping Blacksad.
A Silent Hell
Faust LaChapelle Dupre
- Big Bad: He set things in motion that ends with several musicians dead.
- I Have No Son!: Subverted. Even if he doesn't see eye to eye with his son Thomas, he still cares about him and wants to leave him a good legacy.
- Incurable Cough of Death: He has cancer and is dying. He reveals to Blacksad it isn't cancer but a rare congenital disease, most of the funds for a treatment are so his son doesn't suffer the same fate as him.
- I Want Grandkids: Thomas says he kept pestering him about it during his wedding with Claire and Faust really care about his legacy.
- Lack of Empathy: Blacksad calls him out on this that for someone at death's door, he doesn't feel any compassion for all the life he ruined with Life Everlasting and the cover up. Faust says that it's all for his son so he can continue his legacy but Blacksad has none of it and Thomas would probably never have accepted this.
- Manipulative Bastard: Being the guy that kickstarted the main events.
- Meaningful Name: He's a very Faustian character.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: The main reason he doesn't the secret of Life Everlasting to get out is because the lawsuits would bankrupt him, and he's pouring his fortune into trying to find a cure for a fatal genetic disorder that's killed every man in his bloodline. He wants to find a cure at any cost so his son won't succumb to the same disease, but only because he wants to have healthy grandchildren to continue his legacy, proving that he's ultimately still selfish.
- Obfuscating Disability: While he is dying he is still able to run relatively fast when disguised as Death although he is shown feeling it later.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Got away with selling a product that caused multiple deaths and birth defects in Caledonia by bribing a judge. He also has one of his former musicians put in prison after he tries to blackmail him.
- Snake Oil Salesman: The person behind Life Everlasting, a supposed health product responsible for many cases of birth defects, including Lenoir and Fletcher.
- That Man Is Dead: Tries really hard to move away from his past as Dupre and all the bad things he caused, and he is not afraid to do anything to stop you if you start sniffing around.
- Title Drop: He mentions his idea of Hell is a place where everything is silent, where there is no music.
Sebastian "Little Hand" Fletcher
- Addled Addict: Zig-zags between this and Functional Addict, if he is high he can't play at all but he needs to shoot himself to fight off the drawbacks after staying sober too long. His Survivor's Guilt doesn't help.
- Disappeared Dad: During his concert he confesses having run away from his pregnant wife among many other sins.
- Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Has a smaller right arm and hand, still plays a killer piano and a great jazz musician.
- Meaningful Name: Or nickname, which refers to his shorter right arm and small right hand.
- My Greatest Failure: Of all the multiple screw ups he did in his life, his greatest regret and the source of most of it was keeping his mouth shut about Faust's past as Dupree, becoming rich and famous with the help of the man that doomed his hometown, and the reason why Sebastian and the others were born with a birth defect. His addictions were attempts to drown his conscience.
- Perfect Poison: Faust tainted his heroin, making it seem like an overdose.
- Survivor's Guilt: In the sense that he's the most well-off and famous of his friends, all thanks to the person responsible for all their birth defects.
- Troubled, but Cute: For varying degrees of cute.
Thomas LaChappelle
- Calling the Old Man Out: He pretty much abandon his father after one too many dispute.
- Comforting the Widow: Accused by his father of doing this with Hannah, Thomas disowns him.
- The Dutiful Son: Tried to be this, but it always seemed it was never enough for Faust.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He's jealous of Sebastian, but he does care about him and Hannah.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Wants Blacksad to drop the search for Sebastian since his family's fortune is slowly eroding and they need all the funds they can get. When Blacksad calls him out on not caring about Sebastian he says that he does like him but Sebastian abandoned his pregnant wife which doesn't exactly give him sympathy points.
- Red Herring: It's made seem that he's the bad guy initially, but is later revealed he cares about both Hannah and Sebastian.
- The Un-Favourite: He always felt his father would dote more on Sebastian.
- We Used to Be Friends: While always jealous of Sebastian taking his father's love and possibly Hannah's affection, running away from his pregnant wife in what he thought was another heroin trip was too much for him.
Hannah Fletcher
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: She is the person that starts this whole thing rolling by showing Faust the new lyrics for a song Sebastian and Lenoir were working on, a song about Faust's old life as Dr. Dupre and the damage his product, "Life Everlasting" did to the children of Caldonia.
- Someone to Remember Him By: Gives birth to a child the same night Sebastian dies.
"Big" Bill Lenoir
- An Arm and a Leg: Was born without one of his legs.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He is a really happy-go-lucky fellow but he gets angry fast if children starts stealing his stuff and kills Leeman with a pickaxe to save Blacksad.
- Bilingual Bonus: Speaks Gullah when angry, you can kind of get what he says if you know English.
- The Drifter: Being pretty poor, he spends his time "walking" through all of New Orleans.
- The Pollyanna: Despite being poor, in poor health including missing a leg, he seems to be a happy fella'.
- Putting the Band Back Together: Tried to with his childhood friends, but failed.
- These Hands Have Killed: He is pretty shaken up after killing Leeman.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: After he found out the truth about "Life Everlasting" and the origin of his condition, he reached out to his friends, which resulted in his friends getting killed and his own life threatened.
Ted Leeman
- Angry, Angry Hippos: A thuggish, brutal corrupt detective, and a hippopotamus.
- "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: Tries to convince John to blackmail Faust together
- Catchphrase: "As I always say..."
- Drives Like Crazy: His introduction to Blacksad and Weekly includes him nearly hitting a pedestrian with his car, and then upon having his offer of cooperation rejected, speeds off into traffic, nearly running over several pedestrians and barely missing other cars.
- Dumb Muscle: He has no sense of discretion and ruined his own blackmail by killing Faust's musicians not realizing that the proofs of Life Everlasting were the witnesses themselves.
- Evil Counterpart: He is a detective like Blacksad, but while Blacksad play the cynic despite being a good hearted and effective investigator, Leeman is a Faux Affably Evil brute who'd rather extort money than help people with their case. Blacksad asks Weekly to tell him to quit the P.I. business if he starts acting like Leeman.
- Fat, Sweaty Southerner in a White Suit: Well, brown suit, but you get the idea. Amusingly, the trope was originally going to be played completely straight; in his notes detailing the making of the comic Guarnido discusses how Canales originally wanted Leeman to wear a cream-colored suit as was "appropriate for a southern gentleman." During the drawing process, Guarnido experimented with making some mockups showing Leeman in a light suit and a dark suit, and Canales responded that the light suit gave Leeman an air of a "mafioso", while the dark suit gave him a somewhat more "sympathetic" look, and they agreed to go with the latter.
- Faux Affably Evil: He sees himself as an honest and courteous person even when he's threatening someone or about to kill them.
- Made of Iron: He's ridiculously tough, taking three shots to the gut without even flinching and still being strong enough to almost kill Blacksad with his bare hands several hours later, despite his suit being soaked with blood.
- Implacable Man: Takes 3 shots at close range to the gut and is hardly worse for the wear; it takes Lenoir hitting him with a pickaxe to the back of the neck to kill him.
- Leave No Witnesses: Reason why he started to kill Faust's musicians. However, he ends up inadvertently ruining his own plan to blackmail Faust because he didn't realize the musicians were the evidence.
- The Starscream: Originally working for Faust LaChapelle, but once he found out about "Life Everlasting" he thought of blackmailing him instead.
- Stout Strength: Despite his weight, he's incredibly strong, as befits a hippo.
- We Can Rule Together: Tells John that the two could have blackmailed LaChappelle over "Life Everlasting".
Amarillo
Chad Lowell
- Accidental Murder: Kills Abraham in a fit of rage. Is involved in Polyphemus and Elmore's deaths. Accidentally kills Neal.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Neal thinks about using this to attenuate his murder of Abraham. While it was a factor Chad is just that impulsive.
- The Atoner: Tries to. Succeeds in the end.
- Cradling Your Kill: Neal, after accidentally pushing him to a bus.
- Doom Magnet: See Accidental Murder. Kid really can't catch a break.
- Fatal Flaw: Wrath; the minute that he killed Abraham out of anger, everything just continued to go downhill for him from there.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Kills Abraham in a fit of rage after the latter took away his manuscript and tried to mail it to the Dalai Lama. That's only the first of several bad decisions he makes on an impulse.
- It's All About Me: He is a jerkass that only cares about himself and his novel. Part of this is mostly because he has a bad case of nerves.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Four times.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is based on Jack Kerouac
- Rescue Romance: With Luanne after they rescue each other.
- Sympathetic Murderer: He is directly responsible for two deaths, and involved in the accidental death of two others. Given the circumstances, you can't help but to feel at least bad for some of what happened to him.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Of Abraham. Put the two together, and inebriated, and they're completely self-destructive.
- Ungrateful Bastard: He and Abraham tried stealing a bike and almost got a beatdown from the biker gang and while Blacksad convinced the leader to let the police sort it out they stole his car.
Abraham Greenberg
- Ambiguously Jewish: Has a very Jewish-sounding name, but doesn't otherwise show it.
- Asshole Victim: He worked real hard to earn that bullet.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Thanks to his early cameo in "Red Soul"
- Early-Bird Cameo: Appears in "Red Soul" in a couple of panels, but hardly is of consequence in that story.
- Dirty Communist: Was one of Gotfield's benefactees, and was even arrested in "Red Soul", under suspicion of Communist sympathies. He's also a complete asshole but that's more the poet in him than his ideologies.
- Doing It for the Art: In-Universe. He's apparently a phenomenal writer, but he's so devoted to his craft he burns the manuscript of his latest collection of poems rather than let it be "butchered" by editors during the publication process.
- Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Completely unlikeable asshole whose definition of a joke is to constantly antagonize, humiliate and belittle his friend. It gets him killed in the end.
- Jerkass: He is very, very cruel to Chad. First thing we saw him do is drown Chad for fun.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is based on Allen Ginsberg.
- Too Dumb to Live: Kept bullying Chad to his breaking point. It's almost like he wanted to die.
- Toxic Friend Influence: To Chad. All Chad learns from him is how to be auto-destructive.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Stole Blacksad's car with Chad as he stopped them from getting killed.
Neal Beato
- Accidental Murder: Gets accidentally killed by Chad.
- Ambulance Chaser: In one page he volunteered to represent three different cases, from police brutality to unfair dismissal and (jokingly) to break Chad's legs.
- Amoral Attorney: Averted. Despite being an ambulance chaser, he's a really jovial guy. He's also pursuing Chad out of genuine concern for him, not just for a meal ticket.
- Blood from the Mouth: As he's dying.
- Die Laughing: Starts laughing at John's joke before passing away.
- Everyone Has Standards: While he laughs easily, racist jokes just make him uncomfortable.
- Evil Lawyer Joke: Blacksad makes one as Neal's dying. Neal takes it in good humor and dies doing what he loves best: laughing.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Blacksad. They're at loggerheads at first, despite having the same goal of finding Chad, mainly because Blacksad intends to rip his legs off. The two become fast friends on the journey, however.
- Friend to All Children: Despite looking like a slimy lawyer, he's a good guy and and gets along well with Ray, John's nephew.
- Handsome Lech: Hits on several women, including John's sister.
- Hidden Depths: On the surface, he's a slick, fast-talking Ambulance Chaser. Beneath that, he's got a heart of solid gold and is probably the only person in Chad's life that actually gives a damn about him. He's also a skilled musician and great with kids.
- The Hyena: Literally and figuratively. He's always got a huge grin on, or slapping his knees in laughter. Lampshaded by a racist parrot, who thinks it's odd that a hyena doesn't have a sense of humor, missing the subtext that Neal's just uncomfortable with his particular brand of (racist) humor (and Blacksad is clearly fuming next to the parrot). He does laugh his ass off when Blacksad decks the parrot in the eye, though.
- Love at First Sight: At the end of the story, Neal implies that he genuinely fell in love with Donna rather than just being flirty.
- Nice Guy: Despite being a lawyer, he is really nice, even happily hanging out with Jay, John's nephew.
- Omnidisciplinary Lawyer: He's Chad's literary agent, but is also seen advertising his services as a personal injury, civil rights, and criminal defense lawyer. It's not clear if he's even competent in these subfields, but he's certainly prepared to take advantage of any opportunity that comes his way.
- Rage Breaking Point: Is a pretty fun and happy fellow until he gets fed up with Chad's issues.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Chad after the latter displays one too many examples of self-loathing idiocy. He tells Chad about how sick he is of Chad's angsty artist persona, and tells him that he can't just keep dragging people down with him.
- The Social Expert: He's really good at reading people and weaseling information out of them by appealing to their baser instincts. It's the one investigative skill where he's got Blacksad beat.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Gives a short one to Blacksad, amusingly the incident is what make them friendlier.Neal: Ok the guy was an asshole, but you got to admit it's dangerous to punch someone that's driving.
Luanne Eva Lange
- Dark and Troubled Past: Was 14 when she ran away from home after her family forced her into an abortion. Also, she's the granddaughter of a newspaper magnate.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Actually forced into one by her family in order to avoid a scandal.
- Ms. Fanservice: Part of her job at the Circus.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When she kills Polyphemus, her would-be rapist, saving Chad in the process.
- Rescue Romance: With Chad, after they rescue each other.
Donna & Ray
- Children Are Innocent: Ray has a childlike admiration of guns and really enjoys Neal's music.
- Disappeared Dad: Donna's father, as well as Ray's. Donna and John's father just fell off the map. Ray's moved away after the divorce.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Donna triggers this from John when Neal wolf-whistles at her. That being said, he's not very menacing about this.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Ray is just adorable.
Elmore Kupka
- Accidental Murder: Falls off a train when attacking both John and Chad.
- The Hypocrite: Wanted to execute Chad for killing a fellow circus member, but was quick to jump at the chance to turn in Luanne for a big reward. Gets called on it by Simon, the circus manager.
- Depraved Dwarf: This might be normal, being a koala, but he's practically a dwarf. However what he lacks in height, he more than compensates with being evil (check other tropes).
- Knight Templar: Will stop at nothing to make sure the circus survives, even if he gets expelled from it.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Even John has trouble dealing with him during their fight.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Dies in a lousy way after betraying his own circus code by trying to capture Luane for a reward.
- Sad Clown: Only while on the job.
They all Fall Down (Parts 1 and 2)
Solomon
- Brutal Bird of Prey: He's a falcon, which is indicative both of his absent fear of heights as well as his ability to zero in on threats and take them out with ruthless precision.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: There are secrets he buried as he made his companies that he is ready to send assassins to kill for.
- A God Am I: While he hasn't compared himself to a god as yet, it's clear that he has a huge ego. Kenneth Clarke implicitly compares him to Horus, the falcon god of Egypt.
- I Own This Town: The journalists refers to him as the king of New York, as his tenure has lasted longers than mayors and he has an even more absolute control on the city. In other words, he's a Deep State bureaucrat at the city level.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: He manages to escape any consequences for the string of murders he had Shelby commit thanks to the bird being unable to testify, with the most judgment he faces being either criticism of his continued shady actions by Weekly in the press, or public allegations of graft and mismanagement by Kirchner. In the final pages, the Solomon Bridge, the crown jewel of his legacy, is closed for maintenance over safety concerns, later revealed to be sabotage by Rachel; Solomon watches in horror as a storm tears it to pieces, ensuring he'll be remembered as a failure responsible for a disaster.
- Meaningless Villain Victory: Solomon's victory against Blacksad in escaping justice did little for him in the end as Rachel had laid the tracks needed to sabotage his victory.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is a stand-in of Robert Moses, with his construction and urban planning outlasting mayors and crippling public transportation projects like the subway.
- Visionary Villain: As the great building master of the New York City government, he seeks to modernize the city for the benefit of a "better" class of people.
Rachel Zucco
- Beatnik: She's explicitly described as one by Weekly's editor.
- Broken Pedestal: She isn't happy that Iris is mooching off the elite to keep the theater troop open as they also stage manifestation of the same elite a few days later.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Weekly is immediately smitten with her, and she manages to get the attention of most men who meet her, including some unwanted advances.
- Spanner in the Works: She masquerades as the assistant of Solomon's chief engineer in order to sabotage the Solomon Bridge during construction, resulting in its complete destruction during a rainstorm at the end of Part Two.
- Younger and Hipper: She gets her job as reporter because she isn't part of the old sensationalist school of reporting Weekly is from.
Iris Allen
