Blacksad (2010)

Probably the most familiar Spanish comic in English, and a hardboiled detective series in which every character is an animal whose species suits its personality. John Blacksad, a cat private eye, works late-1950s America, and Juanjo Guarnido's painted art gives every snout and whisker real acting. Because writer Juan Díaz Canales and Guarnido first published it in French, many readers never realize it is Spanish. Start with this 2010 Dark Horse hardcover, which gathers the first three albums, Somewhere Within the Shadows, Arctic Nation and Red Soul, in one book. The later two-part They All Fall Down, set in New York, is the place to go next.