InsaneJournal

We first meet Blacksad as he's now a chaparone/bodyguard for an elderly man named Hewitt Mandeline in Las Vegas (fulfilling a promise he made in the end of Arctic Nation)...





As you can tell, he's having the time of his life (although arguably, it isn't the worst job in the world).



Apparently, the talk about atomic energy isn't well received by the public, since during this time, there was fear of atomic war between Russia and the United States and this was during the time of anti-Communism and the Second Red Scare...



To sum up the backstory: Professor Otto Liebber was a former school teacher of Blacksad who is hinted (though it's not really elborated) that he helped Blacksad during his rebellious teenager years and encouraged him to grow and move past being a runaway and a juvenile delinquent. In fact, Otto fondly calls Blacksad "Prodigal" (I assumed it a nickname from Otto's father who was a minister) and a hidden message between the mentor and former student was "everyone deserves a second chance". Thus, Blacksad looks up to Otto as a father-figure of sorts.

Since Professor Liebber and Blacksad are close friends, Gotfield (the Dalmatian and a "smug asshole" as Blacksad endears him as) invites Blacksad to Liebber's party with the other "Twelve Apostles":





But it seems not everything is well even in within the Twelve Apsotles...





It turns out that the assassin (named "Ribs") only killed Otero because he thought he was Professor Liebber due to Otero wearing Liebber's hat. And the rooster you see is Senator Gallo, an allegory to Senator Joe McCarthy...

But due to Otero's death, Blacksad surmises that Professor Liebber's life is in danger and he goes to the university to try to talk him into going into hiding...





And the students arguing in the scan above are because the girls apparently swooned over seeing Blacksad pass by, much to their fellow male classmates' chargin...







THAT is unquestionably one of Blacksad's most bad-assed moments to date.

Blacksad manages to catch up to Ribs and despite laying him a good smackdown, Ribs gets away and strangely enough, Professor Liebber has vanished. Blacksad then talks with his friend Commissioner Smirnov, who tells him that the investigations revealed that the explosive Ribs used was a unknown chemical mixture, nothing that the techs have ever seen before in their lives. Apaprently, the explosive is so complex, they can't identify it. Blacksad then remembers that the genius chemist, Laszlo Herzl, had no love for Professor Leibber and he WAS at Gotfield's party before Otero was killed. Thus, a little visit to Herzl's house...



But just as Blacksad thinks he's got the case closed, he then gets a rather troubling revelation...

It seems the good Professor has been indeed hiding something...



Enjoy! And mods, if I did something wrong, let me know and I'll fix it.