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How does that apply to Rocky Roads?
Noir, used in this way, means dark. It implies a foreboding often gloomy landscape. In the city it implies the less reputable parts of town. Dark streets and alleys. Psychologically, it implies negative thoughts, a gloomy mood, dark demeanor, etc. The noir genre often involves crime, with murder as a frequent focus. Although the psychological characteristics just mentioned don’t generally apply to Rocky and his team of investigators, they do apply to some or sometimes to all of Rocky’s clients. Film Noir movies never work in color, to create the right atmosphere they must be filmed in black and white. Likewise the Rocky Roads graphic novel series has to be done in black and white. For example the opening scene in The Case of the Portuguese Pigeon demands black and white. I did a color version but it still came out dark, but the light from the flood lights did not work nearly as well. In the scenes in the P Pigeon when Rocky is in confrontation with his foe, the Fat Man would not be nearly as sinister in color as he is in black and white. One of the problems with color is the background. This is especially true with cartoons. In color cartoons the background stands out more, distracting from the main action in the foreground. Color tends to blend the whole scene together. With black and white the artist can focus more on the figures.
