them and she and Chad escape on the road, to repay Chad for not ratting her out and with mutual thanks they catch a train to start a new life—but Elmore (a koala), the circus leader, finds out they have escaped. Blacksad and Neal make a stop at Blacksad's sister's (Donna) church, and borrow a car from her and her enthusiastic little son (Ray). Eventually the both of them catch up with the circus. Blacksad questions Elmore about Chad, but Elmore lies and betrays Blacksad to the police. After escaping, Blacksad follows and eavesdrops on Elmore as he tries to kill Chad by throwing him off the moving train, however Elmore misses and plummets to his death. Blacksad sees Chad and Luanne embrace, and realizes what has happened. At a Greyhound Bus depot in Chicago, Blacksad and Neal arrange for Luanne to stay with Blacksad's sister for a while. Neal promises to represent Chad and get him off with less than a year for the manslaughter of Abe, and help him publish his manuscript—the fabulous payout from Chad's manuscript will make both of them rich. However, out of guilt, Chad has thrown the manuscript away, comparing it to toilet paper. Neal is outraged, and their loud arguing attracts a crowd. Chad tries to stop Neal from walking away, but in grabbing his coat, accidentally imbalances Neal into the road and he is violently hit by one of the buses. Blacksad runs to the ensuing commotion and sees Chad, distraught, holding the bleeding and broken body of Neal in his arms. While the crowd murmurs that Chad pushed him, Neal's last words mention how he fell in love with Blacksad's sister from the moment he saw her. Blacksad and Chad flee. He finds Luanne as she is about to leave and insists Chad go with her, and lie low for a while, while he deals with the police. Blacksad approaches, and is about to be handcuffed... when Chad stops them, and confesses everything, hoping to atone for what he has done. Blacksad returns to New York, eager to get back to work, and water his plants. Meanwhile, in a bathroom stall back in the Chicago Greyhound Bus depot, a well-to-do man finds an abandoned manuscript in the bathroom, and is engrossed in reading it. The American version features an introduction by Neal Adams, who co-translated the book into English. They all