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Torpedo #1-3

Torpedo 1

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So zynisch und böse wie SIN CITY: Der Start der fünfbändigen Gesamtausgabe des Comic-Klassikers TORPEDO!

Die 1980 für die spanische „Creepy"-Ausgabe geschaffene Serie um den absolut amoralischen, keinem Ehrenkodex folgenden Killer Torpedo, der im Amerika des Jahres 1936 sein Unwesen treibt, wurde schon bald zu einem großen Erfolg. „Torpedo" gewann 1986 auf dem Comicfestival in Angoulême den Preis für das beste Album des Jahres.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

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207 people want to read

About the author

Enrique Sánchez Abulí

181 books22 followers
Enrique Sánchez Abulí (born 20 February 1945) is a Spanish comics author, well known for his participation in the Spanish comics industry. His most famous work is the darkly comical gangster comics saga Torpedo in collaboration with Jordi Bernet.

He is son of the also writer Enrique Sánchez Pascual.

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5 stars
106 (31%)
4 stars
145 (43%)
3 stars
67 (19%)
2 stars
15 (4%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Ill D.
Author 0 books8,594 followers
November 20, 2018
I picked up this very volume a few times before, admittedly struggled to get into it, and never got quite past the 20 page mark. Through sheer force of will (and a heavily loaded pot of black coffee helped) I recently grinded my way through this ~150 page compendium. While generally enjoyable: A: there’s a lot to slosh/wade through, and B: Torpedo is definitely not for everyone.

As an effect of an era, not quite a failure of the author/illustrators to be sure, working through a medium that has been beyond pillaged to detrimental effect, a million distillations have weakened the original strength of Film Noir. Given that nothing has quite been duplicated, reduplicated, and revamped/rebooted an innumerable times as Film Noir, any tale sampling it’s essential components: a hard-boiled detective, a gritty 30’s/40’s era underworld, and a harshly amoral landscape can only be compared against a million other carbon-copies. Already cooked into something of a cinematographic gumbo, it becomes imperative that the creators make their own original content stand out strongly in this highly oversaturated milieu.

Enter: Luca a.k.a. Torpedo, our homicidal, gun-toting, titular hitman who plys his murderous trade in mid-20th Century New York. Featuring mini-stories that are loosely tied by theme and place, there’s no real over-arc here, just snippets from the fictional, “In the day in the life of a New York Hitman.” Microscopic in nature, there’s almost an Aesopic feel with each tiny, closed loop ending on some type of zinger that reflects not a moral but the internalized ending of an unseen ourorborous. Consuming first the ending then the introductions, these tiny-tales sometimes add to the characterization/back-story of our anti-hero, but most are just expositions of typical gangster fare.

And in fact, it is this pretty-much opaque darkness that most sets Torpedo apart from his Film-Noir derived peers. Taking one step past that of the amoral and the violent, Abuli’s work is uniquely characterized by its extraordinarily dark sense of humor and the uncompromising sensibilities that follow. As an acquired taste, or a debasement from one’s own degenerate predilections, any laughs within are highly unconventional and strictly amoral. Somewhat reflecting parallels in Tarantino’s two best works, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, the black humor is there, the charm that made characters lovable like Mr. White and Jules Winfield is not. Without a modicum of complexity, or even a scintilla of moral or personal depth, Torpedo is a mere strongman out for no one other than himself.

Which brings me to my last point, no matter one’s opinion on the execution, or the stylistic implementations within, the greatest weakness here is that of Torpedo’s character. To repeat myself, as out for no one other than himself (sans an occasionally appearing low-IQ shorty who acts more as a cat’s paw than a properly bodied side-kick) Luca’s M.O. serves none but himself. With no moral or social imperative beyond that of a ruthlessly, biologically reduced masculinity that reflects a brutally simplistic dichotomy – embodied only in the urges to fight and fuck – Torpedo is far more biomechanical automaton than a free-will laden human.

Irregardless of all my criticisms, I still think there is a generally good read here. Yet, Torpedo is as he always was, an extremely particular taste that will delight few, offend many, and puzzle many more.

Read with coffee on tap.
Profile Image for Juho Pohjalainen.
Author 5 books348 followers
March 30, 2020
The tale of one real hardass mobster. He's not one bit better than the rest of them - not the slightest redeeming quality shown - but he's our mobster I guess, and we learn enough of him to maybe potentially root for him a little bit, if you're the type to go for that in the first place. The stories themselves are entertaining enough, after all, and well-plotted, and bite-sized.

I'll be keeping on going with this.
Profile Image for XenofoneX.
250 reviews355 followers
October 20, 2019
Thanks in part to Jordi Bernet's excellent art on DC's reboot of Jonah Hex, IDW published these gorgeously illustrated volumes collecting the entire "Torpedo" saga. A gangster tale set in 1936 Chicago, this is some of the blackest comedy I've seen in bande dessinee. Bernet has a knack for drawing the female form, and writer Abuli affords him plenty of opportunities to show it off. Volume 1 also includes the first couple strips by Alex Toth, who was the original artist before disputes with Abuli over the sex and violence prompted his departure. Toth is great, but Bernet owns this strip the second his pen hits the paper. Another review described the art as rushed, and referred to this book as a 'great first draft', complaining that Luca's appearance changed from panel to panel. I can only say that some people have different artistic tastes... and some people have no fucking clue what they're babbling about. "Torpedo" is politically incorrect, misogynistic, and the humor misfires 4 times out of 5, but the artwork of Jordi Bernet is beautifully expressive and seemingly effortless in a way that most artists would kill to master. The Karloff-like features of Luca Torelli are remarkably consistent, but Bernet is still able to communicate subtle changes in mood with a carefully positioned line fragment that is indicative of his brilliance. Compared to Cathy or Dilbert or whatever the fuck papers are running it might seem complicated, but some practice operating your sequential art will yield a deeper appreciation for the many styles and stories available. If I've offended anyone with my remarks I'm really sorry, just not enough to delete anything or be sincere.
Profile Image for Mohammed  Abdikhader  Firdhiye .
423 reviews7 followers
November 17, 2011
This is not the first time i have read Torpedo, i have read Volume 3 before this. I knew what to expect. But still this volume was better than volume 3. Written better, funnier and had even more hardcore,amoral Luca "aka" Torpedo just the way i like it. The many short stories are either darkly funny or just very bleak. It will be too vulgar,dark for some readers who dont like the sense of humor or noir stories.

When you dont laugh at Torpedo he is the most twisted gangster i have read in books, comics, seen in films. He makes other hitman,mobsters look like priest, saints.

Alex Toth drew the first issues of the series but left i read because it was too dark in tone. I can see what he means even if i like it very much. Toth is legendary name in american comics and his art was vivid,very nice. But Torpedo series is not the same without the stunning art of the masterful Jordi Bernet. When you see the first issue drawn by Bernet its like the art rose to new levels. Torpedo and others characters suddenly look like they always should have been drawn.
Profile Image for Bob Fish.
517 reviews70 followers
December 9, 2025
bernet

When master Alex Toth found Abulí’s script too dark, Jordi Bernet stepped in — and pulled off the impossible: he didn’t just take over Torpedo, he made it his own… and made it even better.
He made it a classic.

https://youtu.be/K3rQwJ2_jUo
Profile Image for Marquise.
1,956 reviews1,441 followers
May 11, 2016
Funny at times, and with really good art by Jordi Bernet, an artist I like very much.

The main character, Luca, isn’t that captivating from the beginning. In fact, he can be seen as unlikable and that makes it a bit hard to get into the story, so if you like your characters fairly layered or be good people, better forget about our man Torpedo. This nickname comes from his occupation, as he is a "torpedo" in the service of any of the Dons that'll pay him enough, that is: an assassin-for-hire of the Mafia, and he truly has no scruples at all and is a real unrepentant bad apple. That's the whole point, though, because Luca isn't meant to be a "good guy" but rather an anti-hero readers can at least still find entertaining and amusing if not sympathetic.

There's plenty of vulgarity, violence and amorality in the plot, told in short vignettes of about 9 to 12 pages, but it's meant to be a gritty comedy rather than a grimdark Mafia tale. The humour is of the black, gallows sort and it might be offensive for some readers as it's too politically incorrect in relation to women and ethnicity and other hot topics. But it's not just that, as much of the hilarity comes from wordplay and honest linguistic mistakes, because Luca is an uneducated mafioso from Sicily that doesn't speak English despite living in America for decades now, and as he's semi-illiterate, he often mispronounces phrases or uses words in a hilariously incorrect fashion that's meant to make the reader laugh out loud, like when he says "an enthusiastic ovulation" meaning an enthusiastic ovation or "a genital idea" when he means a genius idea. Unfortunately, often the humour of the wordplay is lost in translation or doesn't sound as funny in English as in the original Spanish this comics series was written in.

Would I recommend this? Probably not. It isn't for everyone. You have to be used to this type of stories and have a decent level of tolerance to bleak and gritty storytelling. I do, but the reason I picked this up was Bernet first and foremost, as I really love his style, and not the story itself as I'm just about moderately interested in gangster settings and I found it quite unsatisfying overall despite the fair few chuckles it caused.

Profile Image for Drew Canole.
3,182 reviews44 followers
August 13, 2017
Short, concise, gangster stories. To anyone that's watched a few gangster films, these stories feel very familiar. In the comics world, this is like Tatsumi-light.
Profile Image for Elfo-oscuro.
811 reviews36 followers
December 17, 2020
De lo mejor que puedes leer sobre un gangster cabron y sus lios con otros tipos y mujeres. Increible el dibujo de Bernet y sorprendente el guión de Abulí.
Si lees el 1querras leer los otros 4 volumenes de Torpedo 1936
Profile Image for Jim Reddy.
308 reviews13 followers
April 21, 2020
The main character is a hitman in the 1930s. Dark stories with dark humor that I found to be hit and miss. On the other hand the art by both Alex Toth and Jordi Bernet is fantastic.

I read the first three stories in Warren’s Vampirella in the 70s. I remember really liking the first two especially since the art was by Alex Toth. I also remember being disappointed when I discovered a new artist had taken over with the third story. I was initially turned off by Bernet’s much grittier art work.

My tastes have changed over the years though. Now I’m a huge Jordi Bernet fan. His looser and grittier art fits the dark tone of the stories well.

Art by both artists: 5
Stories range from 3 to 4.
Profile Image for Rural Soul.
550 reviews89 followers
September 17, 2020
One of those European comics which are best because of uniqueness. These are short stories focusing life of an Italian immigrant by name of Luca "Torpedo" Torelli. An immigrant started as shoepolisher turned ruthless contract killer.
The art is amazing but black and white contrast doesn't seem natural for young readers. Some of stories lack of depth. Overall beautiful depiction of 1930's era of crime and immigration.
Profile Image for Aaron.
Author 4 books20 followers
October 17, 2017
This is not for everyone, because the hero is a heartless murderer and rapist. However, Bernet's artwork is brilliant -- sort of like Frank Robbins except better in every way -- and Sanchez Abuli's stories are witty and clever.
Profile Image for Alex.
812 reviews36 followers
July 26, 2018
This is pure crime comics, best of the best. Can't get any better than that.
Profile Image for Korynn.
517 reviews9 followers
February 9, 2010
Dark stuff. Torpedo is a man who demands respect, will take any job that means good money, is not afraid of killing, and has very shaky morals. In one story he stops himself from raping a woman because she brings up their homeland only to become enraged at her and himself, hitting her in a fury. In another he happily rapes an unwilling woman when her father admits he is unable to pay money for the service Torpedo has rendered in killing a boss who was leaning on the father. In short, he is a man of his period, a violent gangster who inhabits a land in which the dollar is king, as proved in a story when he kills his old friend who has a hit out on him by the mob, because Torpedo can't bear the idea of someone else getting the money for killing his friend (although it could also be thought he would be kinder in killing his friend than strangers). Bernet's art sizzles with stacked women and knife edge suits despite a bizarre rendering of faces that makes Torpedo look like Pruneface.
Profile Image for Ryan.
1,282 reviews12 followers
November 8, 2018
My wife would hate this. As would anyone else who is sensitive to depictions of rape, racism, murder, or anyone of the many other things that the protagonist is guilty of. Are there any redeeming stories or characters in any of this collection? Well definitely not in this volume. Why do I like it? Well the art is pretty nice. And the stories are so unapologetic, that they go in directions I have never read before. Biggest complaint would have to be how the stories are so short and serialized. But I'm sure (not knowing the whole history of this comic) that they were originally published this way. Me complaining about this would be like complaining a collection of Peanuts comics only has a bunch of 5 panel strips. My only hope is that future volumes may contain stories written in a different format from time to time. We will see....
Profile Image for Jason McNamara.
17 reviews19 followers
April 17, 2010
If I had a time machine I go back and give this to a nine year old me. Probably the best gangster book of all time.
Profile Image for Neven.
Author 3 books409 followers
May 30, 2018
Relentlessly sadistic, with a truly rotten antihero—stories told efficiently, with style and marvelously fitting art.
Profile Image for Ritinha.
712 reviews137 followers
October 5, 2018
Não é do livro, é de mim, que não sou fã de short stories.
Profile Image for Cristina.
692 reviews48 followers
February 9, 2018
https://osrascunhos.com/2018/02/08/o-...

O Torpedo é a nova colecção lançada pela Levoir em parceria com o jornal Público. O primeiro volume apresenta-nos um assassino a soldo (e daí advém o título, uma alusão à capacidade de perseguir o alvo até este ser atingido) – na prática trata-se de um homem que procurou o sonho americano e que viu as expectativas de fortuna em troca de trabalho falhadas.

Humilhado por aqueles que, à sua volta, detém maior poder, sem dinheiro suficiente para se sustentar devidamente, Luca Torelli, vira o tabuleiro e transforma-se num assassino – a arma confere-lhe o poder de que necessita para alimentar o ego e uma forma de se deitar com as belas mulheres com quem se cruza.

Personagem moldada pelas circunstâncias, vingativa e de humor peculiar, Torpedo revela instintos básicos e impulsos previsíveis, que o fazem cair em pequenas esparrelas – são episódios com os quais aprenderá a ser mais precavido e a andar acompanhado, utilizando, nos seus planos, um sócio trapalhão que serve como moço de recados .

As histórias de Torpedo 1936 são curtas, cerca de 10 páginas cada uma, fazendo com que cada volume possua várias aventuras. A maioria possui finais irónicos de humor corrosivo, que combina com a personagem de instintos crus que nos é apresentada. Torpedo é, simultaneamente, uma personagem que tece planos elaborados para os alvos para os quais é contratado, e uma personagem que vai aproveitando as ocasiões que se lhe apresentam, numa esperteza saloia que nem sempre retorna os frutos desejados.
Profile Image for Rey.
272 reviews23 followers
December 21, 2025
Cant remember the last time where experienced such a fall off.

Its a collection of short stories of a gangster.

1/3 of the book was incredibly cool, it was to be a 5 on 5 for me.

Then... it got pretty despicable. Draw the line at sexual assault and becomes about a moralless bad guy. There needs to be some kind of code, in order for you to buy into ones story, this was just unpleasant.

Found especially all the stories with the sidekick, dont have the same level of depth as the solo ones, the dialogue there gets basic, and all about him being a fool and being bullied. The quality of stories drop off remarkably.

Overall, some cool stories, some just unpleasant. The art style is good, but wished there was a code or morality for the character.
Profile Image for Ricky Lima.
Author 7 books16 followers
July 24, 2023
This is a tough one to rate. On one hand the art is gorgeous! I can look at these black and white pages all day. The shadows and sense of movement are fantastic. On the other hand the writing is hatefully misogynistic. Like not a single female character shows up that isn't sexually assaulted, it's insane. Now I understand that Abuli is looking to make a dark and gritty world where no one is good, but yikes. Idk, the stories about Torpedo just doing random jobs and dressing up as whacky characters are fun, but all the SA really hampers the book. Different time I guess.

This rating is for the art, the writing is like a 3 at best.
Profile Image for Juan Fuentes.
Author 7 books77 followers
January 6, 2018
El trabajo de Bernet es clave para dar personalidad a este Torpedo, personaje cínico, cruel, machista y algo bruto. Con los guiones de Abulí que tiran de los tópicos del género y dibujan historias breves, concisas, que funcionan muy bien con esos toques de humor y sus inevitables juegos de palabras (¿Cómo se lo habrán montado los traductores?).
Leídos hoy puede escandalizar el tono misógino de algunas escenas, pero no olvidemos que el protagonista no es un modelo de virtudes, no deja de ser un asesino a sueldo.
Profile Image for Fernando Delfim.
400 reviews12 followers
August 17, 2020
"Não há pequenos inimigos. Sei-o desde aquele dia"

"As mulheres não suportam a verdade"

"- Estes filmes põem-me os cabelos em pé
- Já te viste ao espelho?"

"- [não está] ninguém. O que eu receava
- Eu receava o contrário"

"- Já vi a sua cara em qualquer lado
- É estranho. Trago-a sempre comigo"

"O meu velho costumava dizer que o animal mais curioso do mundo era a mulher, e depois, o gato, e que ambos eram pérfidos como felinos. Ou queria dizer fulanas?"

Profile Image for Orion.
395 reviews31 followers
January 5, 2022
Torpedo is a Spanish graphic novel series written by Enrique Sánchez Abulí and drawn by Jordi Bernet. Torpedo is the nickname for hitman Luca Torelli in Depression Era New York City. This is the first of five volumes published in English between 2009 and 2014. This volume includes the first two entries in the series illustrated by Alex Toth. This is great comic noir and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Profile Image for Alessandro.
1,550 reviews
October 10, 2023
Luca Torelli, detto Torpedo. Sicuramente uno dei più riusciti esempi di fumetto noir di tutti i tempi, caratterizzato da uno humor nero marcato, che è uno dei tratti distintivi di Abuli, il suo sceneggiatore. Disegnato da colossi dei comics come Alex Toth e Jordi Bernet, Torpedo è un personaggio immancabile nella biblioteca del VERO appassionato di comics. Questo è il primo volume dell’opera omnia in italiano, pubblicato da Glenat.
Profile Image for Michael.
3,390 reviews
May 25, 2017
via NYPL - Absolutely beautiful artwork throughout - Toth and Bernet are masters. The stories are quite good as well, extremely dark, with a deeply cynical sense of humor. I'd definitely like to read more.
Profile Image for Christian.
586 reviews42 followers
March 20, 2018
Die Inkarnation des vollkommen unmoralischen Gangster-Antihelden, gefasst in angemessenes schwarz-weiß. Dafür, dass es sich hierbei nur um Kurzgeschichten mit grundsätzlich gleichem Inhalt handelt, verdammt unterhaltsam.
Profile Image for João Teixeira.
2,313 reviews44 followers
July 4, 2024
Consigo perceber a importância e o contributo destes autores no contexto da BD europeia. Não creio que estas histórias teneham sido pensadas para editar em álbum, antes de forma regular em revista, daí que não haja uma grande preocupação de continuidade ou de repetição no argumento... De facto, as histórias vão, de certa forma, repetindo-se (assassino contratado pra matar, ajudante néscio, misoginia em barda...).
Vale a pena ler, mas acaba por se tornar "cansativo"... Mais uma vez, estas histórias não foram elaboradas para serem lidas todas de seguida, por isso talvez o melhor até seja ler, por exemplo, uma por semana.
Profile Image for Michael Gordon.
Author 6 books32 followers
July 23, 2023
Unapologetically brutal thirties gangster stories written by Sanchez Abuli. Master craftsman Alex Toth sets the tone illustrating the first two tales, but Jordi Bernet shines with his exceptionally stylized imagery.
Profile Image for Greg S.
709 reviews18 followers
October 15, 2023
Noir so distilled it’s almost satire.
Doesn’t always make sense, but it’s a shoot-first-ask questions-later kind of comic.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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