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Moore and Zarate collaborate on a graphic novel full of irony and tension. Adman Timothy Hole is about to get a crack at the the big one: selling the diet drink sensation Flite to the U.S.S.R. Except someone wants him dead. Little murders, tiny betrayals, the small homicides with which we ease the passage of our lives -- these are the stuff of A Small Killing.
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
9 people are currently reading
768 people want to read
About the author
Alan Moore
1,578 books21.7k followersAlan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
November 8, 2025
Chilling story of a corporate executive who is being 'stalked' by a young boy who may be trying to kill him. Very unusual story even for AM. One can approach the story from several different perspectives; and because of that it makes the story all the more disturbing. Could see this story as an episode of The Twilight Zone.
July 6, 2015
Before I wrote this review I had just read this 100 page 1991 book twice, last night, and again today. Between readings I skimmed some reviews, to see why it had such a low rating. Because I was intrigued by the book, what Moore and Zarate were trying to do with it, and it seemed like a kind of departure for Moore in some ways. I read this because I like Alan Moore, in all his complicated and sometime infuriating glory and weirdness and verbosity. But you know, the guy that wrote Watchmen and From Hell, you gotta take a second look, especially since when he was asked what were his favorite under-appreciated books, he listed this first and foremost. Obscure choice? Maybe.
But I liked it. I didn't much like at first Oscar Zarate's 80's kooky too-colorful art and thought it was disruptive and infuriating, especially the overwhelming crowd scenes that also bugged other readers. Made it tough to read. Disjointed. But one review set me down a useful path, I think. He said it was a masterpiece that was highly influenced by some narrative choices in Nabokov's Lolita, which I had read fairly recently, and I saw that he was riffing off Nabokov. I noticed throughout all the Lolita references, and liked that play with another text, a tribute to its style. But the reviewer said A Small Killing was also highly influenced by the films of Nicholas Roeg, and that required me to recall Roeg's filmography: the weird Performance (with Mick Jagger), Walkabout, Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth (with David Bowie). Trippy, experimental films, often introspective. Roeg's films are known for being disjointed, out of chronological and causal order. They seem unpredictable, sometimes leaving you wondering what the hell just happened. Recalling Roeg helped me understand A Small Killing, which I see as Moore's and Zarate's homage to Roeg and Nabokov (I don't know how collaborative the process really was), and a commentary on the eighties, which I know Moore hated.
The story is about a pretty unlikeable rising ad executive (which you can imagine would be hard for Moore to make likeable) who scores an opportunity to market a soft drink in Moscow, but who has also recently had an affair that broke up his longer termed relationship. What we know from the title and cover and early on in the story, like From Hell, is that a killing will take place, (and not just a financial "killing," haha) and our ad person is really afraid it is going to be him. And we basically know it is going to be him. So whodunnit is not the issue here. Almost all of it, ala Nabokov, happens as interior monologue, sometimes almost stream of consciousness, with much guilty and obsessive and possibly paranoid fears. Is he paranoid, or is he really being followed, ala Lolita's Humbert? It's about the interior process of going mad as much as anything else.
Unlike most of Moore's work, there's less talk, and he isn't doing all this verbose commentary he usually does, and Moore and Zarate are trying to communicate something about subjective space, through their storytelling, through disruptive narration, through strange disjointed color and shapes and this overwhelming crowd noise, where we hear everyone talking at once. It's disorienting. The plot itself is sort of straightforward, simple, though we don't always know what is real, but that's what is at issue, really, as with Roeg and Nabokov, is messing with point of view enough to give you vertigo. And it gets at the neo-liberal eighties and globalism, which enraged and disoriented Moore. So none of it is "fun", it's a kind of nightmare.
So thanks to one Goodreads reviewer that turned me on to the Roeg connection, I came to appreciate this homage they are doing and this commentary on art and narrative and culture. Like a few others, including Moore, I see it as a neglected classic… though I still don't "like" all of Zarate's art. It's not likeable at all, really, except that is an ambitious artistic endeavor. At least I appreciate what I think they were trying to do! Maybe for some it didn't really come off that well, but I found it interesting.
But I liked it. I didn't much like at first Oscar Zarate's 80's kooky too-colorful art and thought it was disruptive and infuriating, especially the overwhelming crowd scenes that also bugged other readers. Made it tough to read. Disjointed. But one review set me down a useful path, I think. He said it was a masterpiece that was highly influenced by some narrative choices in Nabokov's Lolita, which I had read fairly recently, and I saw that he was riffing off Nabokov. I noticed throughout all the Lolita references, and liked that play with another text, a tribute to its style. But the reviewer said A Small Killing was also highly influenced by the films of Nicholas Roeg, and that required me to recall Roeg's filmography: the weird Performance (with Mick Jagger), Walkabout, Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth (with David Bowie). Trippy, experimental films, often introspective. Roeg's films are known for being disjointed, out of chronological and causal order. They seem unpredictable, sometimes leaving you wondering what the hell just happened. Recalling Roeg helped me understand A Small Killing, which I see as Moore's and Zarate's homage to Roeg and Nabokov (I don't know how collaborative the process really was), and a commentary on the eighties, which I know Moore hated.
The story is about a pretty unlikeable rising ad executive (which you can imagine would be hard for Moore to make likeable) who scores an opportunity to market a soft drink in Moscow, but who has also recently had an affair that broke up his longer termed relationship. What we know from the title and cover and early on in the story, like From Hell, is that a killing will take place, (and not just a financial "killing," haha) and our ad person is really afraid it is going to be him. And we basically know it is going to be him. So whodunnit is not the issue here. Almost all of it, ala Nabokov, happens as interior monologue, sometimes almost stream of consciousness, with much guilty and obsessive and possibly paranoid fears. Is he paranoid, or is he really being followed, ala Lolita's Humbert? It's about the interior process of going mad as much as anything else.
Unlike most of Moore's work, there's less talk, and he isn't doing all this verbose commentary he usually does, and Moore and Zarate are trying to communicate something about subjective space, through their storytelling, through disruptive narration, through strange disjointed color and shapes and this overwhelming crowd noise, where we hear everyone talking at once. It's disorienting. The plot itself is sort of straightforward, simple, though we don't always know what is real, but that's what is at issue, really, as with Roeg and Nabokov, is messing with point of view enough to give you vertigo. And it gets at the neo-liberal eighties and globalism, which enraged and disoriented Moore. So none of it is "fun", it's a kind of nightmare.
So thanks to one Goodreads reviewer that turned me on to the Roeg connection, I came to appreciate this homage they are doing and this commentary on art and narrative and culture. Like a few others, including Moore, I see it as a neglected classic… though I still don't "like" all of Zarate's art. It's not likeable at all, really, except that is an ambitious artistic endeavor. At least I appreciate what I think they were trying to do! Maybe for some it didn't really come off that well, but I found it interesting.
February 5, 2017
Just because you are a fan of Alan Moore, and A Small Killing happens to have his name slapped on the cover doesn't mean you are going to love this graphic novella. No sir, I didn't get whatever deconstruction of concepts this book has. I am simply not prepared (or way too dumb) for what A Small Killing has to offer. Beneath its simple plot about Timothy Hole in his quest to sell a soda brand in Russia and a creepy, playful child who haunts him is an internal monologue of how our adman "protagonist" sees the world and everything in between. His words for me are complex digressions from the central plot and I often find myself at lost with his train of thought.
Now I feel dumb against the other reviews that I have read here in Goodreads, which either praises the material or fleshes out the details I have deliberately neglected. Man, I just wish I had the same level of appreciation as theirs. As my final words before I succumb to reading mainstream comics, let me just say a clichéd phrase that summarizes my reading experience with A Small Killing: "this book is not for everybody".
Now I feel dumb against the other reviews that I have read here in Goodreads, which either praises the material or fleshes out the details I have deliberately neglected. Man, I just wish I had the same level of appreciation as theirs. As my final words before I succumb to reading mainstream comics, let me just say a clichéd phrase that summarizes my reading experience with A Small Killing: "this book is not for everybody".
August 2, 2022
En esta novela gráfica acompañamos a Timothy Hole, un comercial de bebidas que ha sido seleccionado para llevar a cabo una campaña publicitaria en Rusia.
El libro se divide en 4 partes en las que el protagonista viaja de Nueva York a Londres y de Londres a Sheffield, su pueblo de la infancia y donde aún residen sus padres.
Durante este camino se verá acosado por un niño muy sospechoso, así como por sus propios recuerdos y pensamientos que irán retorciéndose poco a poco generando un clima de inestabilidad constante.
Con esta novela gráfica queda patente que nada es lo que parece, que nuestras memorias no son fiables puesto que las modificamos a lo largo de los años y que todas las personas tenemos algo pendiente con ese niño que fuimos.
Sin duda una gran novela gráfica que hace reflexionar sobre muchos temas diferentes y con un estilo de dibujo fantástico que va cambiando en función de la necesidad de la historia.
Muy recomendable para todas aquellas personas mayores de 15 años que disfruten con este tipo de género.
El libro se divide en 4 partes en las que el protagonista viaja de Nueva York a Londres y de Londres a Sheffield, su pueblo de la infancia y donde aún residen sus padres.
Durante este camino se verá acosado por un niño muy sospechoso, así como por sus propios recuerdos y pensamientos que irán retorciéndose poco a poco generando un clima de inestabilidad constante.
Con esta novela gráfica queda patente que nada es lo que parece, que nuestras memorias no son fiables puesto que las modificamos a lo largo de los años y que todas las personas tenemos algo pendiente con ese niño que fuimos.
Sin duda una gran novela gráfica que hace reflexionar sobre muchos temas diferentes y con un estilo de dibujo fantástico que va cambiando en función de la necesidad de la historia.
Muy recomendable para todas aquellas personas mayores de 15 años que disfruten con este tipo de género.
June 27, 2024
Alan Moore's neglected masterpiece?
I don't really think so. Lots of references to Lolita - another masterpiece I don't get the appeal of.
An advertising man is being hounded by a small kid who seems to be following him around as he travels. It feels like paranoia at first, and Moore does an excellent job showing how disorientated the protagonist is. It's quite a manic read.
I wanted to check this out after reading artist Oscar Zarate's recent work Thomas Girtin: The Forgotten Painter (another neglected masterpiece!).
I don't really think so. Lots of references to Lolita - another masterpiece I don't get the appeal of.
An advertising man is being hounded by a small kid who seems to be following him around as he travels. It feels like paranoia at first, and Moore does an excellent job showing how disorientated the protagonist is. It's quite a manic read.
I wanted to check this out after reading artist Oscar Zarate's recent work Thomas Girtin: The Forgotten Painter (another neglected masterpiece!).
May 19, 2020
Hay dos partes claramente diferenciadas en esta obra: el día y la noche.
(1) El día, por su lado, es exageradamente colorido. Como si todo estuviera representado de tal forma que cualquier eventualidad trivial de la vida del protagonista o de los extras que a su lado pasan, fuese un comercial que se enfocara en la venta de todo lo que se puede ver, excepto las personas.
(2) La noche, por otra parte, es...
El resto de la reseña se encuentra en mi blog: https://jsaaopinionpersonal.wordpress...
(1) El día, por su lado, es exageradamente colorido. Como si todo estuviera representado de tal forma que cualquier eventualidad trivial de la vida del protagonista o de los extras que a su lado pasan, fuese un comercial que se enfocara en la venta de todo lo que se puede ver, excepto las personas.
(2) La noche, por otra parte, es...
El resto de la reseña se encuentra en mi blog: https://jsaaopinionpersonal.wordpress...
May 18, 2013
Here is a disorienting and uncomfortable journey into the exhausted and troubled mind of an advertising executive named Tim Hole. (Pronounced 'Holly', actually.)
Alan Moore and Oscar Zarate use a number of literary and artistic devices (respectively) to tell an unsettling story in an unsettling manner. For example, we are subjected to Hole's unedited stream of consciousness for the entire duration of the novel, so that it's almost as if we are the character. We hear what he hears, even if it is just snatches of conversation over the incoherent din of a crowd. The narrative is non-linear, jumping back and forth in time and making an already woozy story even dizzier. Zarate changes his art skillfully to partner Moore's writing. When Hole is lost in the fog of his own reflections, the environment around him is blurred and indistinct. When he has deluded himself into brief optimism, the drawing is sharp and brightly coloured. Flashbacks are hazy or grainy, and so on. The result is quite an immersive experience.
A style so vivid often coexists with a negligence of content, but that is not the case here. This is very much a book with a plot, and a cleverly constructed one at that. On top of all this, Moore and Zarate also manage to perfectly capture (in my mind at least) a small slice of the '80s zeitgeist. 'A Small Killing' has not received nearly as much recognition as some of Moore's other work, but I believe it deserves to be recognized as a landmark graphic novel.
Alan Moore and Oscar Zarate use a number of literary and artistic devices (respectively) to tell an unsettling story in an unsettling manner. For example, we are subjected to Hole's unedited stream of consciousness for the entire duration of the novel, so that it's almost as if we are the character. We hear what he hears, even if it is just snatches of conversation over the incoherent din of a crowd. The narrative is non-linear, jumping back and forth in time and making an already woozy story even dizzier. Zarate changes his art skillfully to partner Moore's writing. When Hole is lost in the fog of his own reflections, the environment around him is blurred and indistinct. When he has deluded himself into brief optimism, the drawing is sharp and brightly coloured. Flashbacks are hazy or grainy, and so on. The result is quite an immersive experience.
A style so vivid often coexists with a negligence of content, but that is not the case here. This is very much a book with a plot, and a cleverly constructed one at that. On top of all this, Moore and Zarate also manage to perfectly capture (in my mind at least) a small slice of the '80s zeitgeist. 'A Small Killing' has not received nearly as much recognition as some of Moore's other work, but I believe it deserves to be recognized as a landmark graphic novel.
February 25, 2019
Aí gente! Me desculpem mas acho que, de longe, este é o PIOR quadrinho do Alan Moore que eu já li em toda a minha vida. Muito mais do que um quadrinho experimental, é um quadrinho CHATO PACARAI, muito chato. Comprei esse quadrinho usado me perguntando por que raios o seu dono se livraria de um quadrinho do Alan Moore. E infelizmente entendi. Não adianta todo o buzz que a editora e seus afiliados provocam sobre o quadrinho se ele não cumpre o seu papel, né?! Além disso, a arte de Oscar Zarate é extremamente datada, um estilo bem anos 90 daqueles clip arts que vinham com o Word ou ainda o Write, e que você podia encontrar em capas de livros didáticos e outras coisas que queria pregar de moderninhas. Realmente esse quadrinho não me agradou nem um pouco, foi muita expectativa para pouquíssima entrega. O personagem não convence, o enredo não convence, a história é cheia de diálogos desnecessários e passa longe de qualquer genialidade que Alan Moore tenha apresentado em qualquer momento da sua carreira. Por sorte eu comprei essa HQ usada, porque ficaria muito irritado de ter pago o valor cheio dela.
November 25, 2018
Alan Moore é um nome incontornável nos quadrinhos contemporâneos. Tudo o que ele escreveu merecer ser lido. É o caso aqui desse ‘Um pequeno assassinato’, feito em parceria com Oscar Zárate, desenhista argentino radicado na Inglaterra há décadas.
Ganhador do Prêmio Eisner de 1994, como melhor Graphic Novel, a obra só foi lançada agora no Brasil. Uma primeira palavra sobre a edição. Caprichadíssima, com altíssima qualidade, mostra o quão bom tem sido o trabalho da Pipoca & Nanquim, editora nova, mas comandada por ótimos profissionais, que também mantém um divertido e informativo canal no Youtube. Além da ótima qualidade do material, a edição tem, ao seu final, ótimas entrevistas com Moore e Zárate. Insights excelentes sobre a dinâmica de trabalho entre os dois e também sobre como estória foi concebida, bem como esclarece alguns pontos da trama.
A estória gira em torno da figura de Timothy Hole, um publicitário que em fins da década de 1980 está preocupado com aquela que pode ser o trabalho da sua vida: o lançamento de um refrigerante na então União Soviética, mas que ao mesmo tempo atravessa uma tremenda crise psicológica.
São tempos de perestroika e glasnost em uma parte do mundo, mas também de Thatcherismo e Reaganismo no ocidente e pelos quais os autores não têm muita simpatia. Evidentemente escolhem um publicitário para ser o protagonista de sua estória porque muito provavelmente foi o profissional que mais bem tenha encarnado esse arquétipo do sujeito vitorioso na sociedade de consumo avassalador da década de 1980.
Hole é, claro, um vencedor aos olhos de seus pares. É um cara que chegou lá e está no seu auge. Mas as vitórias não vêm sem custos. É exatamente sobre isso que se debruçam Moore e Zárate: para ser vencedor é preciso deixar alguns cadáveres pelo caminho e lidar com isso tem um peso a ser carregado. Hole não só abandonou os seus ideais. Deixou também pessoas infelizes: esposa, amante, o antigo mestre. Deixou, enfim, a si mesmo infeliz, miserável e mentalmente perturbado.
Por fim, não conhecia o trabalho de Zárate, a despeito de ele ter uma obra grande e respeitável. A sua arte é magnífica. É exuberante.
Enfim, uma obra que definitivamente vale a pena. Moore é um dos grandes mestres dos quadrinhos e é acompanhado por Zárate que faz um belíssimo trabalho.
Ganhador do Prêmio Eisner de 1994, como melhor Graphic Novel, a obra só foi lançada agora no Brasil. Uma primeira palavra sobre a edição. Caprichadíssima, com altíssima qualidade, mostra o quão bom tem sido o trabalho da Pipoca & Nanquim, editora nova, mas comandada por ótimos profissionais, que também mantém um divertido e informativo canal no Youtube. Além da ótima qualidade do material, a edição tem, ao seu final, ótimas entrevistas com Moore e Zárate. Insights excelentes sobre a dinâmica de trabalho entre os dois e também sobre como estória foi concebida, bem como esclarece alguns pontos da trama.
A estória gira em torno da figura de Timothy Hole, um publicitário que em fins da década de 1980 está preocupado com aquela que pode ser o trabalho da sua vida: o lançamento de um refrigerante na então União Soviética, mas que ao mesmo tempo atravessa uma tremenda crise psicológica.
São tempos de perestroika e glasnost em uma parte do mundo, mas também de Thatcherismo e Reaganismo no ocidente e pelos quais os autores não têm muita simpatia. Evidentemente escolhem um publicitário para ser o protagonista de sua estória porque muito provavelmente foi o profissional que mais bem tenha encarnado esse arquétipo do sujeito vitorioso na sociedade de consumo avassalador da década de 1980.
Hole é, claro, um vencedor aos olhos de seus pares. É um cara que chegou lá e está no seu auge. Mas as vitórias não vêm sem custos. É exatamente sobre isso que se debruçam Moore e Zárate: para ser vencedor é preciso deixar alguns cadáveres pelo caminho e lidar com isso tem um peso a ser carregado. Hole não só abandonou os seus ideais. Deixou também pessoas infelizes: esposa, amante, o antigo mestre. Deixou, enfim, a si mesmo infeliz, miserável e mentalmente perturbado.
Por fim, não conhecia o trabalho de Zárate, a despeito de ele ter uma obra grande e respeitável. A sua arte é magnífica. É exuberante.
Enfim, uma obra que definitivamente vale a pena. Moore é um dos grandes mestres dos quadrinhos e é acompanhado por Zárate que faz um belíssimo trabalho.
October 29, 2007
Here's a tip: If your big twist is revealed on the cover of your book, don't expect it to be a surprise. Watch a man midly go crazy, which is overused but moderately entertaining. Unfortunately, that is unravelled by some of the worst art I've ever seen in a comic. Overally, just a headache to muscle through, and every time I got close to liking a part, it would be abandoned never to be seen again. Frustrating.
November 3, 2019
La crisis de los 40 según Alan Moore, excelentemente plasmada por el colorismo expresionista de Zárate. Me ha interesado más la ilustración que lo que se contaba.
December 18, 2020
Alan Moore and Oscar Zarate’s incredible graphic novel tackles themes of self doubt, capitalism and the faults of the 80’s.
As typical 80’s Moore work goes, it’s fucking incredible. You get your mostly base 9 panel grid seen in Watchmen, later chapters of V For Vendetta and From Hell, themes of time passing and even the awesome Moore match cut page transitions. However, this story presents itself in a pretty unique structure (it works backwards through both time and technology) while also featuring gorgeous painted visuals from Oscar Zarate. I think this also features Moore‘s best chatter. There’s a lot of conversations that happen throughout the book between off panel characters and the way they mirror the main story but also standalone as believable conversations is pretty awesome.
The story follows Timothy Hole as he tries to come up with an idea to market a cola type beverage to a Russian audience. The kind of on the nose metaphor this creates of Capitalism penetrating Communism enforces the themes of the story as this whole job Timothy is assigned to causes him to spiral into this hole of self doubt as Timothy used to be a self identified communist/socialist. Oh and Timothy is being chased by a child who wants to kill him.
A Small Killing goes through all the mistakes and changes that this character has done and gone through in his life in a really interesting way. He goes backwards from New York, to London to his home town throughout the story and each location change offers the reader another regret or another lifestyle change in Timothy’s life. Like I said before, structurally this book really shines.
Overall, I think this is an extremely strong addition to Moore’s catalogue. Obviously, Oscar Zarate’s work can’t be overlooked as well as he paints the fuck out of this book. But, this is something I’d recommend to anyone wanting to read anything that feels naturally mature and innovative. There’s a lot to be learned from a book like this.
As typical 80’s Moore work goes, it’s fucking incredible. You get your mostly base 9 panel grid seen in Watchmen, later chapters of V For Vendetta and From Hell, themes of time passing and even the awesome Moore match cut page transitions. However, this story presents itself in a pretty unique structure (it works backwards through both time and technology) while also featuring gorgeous painted visuals from Oscar Zarate. I think this also features Moore‘s best chatter. There’s a lot of conversations that happen throughout the book between off panel characters and the way they mirror the main story but also standalone as believable conversations is pretty awesome.
The story follows Timothy Hole as he tries to come up with an idea to market a cola type beverage to a Russian audience. The kind of on the nose metaphor this creates of Capitalism penetrating Communism enforces the themes of the story as this whole job Timothy is assigned to causes him to spiral into this hole of self doubt as Timothy used to be a self identified communist/socialist. Oh and Timothy is being chased by a child who wants to kill him.
A Small Killing goes through all the mistakes and changes that this character has done and gone through in his life in a really interesting way. He goes backwards from New York, to London to his home town throughout the story and each location change offers the reader another regret or another lifestyle change in Timothy’s life. Like I said before, structurally this book really shines.
Overall, I think this is an extremely strong addition to Moore’s catalogue. Obviously, Oscar Zarate’s work can’t be overlooked as well as he paints the fuck out of this book. But, this is something I’d recommend to anyone wanting to read anything that feels naturally mature and innovative. There’s a lot to be learned from a book like this.
January 8, 2010
Alan Moore, A Small Killing (Avatar Press, 2003)
Timothy Hole (“that's pronounced 'Holly', actually.”) is a British ad man who's been marooned in America for years, but now finds himself behind what may be the biggest campaign of his career, marketing cola to the Russians. Just when he thinks his life is on track, though, he finds himself being stalked by a psychotic small child... yes, you've seen this storyline many, many times before (and you'll be able to suss out the ending after the first few pages). Because of this, the book lives or dies on how well Moore tells the story. You might expect a lot from the guy who brought us Watchmen, Lost Girls, and V for Vendetta. And you'd be right to, which makes A Small Killing that much more disappointing. The story is shot through with annoyances and distractions (every crowd scene is a chore). When Moore is on his game, he's one of the best in the business, but he seems to be on his game, well, not much of the time here. For the Moore completist only. **
Timothy Hole (“that's pronounced 'Holly', actually.”) is a British ad man who's been marooned in America for years, but now finds himself behind what may be the biggest campaign of his career, marketing cola to the Russians. Just when he thinks his life is on track, though, he finds himself being stalked by a psychotic small child... yes, you've seen this storyline many, many times before (and you'll be able to suss out the ending after the first few pages). Because of this, the book lives or dies on how well Moore tells the story. You might expect a lot from the guy who brought us Watchmen, Lost Girls, and V for Vendetta. And you'd be right to, which makes A Small Killing that much more disappointing. The story is shot through with annoyances and distractions (every crowd scene is a chore). When Moore is on his game, he's one of the best in the business, but he seems to be on his game, well, not much of the time here. For the Moore completist only. **
February 25, 2012
When I first picked up this graphic novel I did worry about how I'd get along with the artwork but as the story progressed along a rather dark and austere path, the more I found the stylised drawing went with it.
A Small Killing is by no means Moore's best work, it lacks the intelligent twist and turns of his other offers but, and this is possibly a very hard thing to do, if I were to forget that Moore has written such greats as From Hell and Watchmen then yeah, actually, A Small Killing is pretty ace.
A Small Killing is by no means Moore's best work, it lacks the intelligent twist and turns of his other offers but, and this is possibly a very hard thing to do, if I were to forget that Moore has written such greats as From Hell and Watchmen then yeah, actually, A Small Killing is pretty ace.
February 21, 2016
I'm pretty sure this book was just an excuse for Moore to write crowd panels with snippets of overheard conversation. It's not good. I got it from the library and read it in one evening and still, it's really not good.
April 15, 2018
É uma história que mereceria uma resenha decente, mas sem condições de fazer isso agora.
Só posso dizer que é um grande trabalho, e me fez pensar no quão difícil é as vezes parar, olhar, pensar fazer as pazes com o passado.
Só posso dizer que é um grande trabalho, e me fez pensar no quão difícil é as vezes parar, olhar, pensar fazer as pazes com o passado.
October 18, 2021
3.75/5 stars.
A story with a deceitfully simple plot, in which the weight is brilliantly put into the inner process of the main character. Moore excels here at showing inner thoughts, by using stream of consciousness, unfinished sentences, thoughts constantly interrupted by modulating ones, fears and resolutions, self-told lies... to expose the local mind chaos giving rise to the global development of the character through the years -not always for the best. I found the story captivating, powerful and hooking, even when I clearly knew where it was headed and which were going to be the main key points. This work is not intended to surprise you with original plot twists, but to let you feel the eerie sensation of all the dreamy states and surrealism lying just behind real, down-to-earth situations and human relationships between ordinary people. This is masterfully accomplished (4.5 stars).
The art style, on the other hand, is lacking and rather disappointing for a good part. The first half of the story is dragged by the strange, colourful and distorted art, which does not go well with the complex and scholarly narrative and disconnects the reader's suspension of disbelief. I understand what Zárate tried to achieve: to show how the main character sees the world around him, a mixture of chaos, distorsion, and irrelevant people... but the style just does not work. In the second half of the story on the other hand, with less crowded locations and much less light and colour, the artwork manages to communicate the story feeling much better, reaching the point where it is actually haunting in several scenes. So from the draw we get a mix of lows and highs which leaves a sour flavor (3 stars).
A story with a deceitfully simple plot, in which the weight is brilliantly put into the inner process of the main character. Moore excels here at showing inner thoughts, by using stream of consciousness, unfinished sentences, thoughts constantly interrupted by modulating ones, fears and resolutions, self-told lies... to expose the local mind chaos giving rise to the global development of the character through the years -not always for the best. I found the story captivating, powerful and hooking, even when I clearly knew where it was headed and which were going to be the main key points. This work is not intended to surprise you with original plot twists, but to let you feel the eerie sensation of all the dreamy states and surrealism lying just behind real, down-to-earth situations and human relationships between ordinary people. This is masterfully accomplished (4.5 stars).
The art style, on the other hand, is lacking and rather disappointing for a good part. The first half of the story is dragged by the strange, colourful and distorted art, which does not go well with the complex and scholarly narrative and disconnects the reader's suspension of disbelief. I understand what Zárate tried to achieve: to show how the main character sees the world around him, a mixture of chaos, distorsion, and irrelevant people... but the style just does not work. In the second half of the story on the other hand, with less crowded locations and much less light and colour, the artwork manages to communicate the story feeling much better, reaching the point where it is actually haunting in several scenes. So from the draw we get a mix of lows and highs which leaves a sour flavor (3 stars).
April 10, 2018
Talvez em outro momento funcione melhor pra mim.
Ambientado em Londres, 1989, não por acaso o ano da queda do Muro de Berlim e do início do processo de dissolução da URSS (finalizado em 1991), “Um Pequeno Assassinato” conta a história de Timothy Hole, um publicitário de sucesso que reflete sobre suas motivações e ambições, ao mesmo tempo em que passa a ser perseguido por uma estranha criança.
Vencedora do prêmio Eisner de Melhor Graphic Novel de 1994, “Um Pequeno Assassinato” foi a primeira obra independente de Alan Moore, surgindo depois do seu desentendimento com Marvel e DC. Ele se culpava por trair seus princípios (socialistas) e investir boa parte da carreira em grandes editoras (capitalistas, opressoras e todo aquele blá blá blá), na criação e desenvolvimento de super-herois. Na prática, esse rompimento foi positivo para seu trabalho, pois dele derivaram obras independentes como o magnífico “Do Inferno”. A concepção original é de Oscar Zárate e Alan Moore a foi lapidando. Processo totalmente diferente para Moore, que sempre partiu das próprias ideias. Ele considera “Um Pequeno Assassinato” sua obra preferida, certamente por se enxergar nela.
Muitas passagens trazem paralelos com a vida real de Alan Moore, transformando a HQ em uma obra de ficção semi-autobiográfica. Trata essencialmente do arrependimento (ou crise existencial) de um homem ao perceber que anulou e matou seus princípios, tornando sua vida infeliz. Nessa jornada de autoconhecimento, identifica vários “pequenos assassinatos”, traduzidos em traições, principalmente ideológicas. Sente acumular um pesado fardo de culpas que vão se transformando em demônios guardados que precisam ser exorcizados. Indispensável para quem se regozija ao nutrir-se de Dostoievski, Kafka, Orwell, Hemingway...
Com destaque para a perfeição técnica, tudo que Alan Moore produz não tem como passar despercebido. Sempre trazendo conteúdos profundos, muita pesquisa, críticas sociais e filosofia em parceria com ilustradores de primeiríssima qualidade. Apesar de Oscar Zárate não ter conseguido me empolgar - não propriamente pelas ilustrações, mas pela narrativa gráfica -, percebe-se que seu trabalho está muito bem conectado com a história. Como a narrativa de Moore é dominada por flashbacks, boa parte da arte é feita com uma aquarela meio borrada, assim como são nossas longínquas lembranças. Da mesma forma, algumas recordações de diálogos aparecem truncadas, em nuances, nunca de forma explícita ou completa. Acontece que a cabeça de um gênio não raramente se encontra em descompasso com um raciocínio linear, tornando alguns de seus pensamentos mais complexos e menos acessíveis. Não tiro a razão de quem desista dessa HQ logo no primeiro capítulo. A narrativa não é literal, sendo composta por lembranças, pensamentos, culpas e reflexões colocadas de forma angustiante numa linha do tempo regressiva que demanda muita atenção e discernimento ao leitor.
Intimista, filosófica, adulta, dramática, intelectual, metafórica, realista... e tudo leva a uma conclusão transcrita nas palavras do próprio Moore (na voz do personagem principal) ao final da HQ: “Há uma nova gema no ovo expelido. Há uma nova pulsação no útero raspado. Todas as coisas estão grávidas”. Ficou claro, né? Brincadeiras à parte, uma análise deslocada pode nos trazer algo como “Siga seus sonhos, seja você mesmo, não traia seus princípios mais profundos”. Mas para se extrair essa mensagem, é preciso peneirar, peneirar, peneirar... Ou seja, não é um material para ser digerido numa primeira leitura.
Não classificaria a obra com bojo anticapitalista. Apesar de carregar uma notável mensagem de “redenção” quando o protagonista (e alter-ego do autor) se arrepende de trair seus princípios socialistas, vejo isso como um dos argumentos para criar fortes e perturbadoras rupturas, mote principal da trama.
A edição da Pipoca & Nanquim é luxuosa, caprichada, excelente impressão, papel couché colorido de alta gramatura, tamanho grande, capa dura e texturizada. Um primor, mas não livre de alguns errinhos que não comprometem a obra. Crédito para os editores que resgataram e republicaram no Brasil uma obra lançada há 26 anos.
Nota do livro: 6,40 (3 estrelas).
Ambientado em Londres, 1989, não por acaso o ano da queda do Muro de Berlim e do início do processo de dissolução da URSS (finalizado em 1991), “Um Pequeno Assassinato” conta a história de Timothy Hole, um publicitário de sucesso que reflete sobre suas motivações e ambições, ao mesmo tempo em que passa a ser perseguido por uma estranha criança.
Vencedora do prêmio Eisner de Melhor Graphic Novel de 1994, “Um Pequeno Assassinato” foi a primeira obra independente de Alan Moore, surgindo depois do seu desentendimento com Marvel e DC. Ele se culpava por trair seus princípios (socialistas) e investir boa parte da carreira em grandes editoras (capitalistas, opressoras e todo aquele blá blá blá), na criação e desenvolvimento de super-herois. Na prática, esse rompimento foi positivo para seu trabalho, pois dele derivaram obras independentes como o magnífico “Do Inferno”. A concepção original é de Oscar Zárate e Alan Moore a foi lapidando. Processo totalmente diferente para Moore, que sempre partiu das próprias ideias. Ele considera “Um Pequeno Assassinato” sua obra preferida, certamente por se enxergar nela.
Muitas passagens trazem paralelos com a vida real de Alan Moore, transformando a HQ em uma obra de ficção semi-autobiográfica. Trata essencialmente do arrependimento (ou crise existencial) de um homem ao perceber que anulou e matou seus princípios, tornando sua vida infeliz. Nessa jornada de autoconhecimento, identifica vários “pequenos assassinatos”, traduzidos em traições, principalmente ideológicas. Sente acumular um pesado fardo de culpas que vão se transformando em demônios guardados que precisam ser exorcizados. Indispensável para quem se regozija ao nutrir-se de Dostoievski, Kafka, Orwell, Hemingway...
Com destaque para a perfeição técnica, tudo que Alan Moore produz não tem como passar despercebido. Sempre trazendo conteúdos profundos, muita pesquisa, críticas sociais e filosofia em parceria com ilustradores de primeiríssima qualidade. Apesar de Oscar Zárate não ter conseguido me empolgar - não propriamente pelas ilustrações, mas pela narrativa gráfica -, percebe-se que seu trabalho está muito bem conectado com a história. Como a narrativa de Moore é dominada por flashbacks, boa parte da arte é feita com uma aquarela meio borrada, assim como são nossas longínquas lembranças. Da mesma forma, algumas recordações de diálogos aparecem truncadas, em nuances, nunca de forma explícita ou completa. Acontece que a cabeça de um gênio não raramente se encontra em descompasso com um raciocínio linear, tornando alguns de seus pensamentos mais complexos e menos acessíveis. Não tiro a razão de quem desista dessa HQ logo no primeiro capítulo. A narrativa não é literal, sendo composta por lembranças, pensamentos, culpas e reflexões colocadas de forma angustiante numa linha do tempo regressiva que demanda muita atenção e discernimento ao leitor.
Intimista, filosófica, adulta, dramática, intelectual, metafórica, realista... e tudo leva a uma conclusão transcrita nas palavras do próprio Moore (na voz do personagem principal) ao final da HQ: “Há uma nova gema no ovo expelido. Há uma nova pulsação no útero raspado. Todas as coisas estão grávidas”. Ficou claro, né? Brincadeiras à parte, uma análise deslocada pode nos trazer algo como “Siga seus sonhos, seja você mesmo, não traia seus princípios mais profundos”. Mas para se extrair essa mensagem, é preciso peneirar, peneirar, peneirar... Ou seja, não é um material para ser digerido numa primeira leitura.
Não classificaria a obra com bojo anticapitalista. Apesar de carregar uma notável mensagem de “redenção” quando o protagonista (e alter-ego do autor) se arrepende de trair seus princípios socialistas, vejo isso como um dos argumentos para criar fortes e perturbadoras rupturas, mote principal da trama.
A edição da Pipoca & Nanquim é luxuosa, caprichada, excelente impressão, papel couché colorido de alta gramatura, tamanho grande, capa dura e texturizada. Um primor, mas não livre de alguns errinhos que não comprometem a obra. Crédito para os editores que resgataram e republicaram no Brasil uma obra lançada há 26 anos.
Nota do livro: 6,40 (3 estrelas).
May 3, 2018
A very personal comic about a guy that fights his younger self, with social extensions that apply to most of us more or less. Still I can't say it was anything exceptional and the extended epilogue/interview of the creators didn't manage to change that fact.
It's a book for a very specific audience of which I'm not a part of.
It's a book for a very specific audience of which I'm not a part of.
October 19, 2013
Well, wasn`t that special.
A European-style graphic novel written by Alan Moore and drawn by Oscar Zarate that looks like something that would be heralded as an astonishingly fresh work of comic book narrative if it debuted today. But it’s a book that’s almost 25 years old.
A Small Killing, 96 pages of pain and (self) punishment, trapped in vibrant colors. It is a meditation on childhood dreams and adult compromises, drawn and painted like something born from a nightmarish fusion of Brecht Evens and Duncan Fegredo. It is a gorgeous, disturbing graphic novel of the sort that deserves the kind of praise so often heaped upon other Moore works such as Killing Joke or the aborted Big Numbers.
I can only assume that most readers haven’t seen A Small Killing, or haven’t looked at it recently, because it deserves to be part of the critical conversation about Moore, and should be on the shortlist of significant graphic novels throughout history.
It seemed like a weird, sideline work from Moore, lacking the expansive ambition of what he had done before, or seemed to promise for the future. But, looking back on the book from the perspective of today, I’m astonished by how sharp the package is. A Small Killing is no minor work by a major creator. It’s a key text in the Moore pantheon, providing insight into his own personal struggles as a creator – and as an adult – while presenting a condemnation of the culture around him.
Not only is it better than I remembered it, but it’s a book overdue for a massive critical reappraisal. Let’s start that tidal wave of reconsideration today.
The inspiration for the story apparently came from Zarate, who told Moore he had an idea about “an adult who was pursued by a child.”
Moore, with more than generous input from Zarate, peeled back that image, and, in his own mind, saw an adult chased by his former self. A child disappointed by what the adult version of him had become. And he used that core idea to construct a story that was unlike anything he had written before.
A Small Killing is less of a constructed edifice and more of a dream-like narrative. Though a Nabokov/Lolita motif runs through the graphic novel, there are also allusions to the films of Nicolas Roeg, and the story feels more in tune with the latter’s work than the former. Or, more accurately, the story seems it was crafted by someone influenced by the soul of Roeg and the mind of Nabokov. The wordplay an image patterns recall the Nabokov author, but the elliptical structure and bold, haunting iconography recall 'Don’t Look Now'.
Moore and Zarate balance both of those quite divergent influences, but offer something fresh in the synthesis. The Nabokov/Roeg substructure works like an echo, and Moore and Zarate seem in control of their subject the entire way through.
A European-style graphic novel written by Alan Moore and drawn by Oscar Zarate that looks like something that would be heralded as an astonishingly fresh work of comic book narrative if it debuted today. But it’s a book that’s almost 25 years old.
A Small Killing, 96 pages of pain and (self) punishment, trapped in vibrant colors. It is a meditation on childhood dreams and adult compromises, drawn and painted like something born from a nightmarish fusion of Brecht Evens and Duncan Fegredo. It is a gorgeous, disturbing graphic novel of the sort that deserves the kind of praise so often heaped upon other Moore works such as Killing Joke or the aborted Big Numbers.
I can only assume that most readers haven’t seen A Small Killing, or haven’t looked at it recently, because it deserves to be part of the critical conversation about Moore, and should be on the shortlist of significant graphic novels throughout history.
It seemed like a weird, sideline work from Moore, lacking the expansive ambition of what he had done before, or seemed to promise for the future. But, looking back on the book from the perspective of today, I’m astonished by how sharp the package is. A Small Killing is no minor work by a major creator. It’s a key text in the Moore pantheon, providing insight into his own personal struggles as a creator – and as an adult – while presenting a condemnation of the culture around him.
Not only is it better than I remembered it, but it’s a book overdue for a massive critical reappraisal. Let’s start that tidal wave of reconsideration today.
The inspiration for the story apparently came from Zarate, who told Moore he had an idea about “an adult who was pursued by a child.”
Moore, with more than generous input from Zarate, peeled back that image, and, in his own mind, saw an adult chased by his former self. A child disappointed by what the adult version of him had become. And he used that core idea to construct a story that was unlike anything he had written before.
A Small Killing is less of a constructed edifice and more of a dream-like narrative. Though a Nabokov/Lolita motif runs through the graphic novel, there are also allusions to the films of Nicolas Roeg, and the story feels more in tune with the latter’s work than the former. Or, more accurately, the story seems it was crafted by someone influenced by the soul of Roeg and the mind of Nabokov. The wordplay an image patterns recall the Nabokov author, but the elliptical structure and bold, haunting iconography recall 'Don’t Look Now'.
Moore and Zarate balance both of those quite divergent influences, but offer something fresh in the synthesis. The Nabokov/Roeg substructure works like an echo, and Moore and Zarate seem in control of their subject the entire way through.
February 19, 2021
That was a surprisingly run-of-the-mill story when you consider that it came from Alan Moore. It's a good story, just sort of lacking some of the more spectacular insights that I've grown used to getting from his books. It reminded me in some ways of Don DeLillo's "Underworld" crossed with David Lynch's "A Straight Story", in a manner that could only be written by Alan Moore. I don't know... I'm not necessarily disappointed with this and I enjoyed the prose and the art, but there was just something missing in this one for me. I think if the grand mystery of it all hadn't have been so obvious that I might have enjoyed it more, but I knew what was going on right away and thought I was supposed to, so while this wasn't a complete miss for me, it certainly isn't among Moore's Greatest Hits, in my opinion.
June 23, 2021
I am a fan of books that force me to think about what I read. That is exactly my experience with A Small Killing. Unfortunately, I don't know the works of Nabokov and Roeg, so I probably lose a lot because of it.
The book tells the story of Tim Hole and his journey into the future and the past at the same time.
You can see that every time something important happened in his life that made him lose some of what he wanted to become when he was young, it also made him successful at work.
But was this what he ultimately wanted? Will he manage to overcome his own "I" from his youth or will he surrender to him and start a new, better life? You can try to answer this question after you finish reading it.
The book tells the story of Tim Hole and his journey into the future and the past at the same time.
You can see that every time something important happened in his life that made him lose some of what he wanted to become when he was young, it also made him successful at work.
But was this what he ultimately wanted? Will he manage to overcome his own "I" from his youth or will he surrender to him and start a new, better life? You can try to answer this question after you finish reading it.
May 5, 2015
Claptrap. Notable for a couple small technical innovations that were popularized with this book just because everybody read it, not because they were that amazing. Zarate has a representative style of the 80s, like pastel Drooker, the sort of thing that peaked with Dark City and then disappeared because art school students started to own computers instead of pastels.
Also, the whole "drifting crowd dialogue" thing that I so often associate with Claremont was used to very good effect here.
In all other ways this is a boring rough draft for Big Numbers.
Also, the whole "drifting crowd dialogue" thing that I so often associate with Claremont was used to very good effect here.
In all other ways this is a boring rough draft for Big Numbers.
November 15, 2017
I believe this book emulates Alan Moore's style, and is a must-read for old and new fans alike. Oh sure, Watchmen and V for Vendetta are great, but a simple story such as this novel definitely shows his mastery over the genre, and shows us that graphic novels don't have to be about superheroes all the time.
This book made me think. A lot. It's not easy reading, but it does force you to think about the "small killings" that made you what you are right now, and asks the question: "Will your younger self be proud of you when he/she sees you as you are now?"
This book made me think. A lot. It's not easy reading, but it does force you to think about the "small killings" that made you what you are right now, and asks the question: "Will your younger self be proud of you when he/she sees you as you are now?"
June 27, 2018
I read this over ten years ago and I don't think it was quite the right time for me, as I liked it much more this time around. The book is a meditation on aging - it's about a middle aged man who is forced to reflect on the memories from his life and the surrealism that comes from feeling like they belong to a stranger. This was a big departure from Alan Moore as there's almost no genre elements to be found here, instead it feels more like a literary novel. In fact, his prose is so beautiful in places that it probably could have worked without the images.
April 9, 2012
La historia, muy al estilo de Alan Moore, aborda la psique de un personaje atormentado por su pasado, hasta lo mas profundo y sórdido de su ser, un hombre se ve enfrentado por la imagen de un niño que aparece siempre antes de tener una experiencia mortal. No se si el dibujo ayude o no esta obra, en si es muy burdo y exagerado, con colores muy marcados y con un estilo extraño, lo que tal vez pudiera ser un plus a la historia, sin embargo a mi no termino por agradarme.
November 26, 2015
Excellent, overlooked Alan Moore classic graphic novel about a child disappointed by what the adult version of him has become, by a man who has compromised everything he valued as a child in pursuit of short-term gains and carnal pleasures.
October 23, 2011
It's a concise summary of Alan Moore's creative meandering since the early 1990s that he currently considers this trite indie novel his best work.
January 30, 2015
It's okay. The art is unique, but I felt misled by the description of the book compared to the actual plot, and I saw every plot twist a mile away.
February 10, 2019
Me ha gustado mucho este cómic, principalmente por su aproximación a esa lucha interior que muchos tenemos donde el niño que fuimos critica con ferocidad al adulto que somos.
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