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Kali
From Daniel Freedman (Raiders) and Mondo and DICE artist Robert Sammelin comes an original graphic novel that’s a nonstop, high-octane existential action spectacle, perfect for Mad Fury Road fans!
Stabbed in the back, poisoned, and left for dead by her own biker gang, Kali sets off on a one-way road of vengeance across a war-torn desert battlefield. With impending death coursing through her veins and a fascist army hot on her tail, Kali will stop at nothing to get her revenge, even if it’s the last thing she ever does. A nonstop high-octane existential action spectacle from writer Daniel Freedman and artist Robert Sammelin!
Stabbed in the back, poisoned, and left for dead by her own biker gang, Kali sets off on a one-way road of vengeance across a war-torn desert battlefield. With impending death coursing through her veins and a fascist army hot on her tail, Kali will stop at nothing to get her revenge, even if it’s the last thing she ever does. A nonstop high-octane existential action spectacle from writer Daniel Freedman and artist Robert Sammelin!
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 11, 2022
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307 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
February 5, 2023
Betrayal, revenge, post-apocalyptic, twenty-four hours to live, one women show to take down the bad guys kinda story.
Gritty artwork by Sammelin. The sequences worked well, and surprisingly all the women kept their clothing on. You mean you can fight evil while clothed? Who knew!
Gritty artwork by Sammelin. The sequences worked well, and surprisingly all the women kept their clothing on. You mean you can fight evil while clothed? Who knew!
February 6, 2025
I do like a good revenge story, and that's what we've got here. Kali has been left for dead by her own bikergang, and now has to stab/kill/explode all of them, while traversing a near-future wasteland ravaged by some unending war.
Kali is a likeable character, the worldbuilding is interesting, the art feels almost European in style and is great, and best of all - a book that has an actual ending and is a complete story, not the first volume of many.
Recommended.
(Thanks to Dark Horse Books for providing me with a review copy through Edelweiss)
January 14, 2023
I was expecting a lot more from Kali than I got.
The art is great, but the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired. It feels like the story is only half-finished, with lots of hints at something greater, but it never quite gets there. Plus there are scenes where it's hard to follow the action, and too many scenes where the protagonist is mere seconds from being killed, and something random saves her, with little connection to the main plot.
The best part of the book is when Kali has been poisoned and is near death. She experiences something -- dreams, hallucinations, visions of another reality? It's not clear, but it's fascinating. This is where you get the feeling the writer had something deeper in mind. But there's no explanation or follow-up. it's just left there in the middle of the book. You wonder if maybe Freedman intends this as one chapter in a much bigger story. But as is, it's frustratingly incomplete.
We're never even told what kind of world this is. Clearly it's using all the post-apocalyptic action movie tropes, so we can still follow the basics. But what's distinctive about this world? There's enough in the story to make the reader think this should be significant, but we never see it. The focus is almost exclusively on non-stop action.
I also have questions about how this book treats women. One thing that attracted me to it is that it seemed to be doing something different in having a woman as protagonist in an action story. All the main characters are women, and they're not drawn to look like all the other attractive comic book women. They do, surprisingly, keep their clothes on.
But at the same time, they all act the same way male characters act in this kind of story. There's not a hint that being a woman has any meaning at all for these characters. Nor does it mean anything to any of the men in the story. It's very odd, and conveys the sense that the author didn't really think through what he was doing in writing about women this way.
So our protagonist is a fully-clothed bad-ass ultraviolent Hindu woman with, let's be candid, a fat ass. It's a great idea. It should have worked. Here was a chance to do something truly different. But instead, it sticks to most of the usual cliches. She never becomes fully human, though there are hints the writer was trying to add things to the story to make her more human. But he never makes it work, and in the end, we just have a mildly entertaining B-movie plot.
The art is great, but the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired. It feels like the story is only half-finished, with lots of hints at something greater, but it never quite gets there. Plus there are scenes where it's hard to follow the action, and too many scenes where the protagonist is mere seconds from being killed, and something random saves her, with little connection to the main plot.
The best part of the book is when Kali has been poisoned and is near death. She experiences something -- dreams, hallucinations, visions of another reality? It's not clear, but it's fascinating. This is where you get the feeling the writer had something deeper in mind. But there's no explanation or follow-up. it's just left there in the middle of the book. You wonder if maybe Freedman intends this as one chapter in a much bigger story. But as is, it's frustratingly incomplete.
We're never even told what kind of world this is. Clearly it's using all the post-apocalyptic action movie tropes, so we can still follow the basics. But what's distinctive about this world? There's enough in the story to make the reader think this should be significant, but we never see it. The focus is almost exclusively on non-stop action.
I also have questions about how this book treats women. One thing that attracted me to it is that it seemed to be doing something different in having a woman as protagonist in an action story. All the main characters are women, and they're not drawn to look like all the other attractive comic book women. They do, surprisingly, keep their clothes on.
But at the same time, they all act the same way male characters act in this kind of story. There's not a hint that being a woman has any meaning at all for these characters. Nor does it mean anything to any of the men in the story. It's very odd, and conveys the sense that the author didn't really think through what he was doing in writing about women this way.
So our protagonist is a fully-clothed bad-ass ultraviolent Hindu woman with, let's be candid, a fat ass. It's a great idea. It should have worked. Here was a chance to do something truly different. But instead, it sticks to most of the usual cliches. She never becomes fully human, though there are hints the writer was trying to add things to the story to make her more human. But he never makes it work, and in the end, we just have a mildly entertaining B-movie plot.
December 9, 2022
Spectacular, amazing, MUST read!
Basic post-apocalyptic story, but EPIC art!!!!
Basic post-apocalyptic story, but EPIC art!!!!
August 25, 2024
Gostei BASTANTE da arte. A historia é meio qualquer coisa. Acho que daria um bom filme de açao.
March 2, 2025
A solid post-apocalyptic thrilling saga of revenge and retribution. It was fairly one-sided for a long time, until our protagonist (anti-heroine) acquired new depths.
Enjoyable and gory.
Enjoyable and gory.
July 30, 2022
I received an ARC copy of this book from Edelweiss
Really enjoyed this one! I'm a sucker for a good revenge rampage and I really liked the art style and all the character designs. Basically the graphic novel version of an action movie but if you're like me then that's just what you need sometimes.
Really enjoyed this one! I'm a sucker for a good revenge rampage and I really liked the art style and all the character designs. Basically the graphic novel version of an action movie but if you're like me then that's just what you need sometimes.
February 8, 2023
Amazing art by Robert Sammelin wasted on a mediocre, formulaic story about a two-dimensional badass on a revenge trip.
November 7, 2024
3* is for the art. Real short too.
June 1, 2022
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC in exchange for review through Edelweiss. Trigger warning for gratuitous violence.)
Set in a near dystopian future where a fascist movement known as the Machine rules, Kali is the leader of an all-woman motorcycle gang. The Matrikas are one of many rebel groups resisting assimilation - or actively fighting it. That is, until a violent coup ends with Kali stabbed in the back, wandering the desert wasteland and, eventually, poisoned and captured by the Machine's army. She's got just twenty-four hours to live - but she's determined to make the most of it, by taking down as many turncoats as possible. Even if one of them is her literal sister.
KALI is a stylish, action-packed story that's sadly lacking in much substance (assuming that this isn't the first volume in a series, anyway). The world-building is pretty minimal; for example, we don't learn a whole lot about the Machine, how it came to be, etc. (unless we're simply meant to extrapolate from current events - which, given the group's Nazi-esque vibe, isn't a stretch). The story arc involving Kali's seeming amnesia, followed by the "big reveal," feels almost anti-climactic, which is strange given the divergence of everyone's realities.
The artwork has a gritty, MAD MAX vibe, and while the narrative aims for the same, it does fall a bit short. Still, a wild enough ride.
Set in a near dystopian future where a fascist movement known as the Machine rules, Kali is the leader of an all-woman motorcycle gang. The Matrikas are one of many rebel groups resisting assimilation - or actively fighting it. That is, until a violent coup ends with Kali stabbed in the back, wandering the desert wasteland and, eventually, poisoned and captured by the Machine's army. She's got just twenty-four hours to live - but she's determined to make the most of it, by taking down as many turncoats as possible. Even if one of them is her literal sister.
KALI is a stylish, action-packed story that's sadly lacking in much substance (assuming that this isn't the first volume in a series, anyway). The world-building is pretty minimal; for example, we don't learn a whole lot about the Machine, how it came to be, etc. (unless we're simply meant to extrapolate from current events - which, given the group's Nazi-esque vibe, isn't a stretch). The story arc involving Kali's seeming amnesia, followed by the "big reveal," feels almost anti-climactic, which is strange given the divergence of everyone's realities.
The artwork has a gritty, MAD MAX vibe, and while the narrative aims for the same, it does fall a bit short. Still, a wild enough ride.
May 20, 2022
trigger warning
Kali has a mission: Revenge.
Post apocalyptic setting in a desert setting, with women being badass - that's where the Mad Max: Fury Road comparison comes into play. This time, a publisher did not chose to make false advertisement by exaggerated comparisons.
The plot is simple but I was promised action, and I expected this kind of plot, so I don't really have anything to complain on that front. What I also liked was that no ridiculous measures were being taken on the women's clothing: They are being sexy by wearing tank tops and jeans, drawing the reader's attentions to their hips by adding pockets. One can never have enough of those.
This is not innovative or new, but what it does it does really, really well. If you're in the mood for a fast-paced bloodbath, look no further.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
Kali has a mission: Revenge.
Post apocalyptic setting in a desert setting, with women being badass - that's where the Mad Max: Fury Road comparison comes into play. This time, a publisher did not chose to make false advertisement by exaggerated comparisons.
The plot is simple but I was promised action, and I expected this kind of plot, so I don't really have anything to complain on that front. What I also liked was that no ridiculous measures were being taken on the women's clothing: They are being sexy by wearing tank tops and jeans, drawing the reader's attentions to their hips by adding pockets. One can never have enough of those.
This is not innovative or new, but what it does it does really, really well. If you're in the mood for a fast-paced bloodbath, look no further.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
October 19, 2023
Kali is a badass biker gang boss in a Mad Max world, stabbed in the back--figuratively and literally--by her sisters. Now she's hellbent on escaping a rival's slave pits and hunting down her betrayers.
A mindless action movie in book form. Very little happens but it happens dynamically and violently.
The dialogue is thuddingly bad.
Bang bang et cetera. Thud. See?
The illustration on the other hand is stunning. And Dark Horse knows it, packaging Kali in a gorgeous 13 x 8in hardcover that shows off the beautiful bright art to maximum effect, even including multiple cinematic two-page spreads.
One-star writing but five-star presentation.
A mindless action movie in book form. Very little happens but it happens dynamically and violently.
The dialogue is thuddingly bad.
"You'd be wise to surrender. If you do I'll consider sparing your life."
"I have no more life to spare. All I have left to offer now is retaliation."
"Well that doesn't sound like fun. And you know what they say, if you're not having fun...then you should just die!"
Bang bang et cetera. Thud. See?
The illustration on the other hand is stunning. And Dark Horse knows it, packaging Kali in a gorgeous 13 x 8in hardcover that shows off the beautiful bright art to maximum effect, even including multiple cinematic two-page spreads.
One-star writing but five-star presentation.
April 18, 2023
Powerful female protagonist in a Mad Max style dystopian future out for revenge. Simple story that ends with a slight bit of a plot twist of sorts and nice resolution for the story. Honestly, everyone has read or seen this plot before but that's because it works a lot.
Instead of talking more about the amazing action and great art, here are some adjectives that came to mind as I was reading this: cool, punk, bad ass, action, empowering, woman power, beautiful, awesome...
...Yeah. It was just a cool kick ass story about a kick ass woman. Definitely made me want a leather jacket.
Instead of talking more about the amazing action and great art, here are some adjectives that came to mind as I was reading this: cool, punk, bad ass, action, empowering, woman power, beautiful, awesome...
...Yeah. It was just a cool kick ass story about a kick ass woman. Definitely made me want a leather jacket.
October 14, 2022
Traición y venganza.
Muertes a tutiplen.
Una absoluta ensalada de tiros.
Un dibujo super dinámico.
Una estética muy de western (europeo).
No da sino lo que promete (violencia desatada, sangre a chorretones y una mujer de armas tomar que va encajando golpes y heridas sobre la marcha casi como si nada), sin más pretensión.
Entretenimiento ideal para desengrasar.
Muertes a tutiplen.
Una absoluta ensalada de tiros.
Un dibujo super dinámico.
Una estética muy de western (europeo).
No da sino lo que promete (violencia desatada, sangre a chorretones y una mujer de armas tomar que va encajando golpes y heridas sobre la marcha casi como si nada), sin más pretensión.
Entretenimiento ideal para desengrasar.
October 16, 2022
Rating 3 out of 5 |D+: Good effort, but no Cake
I had just finished Neil Gaiman’s American God; The graphic Novel: Shadow, in which there was a personification of the Hindu goddess Kali, as Mata-ji, an embodiment of death and destruction. Which is when I came across Kali, in my recommendations. The cover art was quite gritty and fetching to say, and I decided to take a gander.
The story starts off in a Kill Bill -esque fashion, with Kali, our protagonist, with a knife in her back, literally backstabbed by her former gang, the Matrikas. The all female gang which roamed the post apocalyptic wasteland of the desert had staged a coup and left their leader Kali, for dead.
But she survived, and if the Bride has taught us anything, it’s that revenge is a dish best served cold. And her enemies better be ready to face the wrath which she brings with her. Only, she doesn’t, not really, not in a satisfying opening.
For, despite an integration premise and great artwork for a title with little publicity, the story takes a downhill approach. As we go from confrontation to confrontation, with occasional flashbacks, with no real substance to talk of.
Revenge stories, like John wick, or stories involving femme fatales, like Red Sparrow & Atomic Blonde, work through the charisma and mystique of their protagonist, as well as the world which they inhabit.
In which case, Kali has neither to write home to. It feels like such a bare bones story with only a succession of action scenes, we as readers don’t get anything significant to bite onto. The first two panels of the story featured Kali the protagonist and her gang, the Matrikas. Which if you’re someone familiar with Indian Mythology alludes to a pantheon of badass warrior-mother goddesses. Which is something that attracted me to the story.
But it didn’t seem like they were going to explore whatever those references entailed if the simple progression of the plot is anything to go by.
A second complaint I have is how short the story is. Revenge stories of the kind usually play out in stages, the protagonist stuck in some impossible situation, her getting out of it with skill and luck, traveling across the unique world meeting engaging characters, and all the while feeding to us drip by drip as to what sort of person she is, while cutting down the names in her kill list. The quintessential Kill Bill.
Yet here, the whole narrative is done and done within a single stretch, which, again, doesn’t give us enough to chomp onto. Which is something that I felt was disappointing.
But, not all stories you read can be pearls, Good effort guys, but sorry.
I had just finished Neil Gaiman’s American God; The graphic Novel: Shadow, in which there was a personification of the Hindu goddess Kali, as Mata-ji, an embodiment of death and destruction. Which is when I came across Kali, in my recommendations. The cover art was quite gritty and fetching to say, and I decided to take a gander.
The story starts off in a Kill Bill -esque fashion, with Kali, our protagonist, with a knife in her back, literally backstabbed by her former gang, the Matrikas. The all female gang which roamed the post apocalyptic wasteland of the desert had staged a coup and left their leader Kali, for dead.
But she survived, and if the Bride has taught us anything, it’s that revenge is a dish best served cold. And her enemies better be ready to face the wrath which she brings with her. Only, she doesn’t, not really, not in a satisfying opening.
For, despite an integration premise and great artwork for a title with little publicity, the story takes a downhill approach. As we go from confrontation to confrontation, with occasional flashbacks, with no real substance to talk of.
Revenge stories, like John wick, or stories involving femme fatales, like Red Sparrow & Atomic Blonde, work through the charisma and mystique of their protagonist, as well as the world which they inhabit.
In which case, Kali has neither to write home to. It feels like such a bare bones story with only a succession of action scenes, we as readers don’t get anything significant to bite onto. The first two panels of the story featured Kali the protagonist and her gang, the Matrikas. Which if you’re someone familiar with Indian Mythology alludes to a pantheon of badass warrior-mother goddesses. Which is something that attracted me to the story.
But it didn’t seem like they were going to explore whatever those references entailed if the simple progression of the plot is anything to go by.
A second complaint I have is how short the story is. Revenge stories of the kind usually play out in stages, the protagonist stuck in some impossible situation, her getting out of it with skill and luck, traveling across the unique world meeting engaging characters, and all the while feeding to us drip by drip as to what sort of person she is, while cutting down the names in her kill list. The quintessential Kill Bill.
Yet here, the whole narrative is done and done within a single stretch, which, again, doesn’t give us enough to chomp onto. Which is something that I felt was disappointing.
But, not all stories you read can be pearls, Good effort guys, but sorry.
March 30, 2023
Rather than starting your day with a cup of coffee, you could read Kali. It's basically 140 pages of kickass action scenes.
In an unspecified future/other world, the Machine is running things and various rival factions are being stomped out. Kali's faction has turned on her while joining the Machine. Kali's pissed about that, so: REVENGE TIME.
The plotting is pretty light, but that's not a problem when the action is this great. Tremendous work by artist Robert Sammelin. The book definitely made me curious about the world, but if Kali is all we get in this Machine future/past, I'm fine with it.
In an unspecified future/other world, the Machine is running things and various rival factions are being stomped out. Kali's faction has turned on her while joining the Machine. Kali's pissed about that, so: REVENGE TIME.
The plotting is pretty light, but that's not a problem when the action is this great. Tremendous work by artist Robert Sammelin. The book definitely made me curious about the world, but if Kali is all we get in this Machine future/past, I'm fine with it.
July 25, 2023
This was a very pleasant surprise.
I'm a sucker for stories with badass strong female characters. This is basically Mad Max female version. The story kicks ass and the art is fabulous.
This is one of the best arts I have seen lately in an action comic book. I'm really interested in see what else has this artist been doing.
The worst part is that it's too short. Extremely short as this is a single volume story but have potential to be so much bigger series.
This actually makes it have a kind of underwhelming ending but I couldn't give it a bad rate because of that. I just which there was more stories of Kali to read.
I'm a sucker for stories with badass strong female characters. This is basically Mad Max female version. The story kicks ass and the art is fabulous.
This is one of the best arts I have seen lately in an action comic book. I'm really interested in see what else has this artist been doing.
The worst part is that it's too short. Extremely short as this is a single volume story but have potential to be so much bigger series.
This actually makes it have a kind of underwhelming ending but I couldn't give it a bad rate because of that. I just which there was more stories of Kali to read.
May 5, 2024
You get what you sign up for with this, get thrown in to a high action revenge story. The biggest part I liked was the art, it being an oversized hardcover with cool art and lots of fight scenes made it nice to look at and the story while interesting didn’t have much to say and feels like it almost needs a prequel to explain what’s going on. Other than that this was good fun.
September 9, 2023
Loved every page & panel.
Loved the Euro comics aesthetic.
Loved the action.
Loved the character design.
Comics like this are my kind of jam and my only problem was that it finished and left me wanting more.
Loved the Euro comics aesthetic.
Loved the action.
Loved the character design.
Comics like this are my kind of jam and my only problem was that it finished and left me wanting more.
May 18, 2024
Ça fait le job d’une histoire de vengeance très violente et pleine d’action avec des moments graphiques très forts. Mais sinon personnellement je n’ai pas adoré plus que ça, même si je reconnais un récit maîtrisé !
March 30, 2024
Ótima arte, mas a história...bem..é muito apressada. Tudo acontece num ritmo frenético e acaba de forma abrupta, sem tempo para aprofundar sobre os personagens e sobre aquele mundo.
Tinha potencial, mas ficou a impressão de que o autor só escreveu uma "amostra grátis" de algo maior, que nunca conheceremos.
Tinha potencial, mas ficou a impressão de que o autor só escreveu uma "amostra grátis" de algo maior, que nunca conheceremos.
July 8, 2023
Amazing art and cinematic layouts wrapped around a simple, propulsive revenge story. I just wish there was lots more. I dig the characters and the fuller life and world suggested through it all. Reading everything by Freedman and Sammelin.
March 5, 2023
Light on the story, it's a pretty straightforward revenge plot. The art does a lot of the heavy lifting, so it's good that the art fucking rules. This comic has great action sequences, which makes up for the (frankly) terrible twist at the end. Not a lot of substance, but very fun to read.
March 15, 2023
Lots of cool action, but light on the story elements. The foundation is there, just wish it was more fleshed out.
August 31, 2024
My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.
June 21, 2024
A modern allegory for the 'machine'.
March 7, 2024
Rating: 2.75/5
Unlikable character in a miserable setting which makes it tolerable. It may sound negative but it's actually a compliment because it's clearly done with intention. This book is a spectator experience rather than an immersive one. The reason it didn't reach higher for me is due to the lack of depth. I just didn't care enough even if I tried to. Everything was on a surface level. Informational than emotional. The dialogues felt mundane. The art and the ending saves the book but the writing leaves you numb. It's not bad nor that good but it's decent.
Unlikable character in a miserable setting which makes it tolerable. It may sound negative but it's actually a compliment because it's clearly done with intention. This book is a spectator experience rather than an immersive one. The reason it didn't reach higher for me is due to the lack of depth. I just didn't care enough even if I tried to. Everything was on a surface level. Informational than emotional. The dialogues felt mundane. The art and the ending saves the book but the writing leaves you numb. It's not bad nor that good but it's decent.
March 6, 2023
Kept waiting for there to be a story or plot or universe that I could care about but it was all just revenge murder for the sake of violence.
February 9, 2025
I have a bone of contention with all these reviews claiming the women keep all their clothes on and they’re not wearing heels. That’s just not true. All the women have heels on. Some are more ridiculous than others, but not a single female character doesn’t have heels. Kali is topless in one panel; another character turns into the and is entirely nude, for several panels. There’s a character dressed as a dominatrix and another wearing a lacy bra with chains wrapped around her bare torso. So let’s not kid ourselves that this has somehow evolved past the “sexy”/objectifying post-apocalyptic punk semi-nude style of the 80s.
Kali is quite a boring character. Sure, she’s a badass out for revenge after she’s been betrayed, but they forgot to explain why I should care. Give her one trait other than victim to give the reader something to latch onto.
All the stories in this genre are somewhat generic, but you have to remix the tropes enough to stand out from the crowd. Something this one fails to do.
Kali is quite a boring character. Sure, she’s a badass out for revenge after she’s been betrayed, but they forgot to explain why I should care. Give her one trait other than victim to give the reader something to latch onto.
All the stories in this genre are somewhat generic, but you have to remix the tropes enough to stand out from the crowd. Something this one fails to do.
May 16, 2024
Tahle našlapaná akční jednohubka je především vizuální záležitost. Dějově to není průser, ale příběh je docela jednoduchý a přímočarý. Kali byla vůdkyní ženského motorkářského gangu, ale byla zrazena vlastními sestrami. Ze zad jí teď trčí její vlastní nůž a tak je řádně nasraná, a je odhodlaná pomstít se za každou cenu. Příběh se odehrává po jakési nejmenované válce, snad v nějaké americké pustině, a Kali stojí v cestě za pomstou celá armáda naprosto neschopných vojáků. K tomu směřuje moje asi největší výtka. Ne že by to nebyla zábava, jak ženská, nejspíš nezničitelná, sama likviduje přesily ozbrojených vojáků, ale co je moc, to je moc. No a to je vlastně všechno. Celou knihu jde Kali zuřivě za svou pomstou a nechává za sebou hromady mrtvol. Jak už jsem zmínil, tohle je především vizuální záležitost a velký formát té knize svědčí. Kresba je pěkná a dynamická. Líbí se mi i velké a jednoduché SFX, které jsou pěkně zapracované do obrazu. Nechybí ani obsáhlá bonusová část na konci knihy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews