Kickback

by David Lloyd

Joe Canelli is a crooked cop working in a corrupt police force. Joe is haunted by nightmares of powerlessness. When his partner is brutally murdered and he's betrayed by his colleagues, it appears that Joe's nightmares are coming true. With his back against the wall there's only one thing he can do-turn against the criminal network that he once embraced.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Crime, Noir, Graphic Novels Comics, Mystery, Fiction

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

David Lloyd is a prominent English comics artist best known for his work as the illustrator of V for Vendetta, written by Alan Moore, and for designing the character of V and the iconic Guy Fawkes mask, which became a symbol of protest worldwide. He has also illustrated various other notable works, including Wasteland, Espers, Hellblazer, Global Frequency, The Territory, and adaptations of licensed properties such as Aliens and James Bond. In 2012, Lloyd founded Aces Weekly, an online comics anthology.
Lloyd began his career in the late 1970s, working on titles for Marvel UK, including the creation of the pulp character Night Raven with writer Steve Parkhouse. He was influenced by artists such as John Burns, Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby. In 1982, Lloyd collaborated with Alan Moore to create V for Vendetta, which was first serialized in Warrior magazine and later reprinted by DC Comics. The character of V, dressed in a Guy Fawkes-inspired mask, became a cultural icon, particularly with its adoption by the hacktivist group Anonymous and various protest movements.
Lloyd's later works included contributions to Wasteland (DC), Hellblazer (DC/Vertigo), and Global Frequency (WildStorm). He has also worked on various graphic novels, including Kickback and São Paulo, and established Aces Weekly as a platform for comics creators. Throughout his career, Lloyd has been known for his distinctive artistic style, marked by cinematic chiaroscuro and a focus on atmosphere.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a random find I stumbled over while out and about at the weekend - I love going through random charity shops looking at their book collection and I have to say this was a steal (plus it went towards a great cause the dogs trust).

The story is typical gritty crime story telling the tale of one detective to find justice and the truth while at the same time dealing with his own demons and ironically finding a different kind of truth along the way.

The storyline is not particularly surprising or unique but where it does excel at is the atmosphere - a choice of cuts and muted colours give it a washed out gritty feel you would expect if this was a film and in this case works really well.

I know nothing of the author or the reason for this book but you know what I do not mind it was a fun read and welcome distraction.

[George K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Βαθμολογία: 7/10

Αρκετά καλό και ενδιαφέρον αστυνομικό κόμικ, το οποίο διαβάστηκε σε περίπου μια ώρα. Ο David Lloyd είναι σχετικά μεγάλο όνομα στον κόσμο των κόμικς, έχοντας σχεδιάσει το πασίγνωστο V for Vendetta, αλλά και κάτι Hellblazer. Το Kickback δεν είναι και ιδιαίτερα γνωστό έργο και, απ'όσο βλέπω από την βαθμολογία στο Goodreads, ούτε ιδιαίτερα αγαπητό, πάντως προσωπικά μου άφησε καλή αίσθηση. Ένας σχετικά καθαρός μπάτσος με ενοχές και παιδικά τραύματα, θα βρεθεί αντιμέτωπος με τους απίστευτα διεφθαρμένους συναδέλφους του, αλλά και με τον υπόκοσμο. Δεν ξετρελάθηκα και τόσο από την ιστορία, που πρωτότυπη δεν την λες, όμως ούτε απογοητεύτηκα. Είχε λίγη ένταση, κάποιες δυνατές σκηνές, κλασικά πράγματα. Α, και γρήγορες εναλλαγές στην πλοκή, που ίσως κουράσουν κάποιους. Όσον αφορά το σχέδιο, αν και όχι τρομερό, σίγουρα μου άρεσε, μου φάνηκε αρκετά σκοτεινό και ιδιαίτερο, με τα καρέ και τα χρώματα να δίνουν τον ορισμό του νουάρ. Γενικά είναι ένα καλό κόμικ, ό,τι πρέπει για τους λάτρεις των αμερικάνικων νουάρ, όμως θα αδικούσα άλλα, καλύτερα κόμικ του είδους, αν έβαζα τέσσερα αστεράκια. Τριάμισι αστεράκια δεν μπορώ να βάλω στο Goodreads, οπότε... τρία!

[Marco Simeoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noir&Psicanalisi

Denso, densissimo di eventi. Un "In media res" in cui vengo catapultato avendo solo una pagina a farmi da "cuscinetto". Farcito da massacri e sogni ricorrenti.
Ho apprezzato l'incedere della narrazione, i contorni di figure e abitazioni che si confondono per sottolineare una città marcia fino al midollo. Il trauma del protagonista che riaffiora seguendo i dettami del vecchio Sigismondo Bellissimo il la similitudine inconscia tra la Balena e l'aeronave è un lento scoprire rispetto al ritmo "allegro andante" della graphic novel.
Purtroppo tanta roba in troppe poche pagine. In un noir, spesso ho bisogno di empatizzare con i personaggi così, se ad esempio, li dovessi ritrovare stecchiti qualche pagina dopo sarei colto alla sprovvista. Qui invece spesso mi chiedevo chi fosse il morto perché gli era stato dedicato solo un riquadretto di una vignetta.
Comunque lettura piacevole.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

The script is weak even by noir standards, the design is far more amateur and sloppy than V for some reason (but not vague in the way we use to see in polar comics). This was a really poor attempt by Lloyd to create his own comic. I bought it for 3-4 euros at a bazzar and that's a sum wasted.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noir police thriller in the classic tradition. No surprises here but that's not a bad thing, just a very traditional story. Of course, the artwork is superb.

[Wesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seems to an original graphic novel first published in France with this American edition from Dark Horse. The script and art is by David Lloyd who is best known, of course, as the artist on V for Vendetta but I also have a couple of Night Raven books that he did for Marvel.

The story follows Joe Canelli, a crooked cop in a crooked city. Everything is peaceful in Franklin City until one of the main gang leaders is taken out. Rather than starting a gang war, this event shatters the reciprocal agreement between the cops and the gangs with cops being taken out and violent reaction from the police on the gangs. Against this background, Canelli has to discover who he can trust as he investigates the cause of the disturbance and finds that he has to choose sides between what he thought was right and wrong.

This is a nice crime caper that I enjoyed reading. The story is not too original and parts of it reminded me strongly of the film Magnum Force. But the art is great and I love Lloyd's colour palette which is perfect for this noirish tale. The one aspect of Lloyd's art that I don't like is that the faces of characters are sometimes not too well defined and it can be difficult to recognise characters when they reappear in the story. Other than that a good little book that I am glad I took a chance on.

[Sven McNiven · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found myself constantly trying to understand what was happening in the narrative. The panels shift jarringly from the present to subconscious and it didn't work for me. The art work is ghastly, washed out and dull. It didn't appeal to me at all. The narrative was fairly cheesy too, about crooked cops trying to be crime lords. Sounds like it was ripped off from an episode of NYPD blue.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lloyd's story is a by-the-numbers crooked cop decides he's had enough and blows the coverup of a major crime to make things right. The art is Lloyd's same style you've seen elsewhere but the story doesn't really do much beyond go through the paces.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. If you've never read a noir story before, this might strike you better than it did me, but I've read a lot, and despite efforts to do something different, the moral exhaustion of the protagonist is reflected in the artistic exhaustion of the noir genre as reflected here. If you've never read a graphic novel before, you probably won't be able to follow this well at all. Apart from word balloons, there is no text--no thought balloons, no sound effects, no narrative captions. This is a lot less unusual than it used to be, but it does mean that a lot of signals comics can provide are absent here. I found it particularly jarring to be reading scenes with significant gunplay but with no sound effects. The one exception is a few clicks that come through a phone line, thereby confirming our protagonist's expectation that his phone line is tapped. I suppose Lloyd had no choice about that one, and I suppose that even if you establish a rule (or practice) for yourself, you can choose to violate it, but it actually stuck out more than it should because it's unique. I was also not enamored of the mixed media element sof the art--especially the computer manipulations. For all I know, the whole thing was drawn on a computer, but in some panels, the computer's intervention was very visible, and that's about as effective in comics as bad CGI is in movies--IMO, anyway. As for the plot ... well, corrupt cop in a corrupt city, investigating the slaughter of a bunch of gangsters that has set off a war between cops and crooks, learns that the corruption runs deeper than he thought ... and you probably have an idea, more or less, of where that goes. He also has a recurring nightmare tied to repressed childhood memories, so we have the mysterious past thing as well. The metaphor of being swallowed by a whale rather hits us over the head with it. Anyway, not bad, at times nice to look at (Lloyd often shows a great eye for panel and page composition), though, again, those not fairly familiar with comics design may occasionally be baffled about what they are looking at, at least initially.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conflicted feelings on this one. I mean, Lloyd's artwork is just superb, properly gritty and dark, really setting the mood for this noir thriller. He uses a few mixed styles, which sometimes is a bit jarring, particularly a few instances of mixing photography with line art, but most of the scenes work beautifully on an art level. Lloyd's got a great sense of how to frame shots for maximum effectiveness.

Writing - There's some great ideas here. The protagonist, a corrupt cop named Joe Canelli, doesn't seem to have control over his life, and Lloyd sets that up and plays it out very nicely, building to a reasonable moment when he decides to take control of his destiny. And it all works.

But there's this flashback/dream stuff going on that works well thematically, but when Lloyd ties it all in at the end, he loses every bit of subtlety and basically slaps the reader in the face with the reasons behind the dreams. It complements the story, but it's just done in a poor way.

That said, everything else works really well, from the relationship between Canelli and his catankerous grandfather and doting aunt, to the professional relationship and respect that he maintains with his partner.

[Mikel Pfeiffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I know why David Lloyd is known more as an artist than a writer after reading Kickback. I also think while he set this in the US, it reads like it should have been set in the UK. The story's not bad for a simple crime story of a bad cop trying to make good but the transitions through the first half are way to choppy. That made the it a little hard to read and the illustrations are okay but a little too muted and gray for me. So if you want a passable but forgettable crime story with pictures this will get you by for a evening or two.

[a.g.e. montagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Canelli in the belly of the Whale

La trama
(Solo un assaggio, eh).
Joe Canelli è un poliziotto corrotto in una città di poliziotti corrotti: a Franklin City vige un patto segreto di convivenza pacifica tra crimine e forze dell'ordine, oliato dallo scorrere delle mazzette. Questo sistema collaudato inizia a deragliare quando in un apparente agguato viene ucciso Ricky Zed, uno dei boss locali (dovrebbe essere una citazione da Pulp Fiction? "Zed's dead"?). Da quel momento, le pattuglie che fanno 'il solito giro' vengono inaspettatamente aggredite. Canelli viene messo a capo dell'indagine, che naturalmente si complica e s'infittisce ad ogni pagina. A rendergli le cose ancor più difficili c’è un sogno ricorrente, misterioso ed inquietante, che perseguita i suoi momenti di sonno (e con l’avanzare delle indagini saranno decisamente scarsi). La sua mente gli nasconde qualcosa, ricordi troppo dolorosi per essere affrontati...

L'autore
David Lloyd è universalmente noto per aver firmato V for Voi-sapete-cosa (anarchy in the UK!), mentre le altre sue opere sono altrettanto universalmente sconosciute. Questo Kickback del 2006 è una delle più recenti. In un’intervista (vedi sotto) ha confessato che l’opera gli ha restituito il piacere della narrazione dopo un lavoro tedioso di ambientazione storica, ed effettivamente si vede che si è proprio divertito. Un’opera molto godibile, quindi, e costruita magistralmente: i cambi di scena e le svolte della trama sono spesso inaspettate ma sempre calibrate alla perfezione. Discorso a parte, poi, per gli ottimi disegni, e per la costruzione delle tavole di cui Lloyd è un veterano. Il procedimento di elaborazione dei colori (di nuovo, v. intervista) restituisce una peculiare atmosfera hard-boiled, riuscitissima. Oltretutto il thriller, invero piuttosto classico per quanto incalzante e ricco di suspence, è solamente uno degli aspetti di questo fumetto: un format che Lloyd usa per focalizzare sulla vicenda personale di Canelli. L'introspezione psicologica è l'aspetto più interessante della storia, la dimensione al contempo onirica e biografica che coinvolge aeronavi (fuck yeah steampunk) e balene (Joe come Job nella pancia della balena... chi legge capirà).

Non sono un appassionato di crime fiction, quindi non saprei dare un giudizio circostanziato o fare dei paragoni; Lloyd stesso cita Ian Fleming e Mickey Spillane come influenze, oltre ad una lunga serie di film e serial TV.

LC&G 2011
Questa graphic novel mi è stata regalata (autografa!) da un'amica adorabile che aveva gentilmente promesso di procurarmi un pensiero dal Lucca Comics & Games di quest’anno. O quantomeno di provarci, data la folla. Io mi sarei aspettato al massimo un disegno e lei se n’è uscita con questa sorpresa, del tutto inattesa.
E ora immaginate la scena: David Lloyd, notoriamente una persona gentilissima ed alla mano, che firma la mia copia di Kickback, poi si alza, lascia il suo stand e va a cercare Dave McKean. Lloyd e McKean, insieme! Beh, McKean non c'era.

Extras
La sezione di Kickback nel sito ufficiale dell'autore, L for Lloyd:
http://www.lforlloyd.com/kickback/
L'intervista:
http://www.g-wie-gorilla.de/content/v...

Voto
Tre abbondante. Darei quattro stelline ai disegni, a maggior ragione considerando che Lloyd fa tutto da sé (matite chine colori ed elaborazione grafica), oltre che al bellissimo finale.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Lloyd is probably most famous for his role as illustrator/collaborator to Alan Moore on the British graphic novel V for Vendetta . Here delivers a hard boiled crime noir comic about police detective Joe Canelli in the Franklin City Police Department. It is a story of corruption and violence, and lost memories and dreams; and Lloyd's artwork is immensely suited to this kind of a story. Furthermore, his writing sensibilities seem to match his visual artistry, and the result is a really good and enjoyable graphic novel, which should appeal to fans of dark crime fiction generally.

[R.J. Huneke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The grit of V For Vendetta creator David Lloyd’s Kickback is a welcome overtone unleashed across a thrilling tale of crime, mystery, and the spotted soul of a haunted detective unraveling, as he battles to persevere.

Read the rest of this review here: http://www.powkabam.com/blog/the-grit...

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Lloyd, the artist is the co-creator of V for Vendetta and here flies alone into the area of a cop whose submerged memory come to the fore as the story develops as he stands against widespread corruption in the police force. A strong storyline reminiscent of other tales but well executed in Lloyd's film noir style

[Susanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is amazing but the story can be hard to follow. I think I little change like marking different speakers with different don't or bubbles could have made a huge difference. The overall story was interesting but I wouldn't say it's a must read.

[Lloyd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not my cup of tea at all. I may try to sell my copy to David Armstrong.

[Stephanie Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the art but I wish the story had been a little less predictable.

[Alex Sarll]

Another very good comics artist thinks he can turn writer and, as is usually the case, shows why he should stick to the day job.

[Mohammad Aboomar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be a quite a decent story.