Kickback [Hardcover]

David Lloyd (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2006

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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (August 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593076592
• ISBN-13: 978-1593076597
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,755,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars David Lloyd returns with a vengance, January 11, 2007

By 

Lady Vean - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kickback (Hardcover)

Kickback, the most recent work by artist David Lloyd, whisks the viewer into the world of corruption and greed in this intense crime-noir thriller. Lloyd plays the roles of both artist and writer in this masterpiece, deftly weaving language and imagery to entice the audience to be an active participant, rather than a passive reader. The use of earth tones in monochrome in many passages conveys the grit of the city, as seen through the eyes of a disillusioned "bad cop." However, there is an underlying softness in Lloyd's illustrations, with occasional splashes of color subtly portraying visual puns and even the pathos of a particular character. As opposed to most Graphic Novel's harsh black outlines and garish colors, Lloyd masters light and shadow to give the impression of depth. With Kickback, David Lloyd truly comes of age.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lloyd Delivers, January 3, 2007

By 

Ann M. Willbanks (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kickback (Hardcover)

David Lloyd's new Graphic Novel delivers what it promises: a crime-noir thriller, but with more depth than one usually sees in this genre. The premise is familiar, the plot recognizable, but what makes this story more than a cop drama is the art.

Lloyd's art grabs the story and lifts it out of its genre and smacks it around with multifaceted techniques, cinematic perspective, and brilliant brush strokes. Some panels were literally breathtaking. His use of color is skillfully applied in order to pound primal emotional responses when the action heats up and softer, even humorous, touches when the story calls for it. The color and technique lay a vivid foundation beneath the story itself that works subliminally to magnify reader involvement with the text, and even more powerfully when there is no text at all.

Unlike a text-only story, Lloyd's new graphic novel gives the reader a multidimensional experience that is best savored slowly and more than once in order to truly appreciate his considerable talents.

Ann Marie

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More great work from Lloyd, February 6, 2007

By 

Annaleise Ferreira "Acolyte of Cthulhu" (Marina, California ,United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kickback (Hardcover)

David Lloyd's art is some of my favorite in comics today, partly because of a very subtle realism he brings to ever frame and partly because I'm drawn to work that used a lot of heavy shadows. Often figures and scenes will be completely dark except for a tiny bit of skillful highlighting which brings the whole thing into three dimensions. It's the kind of thing I'm trying to accomplish with my own art.

The story in Kickback is a bit too short, I think, but very dense, so it takes a few times reading it to get all the details. I wish it were longer because there's a lot in there that can be explored further. I really enjoyed it and I hope Mr. Lloyd decides to continue the story.