Torpedo Volume 1 [Hardcover]

Enrique Sanchez Abuli (Author), Jimmy Palmiotti (Author), Jordi Bernet (Author), Alex Toth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2009

Torpedo follows the story of a gangster whose life is traced from the innocence of childhood to amoral adulthood, and nearly every stop explored along the way. Abuli's distinctive narrative builds the story over time and Jordi Bernet's masterful renditions of the title character are stunningly cinematic - Torpedo is the Godfather of comics, in both subject matter and execution.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: IDW Publishing (September 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600104541
• ISBN-13: 978-1600104541
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Torpedo is back!!, February 9, 2010

By 

Diego Cordoba - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Torpedo Volume 1 (Hardcover)

Long due for a reprint in the US (the previous version by Catalan in the late 80's never got to the end of the series) in glorious black & white. This new reprint features an all new translation by Jimmy Palmiotti who tries hard to be faithful to Sanchez Abuli's original text, but ultimately fails. Seems the only people who got it right (I'm speaking of the translations) were the French who, however, committed sacrilege by coloring the series. This new American version will consist of 5 volumes that will collect the whole series (which sadly ended due to a misunderstanding between its creators).

Abuli, the writer and Bernet, the artist, were a comic book couple meant to work together, as it's pretty hard finding two people who complimented each other so well. Torpedo will remain the series that put them together and would be their undoing also. To think that this series in the beginning was supposed to have Will Eisner as the writer and Alex Toth as the artist. The series was to take place around 1936 (the editor insisted on the date). Eventually, when Eisner never got around to write a satisfying script, the work ended up being done by Enrique Sanchez Abuli, a part-time writer, who's only previous work in comics was as a translator. The series was to be about a gangster living in America in the 30's. Alex Toth came up with the name Torpedo, a name given to hired guns working on the payroll of gangsters. Due to its extreme violence, Toth quit the series, and it was ultimately shelved. Cut forward a couple of years later, when a young artist named Jordi Bernet came around the offices of SI Artists in Barcelona (where Torpedo was created) asking for work and was shown a script for the third story of Torpedo that had remained unpublished. Bernet saw the potential of the character as a series and jumped on the occasion. The rest, as they say, is history.

Torpedo would shortly become one of the biggest sellers all around Europe and put Bernet from being an almost anonymous artist (he'd been working for comics since his teens) to one of the most recognizable and lauded artists in the business.

This version published by IDW uses the same proofs that were used in Spain recently. Unfortunately, they are the older, darker proofs (no gray tones) and Bernet's beautiful dry-brush work doesn't come out as it should. It seems that the only people who got it right were the Italians, but due to some ulterior motives, the creators cut the series short over there too. So, I guess we will never be able to see the definitive version of Torpedo, but this one comes pretty close. I highly recommend it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Art, March 9, 2010

By 

Clayton Hollifield (Battle Ground, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Torpedo Volume 1 (Hardcover)

It's pretty hard to go wrong with a book that features art by Alex Toth and Jordi Bernet. And the art is absolutely fantastic. I liked the stories in general, but it wasn't Earth-shatteringly good. That's okay, I'm on board for the next volume, if for no other reason than to show thanks for getting more of Bernet's work in print in America. But also, because the art is fantastic.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful art, February 28, 2011

By 

Kaxen - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Torpedo Volume 1 (Hardcover)

I decided to pick up the book just because I saw an illustration of Luca and thought it looked cool. I don't like the two chapters illustrated by Alex Toth as much, but I like the writing very much and I love Bernet's art so very much. I bought the second volume as fast as possible. Though Luca is a horrible person, I love reading about him.