Comics I Bought: May 22, 2008

I'm back from the comic shop this week and I got no new comics. Nothing for me at all this week so I looked around and found hard cover collection to get. John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson are the artists so even if I don't like the book it will be nice to look at:

"Black Panther: Who Is the Black Panther"

And now for a review of something I've read recently.

"Kickback" by David Lloyd

"Kickback" is a 96 page hardcover graphic novel written and drawn by the artist of "V for Vendetta" David Lloyd. 96 pages isn't a lot by today's "decompressed" comics standard but this is a big cup o' comics filled to the brim. And you better to pay attention because a lot of things are happening in it.

"Kickback" is the story of a corrupt cop in a corrupt city trying to get a grip on things as the corruption gets out of hand. Criminals are killed, cops are killed, and the balance of corruption is about to come tumbling down. Not a happy-peppy story but Lloyd gives us some hope.

First of all, that art in this book is really first rate. In this day and age of inkers who can't spot blacks or lay down an interesting line it's great to see an artist (David Lloyd) who can do both masterfully. The art has an old school illustration look mixed with some German Expressionism. And also in this day and age of bland photo illustrative coloring it's nice to see someone use color in a comic to evoke a mood. One of the best drawn books I've seen in a while.

I'm not sure if a new comic book reader would understand this book easily because there is a lot going on in the storytelling. Lloyd sometimes switches scenes in the middle of the page and uses subtle visual hints rather than words to clue us in. I had to pay close attention, especially in the beginning, and I am a veteran comics reader. I'm not saying the storytelling is bad or confusing. I'm saying it's advanced. Don't expect your hand to be held too much.

Though the cops are on the take they are not evil. It's not one of those "everyone is bad" stories where the reader has no one to cheer for (Brubaker's "Criminal" comes to mind). The cops are relatable as human beings because they are not corrupt because of greed or any such. They are corrupt because it seemed like the best thing to do at the time. Afterwards they regret it but that's the way the show runs. Of course the show can't go on like that but most of them don't realize that.

All in all "Kickback" was a good read with some impressive artwork. If you're looking for some film noir type stuff or a good crime comic check this one out. I liked it.