Alan Moore: A Small Killing (Graphic Novel)

A Small Killing is the story of Timothy Hole, a successful adman who has just been handed the biggest assignment of his life, marketing a major cola in Russia. But his smooth life begins to unravel as he is stalked by a demonic child that makes him question not just who he is, but how he really effects those around him. It is about the little murders that we all have to make each day just to get by. The trace assassinations of tiny things. Really, how much damage can be done by a small killing? A Small Killing is deemed to be one of the most important graphic novels of the past decade, not just a sophisticated thriller but a nonlinear masterpiece by the creator who has helped define the graphic novel form. It is considered by many to be one of Moore's best works, very personal and tremendously affecting, and pivotal in the development of the themes he has explored as a writer. I was looking for the more recent Avatar Press publication but instead got my hands on this 1993 Dark Horse edition of the original 1991 VG Graphics (an imprint of Victor Gollancz, Ltd., Great Britain) issue. I do believe this one ranks right up there among Moore's .
On talking about the Avatar Press pubication (2003) of this graphic novel:

, of all of the works that I have done over the course of my career, is the one I think of as the one that almost got away. I've always thought it was a wonderful work, one of the best things I've ever done," says creator Alan Moore. "Working with Oscar Zarate was an incredible experience and he remains a close friend and colleague to this day. We'd both felt we had outdone ourselves on that particular book. It was released in an unusual format by a publisher who was testing the waters on graphic novels without necessarily a great and inclusive game plan behind that and for whatever reason, it never seemed to receive the attention that I think the work probably deserved. That may not be for me to say and may be for other people to make their mind up about, but for my money, A Small Killing is one of the best pieces of comic book art that I have ever been involved in. I am looking forward to seeing the Avatar edition, released ten years after the initial release. Maybe sensibilities have changed in the intervening decade and maybe that some of the material that we were dealing with then might make more sense if looked at from a vantage point of now. So I'm very much looking forward to this new edition of one of my all-time favorite pieces of work."

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