#426 - Snow Angels Season 1

After last week and finishing off the Hawkeye series, this week begins my effort to cram as many comics into December as possible in order to prepare for a special Pipedream project that we have coming up.

This doesn't just mean new comics (well from my perspective) but also more of some older ones that I only read the first issue for.

The week started with the latter of those, which was Snow Angels Season One, something I had been fortunate enough to review the first issue of for Pipedream Comics back in the Summer. This series followed Milliken and Mae Mae, two sisters who live inside a massive trench located within a frozen wasteland with their pa and their village of 'trenchfolk.' However, when the family return from a hunting trip to find their whole settlement slaughtered, the trio must make a break for uncharted parts of this endless trench in order to escape a mysterious killer who seeks to end them for seemingly breaking the rules of the trench.

I really enjoyed Snow Angels first issue back when I reviewed it and so, when Comixology were doing a sale on all of their Originals titles a few weeks back, this was definitely going to be up there amongst my purchases. Thankfully, I'm glad that I did because the remainder of season one more than matched up to what that first issue seemingly promised.

What I loved about this series was that I felt Jeff Lemire had crafted a deeply captivating and, above all, engrossing story. It really felt like, for every new page and new set piece, Lemire just added yet more mystery to this world, leaving me with more and more questions about what is going on (though not in confused way). As for the characters, I'm a little in two minds about the leads, Milliken and Mae Mae. I did find the characters a little irritating in their constant 'needling' of one another (being a dad of 2 myself, I sure get 'Pa's' exasperation). However, as the story progressed, both felt like they grew up quickly (as circumstances would no doubt require) and, by the end, I found myself a little torn up for them as they had to say goodbye.

As for the art, Jock's work is getting a lot of action with me and, while his work here and on Green Arrow Year One is years apart, he once again knocked it out of the park with me for very similar reasons. This is because I thought that Jock's work again showed a real brutality to the environment, with the sparseness and roughness of the lines really giving the world that necessary harsh and cold feel. He also nailed the characters in my opinion, with the the family giving such Resonant looks of sadness and fear while the snowman, the villain of the piece, look seriously menacing while also making me wonder who or what it is.

If there is one thing that frustrates me about Snow Angels it is that despite it drawing me in more and more as it progressed, it finished on a cliffhanger that now makes me crave season two. Fortunately, this is a very simple first world problem to have. I really enjoyed reading this series and am glad I included it with my 'secret' project I'm currently working on elsewhere (more about that later). I just have to hope that I can get the second season sooner rather than later.

So, with Snow Angels all read, the rest of the week was spent reading a few single issues. 

First up was Hailstone #1, another Comixology Originals comic by Rafael Scavone and Rafael De Latorre which followed a small town Sheriff in Civil War America attempt to find five missing townspeople who were lost (or maybe taken) in the middle of the nearby woods.

I must confess that this intrigued me. I get the impression that whatever the antagonist of this story is, it is supernatural in nature. However, I was left with so many questions by the end; why are the people taken and not left for dead? What's the purpose of the army camp? and why has everyone gone to pot since the camp arrived? Also, what is up with that Captain?

Meanwhile, I really like the art here, with it having a really gritty look which works well for the era the story is set in as well as helping make it rather horror-esque. Of course, it didn't fully wow me by the end, but it does make me intrigued enough to check out the whole series, probably during a future sale (which I'm sure will happen).

I then capped off my week by reading a preview excerpt of Producing at the End of the World, a new Anthology which is currently being kickstarted by Soda and Telepaths' Anthony Pollock (whom I also asked a few questions on the subject for Pipedream Comics this week). Appropriately enough given the title, the stories this comic contained were all tales regarding the end of the world.

The preview itself was not the entire book (sadly) but the first four stories and, I must say, that if the rest of the title is half as good as those four tales then this anthology is going to be something special. I really thought all four of these stories were something truly special, providing a sort of subverted storytelling which I really like. I can't lie, I'm surprised by the varied imagination surrounding this concept and now realise why my own submission to this anthology failed; these stories are in a class of their own and put what I wrote to shame.

As a result of reading this preview, I found myself incredibly hyped to read the full comic and happily pledged that way (I'm not settling for just half). The hard part is now waiting for the kickstarter to make 100% and then for Anthony to send out all of the copies.

Hopefully, the rest of my backlog can quell that frustration.

For this week though, that was me done ... well, almost. I did read one other comic but as that was for a review purpose, which I haven't written yet, I figure I'll fold that over into next week's post.

Though what I mainly talk about next week is still up for debate.