Snow Angels – 2021 (Dark Horse) – Sci-Fi, Adventure, Action
Author: Jeff Lemire
Art: Jock
Series Contents: Snow Angels #1-10 (Originally Digital Issues)
Intro: 1: You must never leave the trench. 2. The trench provides. 3. The trench is endless.
Story:
So, Snow Angels is yet another apocalyptic setting, or so it seems at least, as a lone society dubbed The Trenchfolk lives in a frozen endless trench, scraping to get by and survive. Men learn to be hunters, with women typically stay at camp, except for one widowed man who raises his daughters Milliken and Mae to be fighters, hunters and survivors.
Their father will teach them to fish, make fire, cook and make weapons for combat against wild Trenchdogs. If they can stave them off and successfully pull up some fish, the girls may learn enough to make it in the future, and give proper thanks to their gods: The Colden Ones. Not much is certain about these gods, but their mother is with them now.
The trench society fears straying too far from its town grounds as it could trigger a fabled horror: The Snowman. This is a deadly being who no one will survive an encounter with. So, as long as you follow the tenements of the Trench, you should survive.
Too bad things don’t last, and the young family is thrust into a deadly game of survival, as society is hit with deadly troubles, and the girls must rely on what they have learned sooner than they expected to.
Snow Angels is an interesting setup and mythology, and is a fast-paced story with some cool ideas. It may not answer every question you want answered, and in some ways, it just feels like it is scratching the surface, but it is a cool little Sci-Fi adventure tale that has some intense action and survival moments.
It is solid enough in its setup and world building that when the action hits it is fun to watch the execution, though really readers probably will have plenty of questions. It feels both futuristic, yet restrained and grounded with some choices, however does contain some high-concept themes or plot reveals. Overall, there is far more good than bad, and this short story is worth the read. If there is ever more in the future, it could be similar, or quite different, based on where it winds up at the end. Who knows what it would explore.
Art:
I have always liked Jock’s stylized art, and it’s in full display here in Snow Angels. The fast-paced action and futuristic design nature of the story allow Jock to lean into the chaos and give the pages plenty of motion. The story is moody despite the icy setting, and the white backgrounds allow the action and characters to stand out strongly with cool character design. The Trenchfolk generally feel classic, however there are touches of cool technology applied to their society. Then there are the world’s creatures, which are impressive with their own designs.
Reasons to Read:
While the ending may not resolve every last question you have, and there are plenty of concepts introduced that the story could have explored further, this short and fast-paced Sci-Fi adventure is worth the time due to a creative setting, solid action and some very cool artwork. It does not have a ton of detail or world building beyond some introductory elements, but some of the action leads to some cool and tense scenes.
Similar Titles:
The Wake; Descender; Ascender; We Only Find Them When They’re Dead; Sentient; Nameless; Middlewest; Planetary