IDW Publishing 2015
Written by Chuck Dixon
Illustrated by Esteve Polls
Coloured by Diego Rodriguez
Scully and his fourteen-year-old charge, Wynn, are survivors on an Earth that has become a barren, lifeless wasteland. Together they travel across a brutal world in search of Wynn’s parents, only to find that the coldest place on Earth is the human heart. Their search has been sidetracked as the pair help Trina and her previously missing and presumed dead husband, Reynold, to find some missing village children…
I make no bones that i’m a sucker for this kind of detailed and beautiful artwork and Esteve and Diego really have gone above and beyond the call of duty here bringing us the interiors. First page of this book sets the stage for everything to come and the look and of the trees was so good you could almost feel the frozen wood, the badger is gorgeous with such attention to his fur and the colouring, the shading of the snow in whites and blues just immediately tells you what you are in for.
Now while I’ve really enjoyed Scully and Wynn’s adventures so far I have to say that by expanding the cast with Trina and Reynold giving us even a broader view of things gives Chuck the chance to really expand upon personalities and characterization in ways he hasn’t been able to with just the two of them. This word they live in is really interesting and seeing from a few different angles this issue broadens what’s happening and piques the curiosity in new ways. Trina and Scully’s trist was born out of fear and frustration but now the Reynold is okay things will bound be uncomfortable but I hope this doesn’t mean they leave before they definitively find what happened to their people. The folks who rammed the transport well if they are with those that tried to hijack the animal Scully shot then I want to see more of that tribe because it seemed that cro-magnons were making a comeback.
I really enjoy the fact that a picture tells a thousand words comes into play on page nineteen. I think this is the first time I can recall seeing something like this being in play and this leads far more reaching questions and sets up a whole new kind of arc/adventure for them to embark on. What they come across on land however isn’t something you’d really expect to see, the world really has frozen over the point that the solid ground they’ve been travelling on is really ice from a frozen ocean because they come across a ship graveyard, frozen in place on the water. Heck even a cruise ship still intact frozen on the water it’s an awe inspiring sight really and one that gets not Wynn’s but Trina’s hopes up, though for different reasons.
Could this be the frozen fleet that gives the series it’s name? We’ll have to wait and see but there are definitely people living on at least on ship and they aren’t friendly. This world has gone and taught people to shoot first never ask questions and right now Scully and company are unwelcome guests.
This is a solid story with a great look at what could happen during the next ice age and how the human race reacts. It’s still early yet so there’s so much potential here and Chuck manages to flesh this world out wonderfully. Along with Esteves and Diego this has sharp new look that matches the sharp dialogue and characterization making for a great read.