Fire & Ice: When Hell Freezes Over #1 is written by Joanne Starer and published by DC. Artwork is by Stephen Byrne and letters by Ariana Maher.
Fire & Ice: When Hell Freezes Over #1 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
The dynamic duo had made a glorious return to the ranks of the Justice League — and during a major world crisis, no less! But when the crisis was overcome, the smoke had cleared, and all the superpowers were restored, Ice found herself shooting off uncontrollable spurts of fire, and Fire had ice crystals forming at her fingertips. With their powers switched and no solution in sight, Fire and Ice tuck tail and regroup in Smallville, where they realise their predicament makes them something worse than has-been heroes: menaces to the local community they’ve come to love.
Review
I am going to start this review by being brutally honest. Before reading this comic, I had never heard of Fire and Ice. I didn’t know who they were, how long they had been around or even how important they were within the DC universe. From that, some of you may think I’m probably the worst person to be reviewing this relaunch for the characters. However, sometimes it’s good to go in blind to a comic every once in a while. You never know you may be pleasantly surprised.
So with that being said, what did I think of this first issue of Fire & Ice: When Hell Freezes Over?
The first thing that has to be mentioned is the tone and personality the series is going for. These characters seemed to have previously been involved in gigantic, world-threatening battles, but this series opts for a low-stakes dramedy approach with more of an emphasis on character dynamics and building their relationships.
Having become accustomed to superhero comics always being focused on near-death scenarios and plots to end the world, this small-scale story is rather refreshing and thankfully delivers on both its genuine character drama and consistent humour. Their struggles, including the fact their powers have swapped, are handled in a grounded manner which leads to some funny dilemmas as they attempt to fix this problem.
Joanne Starer also attempts to weave relevant, real-world topics and issues into the story. Handled differently, this could come across as shoehorned or clunky, but because of the small scale of the narrative at play, it works pretty well. When these issues are raised, they’re done so during a few small instances and are handled in a similar way to how they would be in a normal context/conversation.
With all that being said, Starer always remembers to bring it back to its comic book roots. A girl’s night at the local bar featuring a cameo from Zatanna grounds the comic back into DC territory and reminds you as a reader what it is you’re reading. Everything set within the bar is really enjoyable culminating in Fire using Zatanna’s hat of tricks to fix the power swap predicament, which only makes the problem worse.
As someone who had never heard of this duo before, this first issue has certainly won me over. They’re likeable and flawed characters that feel very real despite their unique abilities. The writing and characterisations are strong and, like a good TV show, leaves want to see what what happens next purely down to how engaging these characters are.
Verdict
Whether you’re a lifelong fan of this duo or only discovering them for the first time, When Hell Freezes Over is a great introduction to these characters done so with heart, humour and a grounded approach to their relationships.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
