- Written by Nick Goode
- Art by Harry Hughes
The year is 2079, a series of terrorist bombings have rattled what remains of England after the effects of global warming took the world by surprise in 2020. The people have lost faith in the government despite their efforts to aid the country’s reform. Isolated and alone, London has split into boroughs, each borough governed by a councilman who reports to Parliament. In the fifth borough, Islington. James Snow, a political researcher, is in the midst of it all. Events begin to unfold that will change his way of life forever…
Pickup your copy of ‘Snow: The Dawn’ #2 at Comixology now!
In my review of issue #1 (check it out here!) I talked about the unique look of ‘Snow: The Dawn’. Artist Harry Hughes brings a real non corporate, DIY and gritty aesthetic to the series. With issue #2 he has dropped the colours and gone all out black and white.
Dropping the colour really pushes the series towards the noir type aesthetic that it is searching for. Coupling the darkness of the story and its characters with a world devoid of colour was a bold choice that really pays off.
The character designs remain consistent which is always a concern when switching up the art style. Details all remain strong, if not stronger than in the previous issue so no complaints from me.
The story is equally strong to boot. Continuing to follow James in the wake of his attack in the previous issue we have now reached the burgeoning gifts part of the origin story. We don’t yet know the extent at which the formula he has been injected with has changed him but we’re getting the story slowly but surely.
‘Snow: The Dawn’ as an overall arc is burning at a slow pace but as a reader that almost comes as a surprise given the amount of action taking place. The individual stories in both issues #1 and #2 both move swiftly enough to keep the reader entertained. Very little time has elapsed between the two issues yet so much is going on and that’s a sign of strong writing. It will be interesting to see how much time passes over the course of the full twelve issues series.
What is nice to see is that this series isn’t solely focusing on it’s science fiction elements. Using some of the wealth of supporting roles that have been introduced we’re now able to get a better glimpse in to James’ life. The character of Sarah is starting to become a lot more interesting. She plays a very small role in the first issue but now we learn of her romantic feelings towards James she is inevitably going to be caught up in his world.
Once again Goode is showing his ability to slowly build more complexity in to the overall world of ‘Snow: The Dawn’ whilst never losing sight of the readers need to be constantly entertained. Whatever this guy has cooked up for us in future issues it’s going to be really interesting to read.
Just because there’s more of a focus on character in this issue doesn’t mean that action is forgotten. Hughes is still able to flex his visual muscles thanks to the interesting disguises of two characters as seen on the cover (above) and also a bit party action sequence.
Lets start with the masks: they’re creepy and they look amazing. Hughes use of shading, particularly on the masks, really accentuates the facial expressions of characters. Here he uses to it really evoke some creepy emotions. Secondly the party sequence. There’s not much to say other than it brings some much needed action to the proceedings.
Verdict
‘Snow: The Dawn’ #2 is the perfect follow-up to the series opening issue. It builds on the action and it builds on the character. The series could possibly use a little more tension but right now we’re still world building. There’s plenty of potential in a series already bursting with must read moments.
4 stars
