Blow Away

by Zac Thompson, Nicola Izzo (illustrator), Francesco Segala (Colorist)

Tenacious wildlife videographer Brynne Brautigan witnesses something she's both unsure of, but can't unsee. Was it a murder? Or is her mind playing tricks in the midst of frozen isolation? Worst of all, the secrets have an easy time hiding in the snow… After witnessing a violent argument between two hikers on remote Baffin Island, Brynne has to be sure, and the footage on her camera will tell the truth soon enough. But the thing is, what will she do with the truth when she discovers it? Hit writer Zac Thompson (Hunt for the Skinwalker, Cemetery Kids Don't Die) and star artist Nicola Izzo (Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer) team up for this neo-noir crime thriller rife with murder and paranoia, in the tradition of Fargo and Rear Window!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 28, 2025

About the author

Zac Thompson is a writer born and raised on Prince Edward Island, Canada. He's written titles like Marvelous X-Men, Cable, and X-Men: Black for Marvel Comics. Along with indie books such as Her Infernal Descent, Relay, and The Replacer.

In 2019, Zac became the showrunner of the Age of X-Man universe at Marvel Comics. His critically acclaimed miniseries, Come Into Me, was called the best horror comic of 2018 by HorrorDNA. His debut comic series, The Dregs, was called "lowbrow brilliant" by New York Magazine. His novel, Weaponized, was the winner of the 2016 CryptTV horror fiction contest.

Reviews

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very unsatisfactory ending.
2/5

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 3 out of 5]

In "Blow Away" a nature photographer in a remote Canadian Arctic setting has a "Rear Window" experience when she observes from afar one climber seemingly murder another on an icy summit. Unfortunately, this intense premise is soon obscured by a twisty and unclear storyline and and a few irritating and unresolved side plots. The final cat and mouse ending is fun but is not strong enough to completely save this story. Expect breathtaking arctic scenery followed by total whiteouts, a likeable protagonist with ever evolving hairstyles, a plot with too many convolutions and not enough hard resolutions and some interesting but often confusing flashbacks.

3.5 stars out of 5 rounded to 3.

[Tyler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really bad. Bad character development. Didn't really make sense.

[Vladimír · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brynne Brautigan je fotografka divokej prírody a na izolovanom a zamrznutom ostrove sa snaží získať snímok vzácneho vtáka. Jej kamera ale zachytí niečo nečakané. Natočila hádku, súboj a následnú vraždu? Alebo si to celé vysvetľuje úplne zle?

Komiks má najmä vďaka kresbu kvalitnú atmosféru. Tvrdé podmienky, prehlbujúca sa klaustrofóbia a záhada visiaca vo vzduchu je cítiť z každej stránky. Práca s materiálom, ktorý hlavná hrdinka zachytila kamerou bola tiež zaujímavá. Trochu však nestíhal scenár. Úvod premenné rozložil dobre, ale keď sa príbeh dostal do štádia zauzľovania a následného rozplietania, už to nefungovalo tak hladko. V závere som len mykol plecami a žiadny silnejší zážitok sa nekonal.

[Elliot Stiert · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. It started strong and the build was great. I was enthralled! But the ending fell flat.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atmospheric, but the stakes don't quite pay off.

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 This is heavy on mood. It so perfectly captures that quiet hostility of the cold and all the focus on being watched from animals to people in the alone-but-not-alone feeling of the cold uncaring wilds. It works with the story's focus on being viewed or viewing others along with the murder mystery. That being said, the tale it spins is just ok once it's all said and done with it wrapping up particularly quick and sort of just ending. I don't think it exactly needed more story. I think ending there could work but it didn't have enough impact and ends up feeling unsatisfying. Still a good book for the mood alone though.
The artist Nicola Izzo and colorist Francesco Segula do an excellent job especially with the landscapes. They're cold, harsh, and isolating and add to the quiet discerning internal dialogue from the inquisitive lead that fills the pages and is integral to how excellently this serves its mood.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise, build up and journey but found the ending lacklustre. It has a really good message and through line with the main character' history. Good representation for those with a handicap too.

The art was good during the first three issues but the last two may have fallen victim to time crunch, or maybe their style evolved during the series and it wasn't for me by the end.

Read it digitally.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good story premise about a nature documentarian in Canada maybe accidentally filming a murder. There's way too much focus in throwing a gazillion twists and turns into the last two issues. I completely lost the thread by the time it was over on who the actual bad guys were. Just too much focus on shock and awe and not enough on good storytelling.

[Mee Too · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read issues of this first and thought “okay, maybe interesting “ re-reading as a volume was more like, “what in stay home mom network is this shite!”

Not good, literally the most basic version of the same most basic story. Not even mediocre 😂

[Matt Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stylistically, not really my thing but I don't think this was particularly well written either. Unclear motivations, muddled storylines, characters that feel more like online avatars than actual people.

[Kyle Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was phenomenal! I read it in single issues. The premise was excellent and had me enthralled throughout. The ending stuck the landing 100%. Highly recommended.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice setting and story kernel are wasted with underdevelopment, abandoned threads, and third act revelations unsupported by the preceding work.

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh..

I tried.

[Steven desJardins · Rating 2 out of 5]

The logic of the story is ... lacking.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special.

[Larakaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent thriller. Perfect for the winter season.