Snowfall

by Joe Harris, Martín Morazzo (Contributor)

Writer JOE HARRIS (The X-Files) and artist MARTÍN MORAZZO (Vertigo Quarterly), creators of GREAT PACIFIC, reunite for a brand new ongoing science-fiction series.

In the year 2045 it no longer snows following a crash that left the climate ravaged, society splintered and the newly-christened “Cooperative States of America” propped up and administered by the powerful Hazeltyne Corporation. Only one man wages an all-out weather war against the system, wielding the forces of nature themselves as weapons. He’s the White Wizard. The Ghost in the Night. Genius. Terrorist. Outlaw. Hero?

Collects Issues 1 through 9.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Comic Book

240 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2017

About the author

JOE HARRIS is the co-creator and writer of original comics and graphic novels such as the Image Comics rock ‘n’ roll thrill ride, Rockstars, and the environmental sci-fi epics, Great Pacific and Snowfall; along with the supernatural thrillers, Ghost Projekt and Spontaneous, and the children’s fantasy, Wars In Toyland, for Oni Press. In 2013, Joe began a long stint writing the officially-licensed continuation of the paranormal investigations of Agents Mulder and Scully in The X-Files comics at IDW to the enjoyment of fans around the world. The X-Files: Cold Cases—the best-selling audio dramatization of Joe’s comics scripts featuring the voices of David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and the entire original X-Files cast—and the follow-up, The X-Files: Stolen Lives were released by Audible beginning in 2017.

As a young creator at Marvel Comics, Joe launched the cult-classic Spider-Man spinoff, Slingers and the Bishop: The Last X-Man series. He has written for just about all major comics publishers including DC Comics, Marvel, Image, IDW, Dark Horse, Valiant, BOOM! and others.

A horror screenwriter and filmmaker, Harris conceived and co-wrote Darkness Falls for Sony Pictures—after his short film, Tooth Fairy was acquired by Revolution Studios and he was hired to develop it into a feature—along with the politically farcical slasher movie, The Tripper for FOX. In 2018, he co-wrote the live-action web series, Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe for Valiant Entertainment.

His latest project is Surviving Nuclear Attack, a paranoid sci-fi thriller, set to launch in 2019 as part of John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction from Storm King Comics.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The same creative team behind Great Pacific return with another story of climate gone wild. This time in the future there's no snow except for what the White Wizard creates. He uses it as a terrorist weapon against the corporation he used to work for.

The Good: I quite liked the art. It had a Frank Quitely vibe about it.

The Bad: This book is a mess. Good luck following the plot. I had no idea why things were happening the way there were.

The Ugly: Everyone in the book is unlikable with no redeeming qualities. I didn't care at all when people died and had to force myself to finish this.

Received an advanced copy from Image and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this book is trying too hard, is super-pretentious, or is just poorly put together; whatever it was, it did not make for an enjoyable reading experience. In a world where precipitation no longer occurs, a man makes it snow. And he's threatening the entirety of the social structure by causing snow, for some reason. A decade after he disappears, a student tracks him down, and they try to destory the world. The story goes back and forth in time relatively frequently, and with very little distinguishing between the two eras. A number of characters appear and do weird things for less than obvious reasons, switching sides and just sort of killing everyone at random. There's a corrupt society, a mystical child called the Formulary who appears and disappears at random, super ice powers, android simulations that appear the exact same as the real world. It's eight issues, and I felt lost and even actively hostile to the plot (none of the characters are likable) for pretty much all of it. The jargony language, the excessive violence against... I think they were robots?... the use of blood for what amounts to cold magic... maybe I just missed something in the early section that made it all make sense, but I don't think so. I think it was too many concepts that never gelled into a coherent story. The art style didn't really sit well with me either; the stark and sterile look is appropriate for the setting and plot, but again didn't really make it a good read.

[Nathaniel R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not something I'd recommend, outside of the novelty of the setting of the narrative. I usually find similar art to have a charm, but here I only left me wanting. The narrative felt convoluted and didn't feel like it impacted me personally. Unfortunate.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Snowfall feels like an homage to The Watchmen; not because it is an ensemble piece (it isn't) but because we are given a cast of characters who are all very flawed and very unlikable. And like the Watchmen and its groundbreaking plot, author Harris has some points to make (For Snowfall, about corporate greed and climate change). The result, however, is very different. Snowfall is a hard title to like: it is all doom and gloom, ineffectual heroes and villains, and a lot of missing heart. Where Watchmen worked because the characters felt real, Snowfall fails completely. I kept reading just to finish the book and not because I liked any part of it or wanted to see how the protagonists fared.

Story: As Earth fell into climate disaster due to science out of control, snow disappeared and corporations 'saved' the people by taking over. But there are rebels - people who don't see corporation control as a benefit but have been labeled as terrorists. When a University student with an agenda goes searching for a legendary anarchist- a long lost rebel who could make it snow at will - he will find more than he bargained for - and a truth he wishes he never found.

The plot was, honestly, a mess. Hard to digest, a lot of random information that is not tied together well, and questionable motivations given to so many of the characters. Even the point of the university student finding the White Wizard was so obvious that I have to question if there is anyone intelligent at the Corporation that they couldn't figure that out as well. I learned more from the back cover blurb than I did in the story itself because too little time was given to the details. It was 'high concept' without really going enough into the actual concept to make it believable or interesting. That kind of story writing can feel lazy and later reveals didn't help.

The characters themselves were all weak - highly flawed but without a beating heart at the center to make us want to follow them. Antihero stories can be interesting, especially if the main characters have strength of character or body. Or if their flaws define them in a way that the reader can relate. But the college student, the White Wizard, and all the side characters neither felt intelligent enough or with enough mettle and grit to really be worth having their story told (or to be the heroes/villains we want to follow). The bad guys were typically stupid and arrogant - none understanding their resources or how to wield them. It was never a case of outsmarting anyone so much as being so stupid that the enemy is able to bumble right through them - this goes for the 'heroes' and the villains.

The world building was weak - ramifications of the advanced technology were never really explored. The corporation was suitably evil and megalomaniac without really addressing that it is the shareholders that are the problems, not the executives whose job is to maximize profit. And in a world where a corporation controls everything, there are NO shareholders they are beholden to - the story writes the corporation as being fully controlled by an executive. So we have a Machiavellian set of leadership without showing us WHY this corporation was smart enough to do what it did or why it is even a Corporation. Or why the people follow it blindly other than being told that the Corporation 'saved' them.

Half way through, the story became so disenchanting and disenfranchising that I just wanted it to end. The 'fairy tale' conceit felt labored and unnecessary and I disliked all the characters and even their designs. At times, it was as if someone had taken the concepts and designs from V for Vendetta and stuck them in a Blender and expected something coherent to come out. And I still don't understand the point of giving us a main character whose only purpose is to be tortured throughout - he just goes along with it for no reason, defeating the purpose of understanding his motivations. We don't really need an observer here. Let's not get into having a child in the story and not giving her any kind of personality or motivations; children are not cyphers.

The illustration work was serviceable but did nothing to elevate the story - it was straightforward and uninspired. I wish the fairy tale sequences had been colored and drawn quite differently with warmer and richer colors in a more obvious fashion. It would have contrasted better than the very straightforward storytelling and art.

In all, I did not enjoy Snowfall. Even the title itself, much like the story and characters, felt obvious and recycled. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[The Northern Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was quite excited about reading this not just because it's rather topical given COP26 has just finished in Glasgow. Though I can be guilty, when reading graphic novels, of failing to give the quality art work it's full due - often at the disgust of my husband - paying more attention to it than usual has still left me feeling totally confused about the story and whether it was a good or bad ending. Having tried to explain it to my hubby I'm left thinking that the ending may be good but I'm still lost in the multiple timelines of the various characters introduced trying to both work out how they ended up where they did and how it all ties together... maybe it's me and I just wasn't focused enough.

[Adam Eastment · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure what to make of this book. The plot is fairly good in the first half, but then the second half it seems to go a bit crazy and has no real idea on who the good or somewhat bad guys are.

It feels like the second half is trying to change tact and be a big commentary on capitalism, how one guy wants to destroy it and how he’s stopped. It’s very confusing as to who to really root for between the guy stopping the capitalists and the girl stopping him.

I bought this on a whim because the cover and blurb looked cool - I might read it again one day, but it could have been much better executed.

[Paul Allard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly good futuristic comic collection

In a future world in which the weather has been “controlled” to eliminate unfavourable weather by a corporation, the White Wizard rebels and brings snow and wintry conditions. There's a lot more to it than that with various characters introduced and developed.

However I didn't find this fantastic as it's littered with flashbacks, some announced, some not, which leads to a fair amount of confusion. I prefer my comics better-organised. The artwork is reasonably good and clear. So the final verdict is that it's quite good and reasonably enjoyable.

[furious · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Harris & Martín Morazzo seem to have a thing for anti-corporate eco sci-fi, and I'm into it. I enjoyed Great Pacific a lot, and this was also great. Lots of super-science, plenty of action. I love Morazzo's style, it is reminiscent of Burnham or Pitarra but is very distinctly his own. And the design by Tom Muller ties it all together nicely. Once upon a time I'd have hoped for a hardcover to put on my shelf. Maybe someday. If I have one complaint, it's that I wish we'd gotten to dig in on more of the characters' backstories. But a single volume story does have its appeal.

[Aaron Wright · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was tough to get through. I kept thinking it would all make sense in the end and some final piece of the puzzle would be given to me making it "click"... That piece never came. I had a tough time figuring out the motivations of the characters. I think I know, but it doesn't do a very good job of explaining it. I went to the store to get something different from my normal graphic novel artists. Needless to say it was a big mistake.

[Joseph Dubey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been decades since I have picked up a comic. This one was pretty good. The plot was a little hard to follow,but other than that it was pretty good.It's about a scientist that uses snow as a supposed terrorist weapon,especially against a mega company that is trying to rule the world by manipulating climate change.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was pretty incomprehensible. The only reason I gave it more than one star is the art which reminds me of Moebius.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a hard time following what was going on here.

[Hailley Wilson · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Decided to give up on this one after reading the other reviews. It's confusing and there is a lot going on that isnt explained, and I don't care for any of the characters.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was confusing and has too much science babble.

[Becky O'Rourke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf

[Alex Sarll]

The team behind Great Pacific turn in another of those fictional responses to climate change which litfic bores continue to insist aren't happening. To a British reader, the Co-Operative States of America is an oddly leftist term for the standard-issue corporate dystopia, its aesthetic straight out of Freejack, which rules the alternately parched and inundated former US in a future where no snow has fallen for years. Until notorious science terrorist the White Wizard resurfaces... At first he's pretty much V (as in Vendetta) using Firestorm's methods to deploy Iceman's powers, but as the story goes on we realise that he's far more morally compromised than he first seemed. And this sense that even the people with the best aims may end up just as dirty as those they battled, may also need to be removed from the board ahead of any better world...it's not the most original theme, but it's nicely handled. The look of the thing is good too, except for the oddly heavy character outlines, which eventually became outright distracting. Beyond that...well, it's a competent and occasionally thrilling response to an urgent topic, and entertaining enough.

(Edelweiss ARC)