Snow Angels #1

Snow Angels #1

by Jeff Lemire, Jock (Colorist), Will Dennis (Editor)

Two of the most acclaimed creators of their generation -- Writer JEFF LEMIRE and Artist JOCK -- together for the first time in SNOW ANGELS -- a 10-part science fiction adventure story set in a brutal world like no other!

Milliken and Mae have never left The Trench -- it's all they've ever known. They were born in The Trench, and they'll die there, just like all their people do. The two girls, eight and eleven, are a part of The Trenchfolk, a sprawling settlement of people living inside the massive ice walls of a vast, seemingly endless frozen trench carved into the surface of an otherwise icy wasteland. The Trenchfolk survive in this hostile world by following The Three Testaments of The Trench -- golden rules repeated like a mantra from birth to death...

1. YOU MUST NEVER LEAVE THE TRENCH.
2. THE TRENCH PROVIDES.
3. THE TRENCH IS ENDLESS.

Milli and Mae don't really know how their people came to live here. No one does, not even their wise and gentle Father. On Milliken's twelfth birthday, their father takes the two girls on an overnight skate down the trench -- a coming-of-age ritual to teach them how to fish the frozen river, how to hunt the wild Trenchdogs that wander its frigid banks, and how to give proper thanks to their frozen Gods -- The Colden Ones. It's the trip of a lifetime until the girls push beyond the borders of their humble land and awaken the Trench's deadly defender... The Snowman! What follows next is an action-packed story of survival, loss and redemption.

Part of the comiXology Originals line of exclusive digital content only available on comiXology and Kindle. Read for free as part of your subscription to comiXology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime. Also available for purchase via comiXology and Kindle.

Love the comic? Read the short story! Start the saga with a 21-page short story by Jeff Lemire, featuring cover art by Jock. Presented by Amazon Original Stories. Read or listen free with Prime at Amazon.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopia, Horror

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 16, 2021

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.

Reviews

[Kim Lockhart]

Meh.

[Dylan]

Interesting setup and definitely left me feeling intrigued but there wasn't anything about this first issue really blew me away.

[Connie]

I read this comic via Kindle Unlimited.

I originally selected this series to read on a whim. I had no clue what I was getting myself in for, I also didn't know who Jeff Lemire or Jock was as I'm fairly new to the comic sphere (don't worry, I definitely know now!). This book is set within an ice trench where Milli, Mae and their father live. There are three rules to living in the trench, laid out by the Colden Ones who came before them: 1) everything you need is in the trench, 2) the trench goes on forever and 3) don't leave the trench or the Snowman will get you. Milli is old enough to believe that the Snowman is a myth...Until he isn't and he is after her, her family, her community and her whole way of life.

I really enjoyed this short little intro to this world, the artwork was really unique and definitely added so much more to this world. Even though the trench is simple, plain, ice, the art really did make it feel like it was endless and that Milli, Mae and Pa would spend the rest of their lives travelling through it. Overall I enjoyed this and I will read on.

[Cathy]

We are in an ice trench, father and two daughters. Skating and hunting. An post-apocalyptic world? Or maybe humans that lost all knowledge of what was before, after their ship crash landen on an ice world? The trench is all the characters know…. To be continued!

The artwork is simple and almost monochromatic. Not bad so far. Very short.

[Valéria.]

Nenadchlo ani neurazilo to prvé číslo. Trochu divné boli hneď na začiatku pravidlá, ktoré mi prišli divno formulované a jedno mi ani ako pravidlo neprišlo. Trochu predvídateľný dej. Ale tak, ako jednoduchá vyvražďovačka v snehu to bude určite fajn. Uvidíme ďalej..

[Rebecca Crunden]

Intriguing!

[Star Gater]

Difficult

Read on my Fire Tablet which was better than my Kindle Paperwhite. I found the entire experience frustrating.

If you are able to maneuver a comic/graphic novel easily you are several steps ahead of me and may be able to comprehend as well as enjoy the story.

Read as part of my Kindle cleanup.

[Kim]

I wanted to start reading my Christmas books and it’s started off shit so far😐

[A Little Mystery Book ᰔ]

Wow, this was so good. Five stars all around. I loved Mili, Mae Mae, and their dad. They were a good trio group. This is a series I will continue to read. The ending of this story had me thinking. Who is the snowman?

Things I loved about Snow Angels:
-Graphic novel
-Action packed
-Adventurous
-Science fiction/Dystopian

[Sara]

Interesting start, and I will probably read on--the snowman is terrifying and cool at the same time-- but a pet peeve I have w/ these post-apocalyptic survival stories is how little we get to see of the surviving itself. Yes, they run from the bad guy, and it's mentioned that they hunt and have dribs and drabs of the old technology. But I would love it if one of these stories showed the harsh and often tedious labor involved in staying alive. We need a Growth of the Soil for the apocalypse.

This review is for the Volume#1 trade, not the single issue.

[Kelsey Graham]

I was really intrigued by the concept for this when I read it. The trench is situated on an iceworld and there are only 3 rules:

1. YOU MUST NEVER LEAVE THE TRENCH.
2. THE TRENCH PROVIDES.
3. THE TRENCH IS ENDLESS

I enjoyed the art style and the pacing, although it is very short and most importantly as soon as I finished it I went to find the next in the series.

Overall a great wee find and I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

[Petr Nakasharal Fabián]

Lemire a Jock by mi pár rokama přišli jako zaručenej recept na pecku. Teď už jsem od toho radši moc neočekával. A bylo to dobře, protože nám toho pánové ani moc nedali, kromě jednoho klišé vedle druhýho a generickejch průpovídek. Nutno říct, že potenciál na posledních pár stránkách ukázali a když to Lemire dokáže nepřepíčit a nevykrádat stokrát vykradený, tak by to mohla bejt super věc.
2,5*

[Jez]

Read this on a whim as it was in my Kindle library and got to read it "free" through Prime membership.

Not much in particular happens, it's just 24 pages of setting up the general atmosphere of the story and the 3 main characters and such. Intrigued but truthfully don't have high hopes.

[Shannon]

3.5

[Monique]

⭐️ 3.5 stars ⭐️

[Elyse]

Great beginning! Eager for more!

[Eric Dollinger]

Interesting enough short story, would probably read the second volume if I came across it.

[Adrian]

The trench is all I have ever known. I was born in the trench and I'll die in the trench. Out here, away from the village, it's just me and Mae Mae and Pa. That's all we got. That's all we need. The trench provides.

This new comiXology original limited series from the author of the critically acclaimed Gideon Falls, Vol. 1: The Black Barn, which I really need to read, is a fast paced dystopian tale where humans barely survive an icy apocalypse, living in a glacial trench and feeding off anything they can hunt and kill.

The trench is seemingly endless and above the trench the deadly winds prevent anyone from exploring the wider world. There are also nightmarish tales of a 'Snowman' who hunts humans, used to keep children in line.

This first issue sets the scene and introduces are three main characters. The protagonist is a 12 year old girl who is celebrating her birthday with her father and sister by going on a special hunt. When they return to the settlement, however, there is a shocking discovery that shakes their world to the core!

This was up there with the best comics I've read. The only reason for not getting 5 stars is the fact the issue is rather short. 4.5 stars here.

[lily 🕺🏻]

As others have already stated in reviews here, it was just very unoriginal, and needed more of that gritty realism. It honestly felt more in line with a teen comic... let alone adult horror. There was little to no discussions on how to survive - food, shelter, warmth, etc. I never felt like the characters were genuinely in danger, and didn't even care if they were. They weren't fleshed out, and barely had any personality. One is a pretentious 12 year old, the second a whining child, and the third a "mysterious" father that reveals his secret in the first couple pages (not even hinting at it, just plain out says it).

It was along any other unoriginal teen book I've read such as the hunger games, maze runner, divergent, etc. but just so much worse.

[Jodi_ice]

Cawpile: 3* 5.29

So on one hand I’m in camp ‘don’t tell your readers everything.. build up intruigue’. On the other hand I’m in camp ‘Give them a bloody crumb of a clue!’
There just wasn’t enough build up in this to make me want to read the next one, I’m not committed enough. And don’t tell me ‘well it’s just the first episode,’ yes… yes it is, and writers are supposed to pull you in and make you want more. I was just like well I’ve heard that start a million times before, and a lot of them better.

If this goes on to amazing things then I’ll go back and try it again. Doesn’t mean I’ll change my opinion though.

[Ana Pérez]

Interesantísimo planteamiento para otra saga de Jeff Lemire, esta vez ejecutada a nivel gráfico de forma impecable por Jock. Las tres premisas iníciales sobre el mundo conocido junto al momento vital de la protagonista dotan al relato de toda la potencia del mito. Cumple a la perfección con lo que se espera de un volumen introductorio a nivel de personajes y entorno. Desde el punto de vista visual, me ha sorprendido de forma muy positiva el dinamismo de sus viñetas, la intención de los trazos y la capacidad para crear un mundo hermoso a la par que brutal bajo el dominio absoluto del color blanco. Habrá que ver cómo evoluciona la saga en el siguiente volumen.

[Horror DNA]

Snow Angels kicks off its 10-part saga with this debut issue as writer Jeff Lemire and artist Jock firmly establish this world and the horrors that await any within it. You get an immediate sense of just how desolate, cold, and oppressive this place is. Doing something as simple as walking can be tiresome and deadly as you're battling the elements the whole time.

You can read James' full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Linda Rorex]

This is part one of a 10-part science fiction adventure story. Siblings Milliken and Mae never leave the trench. They were born in the trench, will grow up in the trench and die in the trench. The Trenchfolk is a settlement of people living inside the ice walls in an icy wasteland who pray to the Colden Ones to keep them safe from The Snowman. There are rules for living in the trench. This post-apocalyptic story of survival was a great read. I really liked the terrific artwork of this short story graphic novel.

[Kelly Funk]

So this is part 1 of a 10 part sci-fi comic series. It’s only 24 pages and you get a very basic introduction to this frozen, post-apocalyptic world known as The Trench. There are only three rules to survival: 1. You must never leave the trench. 2. The Trench provides. 3. The Trench is endless. It’s really hard to rate after only 24 pages because most of it consists of the background information necessary for the story to progress, but I hope the second installment is a little more entertaining.

[Neil Pearson]

Great first issue

With new comics it often takes 120 pages to get a feel for the story/style of the comic but the creators establish this world and characters perfectly. I understand the broad strokes and there's enough of a gap to intrigue. It ends on a great cliffhanger too.

The art is excellent which is no surprise as Jock always delivers. Their art is scratchy but really good at conveying mood and action.

There's a real "attack on titan" vibe here but it also reminds me of the world of Mark Lawrence's "grey sister" books.

[Dan]

Set in The Trench: an icy landscape that surrounds on all sides, in every direction.

Milliken (12), Mae (8), and Pa (their father).

The three rules all residents must abide by.

The Colden Ones. 👀

Wolves… 🐺

On a special hunting trip, far from their village settlement…

Carnage.

The Snowman. 💀

Much of the novella is pseudo-monochromatic. This renders the actual color work, especially the full panes, all the more vivid. Good detail on the closeups.


All I can smell is blood. And all I can hear…all I can hear is the sound of his skates.

[Jordan]

Snow Angels had a lot of hype to live up to. I mean, a creative team consisting of Jeff Lemire and Jock; how could anything less than perfection suffice?

And while I’m hesitant to say that they knocked it out of the park with issue 1 — the ball is at the very least somewhere in the upper deck.

Snow Angels is a dream come true for any true comic book fan; my only gripe is that it’s a comixology exclusive.

[Jon Desjarlais]

Interesting!

I like how the story is going; post-apocalyptic looking setting, survival, and love between family. This kind of reminds me of the movie The Quiet Place but with snow and less monstrous creatures. The artwork is also phenomenal, so I’ll give that a gold star! Overall, I like where this series is going and I highly recommend this to anyone who loves post-apocalyptic stories.

[Rick Ray]

A slog to get through since the world-building is spotty at best and the characters are utterly dull. It's a survival story set in a frigid world, where the main antagonist serves mostly as a faceless stalker with no clear motivations until much later. The pacing is a drag unfortunately, and while Jock's artwork is nice enough, there really isn't much that is interesting to look at. There's set up for more, but I'm not interested in reading further in the slightest.

[Amna]

Interesting start. I'm a big fan of Jock's art and that was the main draw for me to pick this up. Lemire is one of those writers who I will always give a chance, even if my enjoyment of his work is hit or miss these days.

This is a fast-paced first volume and very much an intro and setup into the next. You're not given much information. The design for the Snowman is really cool. I'll definitely be reading the next volume, which hopefully will answer what the fuck is actually going on.