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Snow Angels #1-10
Snow Angels
*2022 Eisner Award Winner - Best Digital Comic*
Two of the most acclaimed comics creators of their generation—writer Jeff Lemire and artist Jock—together for Eisner award-winning science fiction saga 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.
Collects Snow Angels Volume 1 and Volume 2 in a deluxe, oversized hardcover edition.
Two of the most acclaimed comics creators of their generation—writer Jeff Lemire and artist Jock—together for Eisner award-winning science fiction saga 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.
Collects Snow Angels Volume 1 and Volume 2 in a deluxe, oversized hardcover edition.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published March 28, 2023
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Lemire
1,393 books3,872 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 17, 2024
A solid story that would end up between a 3-3.5. I think the first half is really strong, a survival of a father and his two kids in a very cold, bitter world, is a lot of fun. However, the second half, though it has moments of great human connection also lacks the punch of the first half and becomes a bit to convoluted by the end.
September 2, 2024
A quick but tense adventure in a mysterious frozen setting where all is not as it seems.
April 5, 2023
Jeff Lemire is one of those writers whose work you’ll find at ‘The Big Two’, having written some great stuff for both Marvel and DC Comics, but if you really want to see Lemire’s best work you have to look at his creator owned stuff: things like Sweet Tooth, or Black Hammer. Snow Angels: Library Edition brings together the complete ten issue run of the Lemire (and artist Jock) science fiction tale for the first time, and is an absolute must read.
The story begins on a cold, desolate world. A world covered in ice and snow. We meet a father and his two daughters: twelve-year-old Milliken, and eight-year-old Mei Mei, who are living in The Trench. The Trench is a huge rift in the never-ending show, a canyon that allows the small group of humans to survive in conditions that would otherwise guarantee their deaths. There are only really three rules in regards to The Trench, rules that the girls have had drilled into them since they were born because they could mean the difference between life and death.
The first rule: The Trench provides. Anything that the people might need to survive, from food, to scavenged items, are all present within The Trench. Rule two: you must never, ever leave The Trench. There is only death awaiting anyone who decides to leave The Trench; with winds that can strip the flesh from your bone, snow in every direction, and the mysterious Snowman prowling the ice, leaving The Trench is a death sentence. The final rule: The Trench never ends. It goes on forever, and trying to find the end will only bring madness and death.
The three of them are out hunting one day, tracking food for their community, but return to find everyone dead. The bodies have been torn open, sliced apart, and blood stains the snow. The Snowman has finally come for them. The old children’s tale seems to be true, as a mysterious figure begins chasing the three survivors, hunting them through The Trench. However, when the three of them discover the impossible, the end of The Trench, nothing will ever be the same for them.
Snow Angels is a story with a ton of mystery to it. As the story begins we’re dropped into the middle of an unrecognisable world, one where the constant snow and ice have made just surviving a constant battle. But where is this place? Is this an Earth that has gone through an ice age, or is it an alien world? Where does The Trench come from? Who or what is the frightening Snowman who’s hunting the central family? What are the mythological Colden Ones, and do they really exist? It feels like every new concept we get introduced to throughout the story is a further puzzle, an additional mystery that needs answering in order to solve the greater questions. But despite this, the book never feels overwhelming, you never feel like you’re getting lost. This is down to the strength of the writing.
Lemire is very clever with Snow Angels because he gives the reader enough time to get used to each new shift and twist in the tale before introducing a new one. We have time to get to know the three characters, to see what kind of people they are, and to understand their way of life before that’s forever changed with the arrival of the Snowman. We’re given time to get used to the idea that they’re being hunted by this thing through The Trench before the book takes The Trench away from us completely. Upon seeing the length of the book I was initially a bit apprehensive, as near to 300 pages is a big commitment.
However, it never once feels like you are reading a huge, bloated story. Because each of the pieces of the tale are given enough time to breathe and to settle in before something new is brought in, the book is big, but it isn’t long. I completed Snow Angels in a single sitting because the story moved at such a brisk pace, kept me wanting to find out what happened next, and I just didn’t want to put it down. Lemire has done an amazing job at balancing pace, action, and length to create a story where it feels like you get a lot more time with it than most creator owned one-off tales – though you do also come away wishing it had been even longer.
Jock’s art is also another huge factor in the book being such a good read. His artwork lends itself brilliantly to this story and setting, and some of the best parts of the book are the moments where Jock delivers a huge, two page spread of the vast nothingness of these locations. The stark white, the effects of the howling, snow filled winds, the tininess of the characters on the page, all come together to sell us on the almost hopelessness of the situation. But there are lots of moments of beauty to be found here too, and Jock is able to turn desolate and barren locations into scenes that look beautiful on the page. It’s hard to see this book working as well as it does with any other artist working on it, and it feels like the perfect marriage between artist and script.
Snow Angels is a story that might have slipped under some readers’ radars when it was first released, but this new edition is a book that I will absolutely be recommending that people pick up. From the mystery of the story and setting, to the tense action and horror of the Snowman chasing our heroes, to the tender moments of love this family shares, there’s something here for every reader. Plus, it just looks absolutely gorgeous too.
The story begins on a cold, desolate world. A world covered in ice and snow. We meet a father and his two daughters: twelve-year-old Milliken, and eight-year-old Mei Mei, who are living in The Trench. The Trench is a huge rift in the never-ending show, a canyon that allows the small group of humans to survive in conditions that would otherwise guarantee their deaths. There are only really three rules in regards to The Trench, rules that the girls have had drilled into them since they were born because they could mean the difference between life and death.
The first rule: The Trench provides. Anything that the people might need to survive, from food, to scavenged items, are all present within The Trench. Rule two: you must never, ever leave The Trench. There is only death awaiting anyone who decides to leave The Trench; with winds that can strip the flesh from your bone, snow in every direction, and the mysterious Snowman prowling the ice, leaving The Trench is a death sentence. The final rule: The Trench never ends. It goes on forever, and trying to find the end will only bring madness and death.
The three of them are out hunting one day, tracking food for their community, but return to find everyone dead. The bodies have been torn open, sliced apart, and blood stains the snow. The Snowman has finally come for them. The old children’s tale seems to be true, as a mysterious figure begins chasing the three survivors, hunting them through The Trench. However, when the three of them discover the impossible, the end of The Trench, nothing will ever be the same for them.
Snow Angels is a story with a ton of mystery to it. As the story begins we’re dropped into the middle of an unrecognisable world, one where the constant snow and ice have made just surviving a constant battle. But where is this place? Is this an Earth that has gone through an ice age, or is it an alien world? Where does The Trench come from? Who or what is the frightening Snowman who’s hunting the central family? What are the mythological Colden Ones, and do they really exist? It feels like every new concept we get introduced to throughout the story is a further puzzle, an additional mystery that needs answering in order to solve the greater questions. But despite this, the book never feels overwhelming, you never feel like you’re getting lost. This is down to the strength of the writing.
Lemire is very clever with Snow Angels because he gives the reader enough time to get used to each new shift and twist in the tale before introducing a new one. We have time to get to know the three characters, to see what kind of people they are, and to understand their way of life before that’s forever changed with the arrival of the Snowman. We’re given time to get used to the idea that they’re being hunted by this thing through The Trench before the book takes The Trench away from us completely. Upon seeing the length of the book I was initially a bit apprehensive, as near to 300 pages is a big commitment.
However, it never once feels like you are reading a huge, bloated story. Because each of the pieces of the tale are given enough time to breathe and to settle in before something new is brought in, the book is big, but it isn’t long. I completed Snow Angels in a single sitting because the story moved at such a brisk pace, kept me wanting to find out what happened next, and I just didn’t want to put it down. Lemire has done an amazing job at balancing pace, action, and length to create a story where it feels like you get a lot more time with it than most creator owned one-off tales – though you do also come away wishing it had been even longer.
Jock’s art is also another huge factor in the book being such a good read. His artwork lends itself brilliantly to this story and setting, and some of the best parts of the book are the moments where Jock delivers a huge, two page spread of the vast nothingness of these locations. The stark white, the effects of the howling, snow filled winds, the tininess of the characters on the page, all come together to sell us on the almost hopelessness of the situation. But there are lots of moments of beauty to be found here too, and Jock is able to turn desolate and barren locations into scenes that look beautiful on the page. It’s hard to see this book working as well as it does with any other artist working on it, and it feels like the perfect marriage between artist and script.
Snow Angels is a story that might have slipped under some readers’ radars when it was first released, but this new edition is a book that I will absolutely be recommending that people pick up. From the mystery of the story and setting, to the tense action and horror of the Snowman chasing our heroes, to the tender moments of love this family shares, there’s something here for every reader. Plus, it just looks absolutely gorgeous too.
March 4, 2025
Pretty good scifi story to be honest. At first that I though it was maybe some postapocalyptic world but then you get to learn things alongside the characters how things really are. Honestly it's one thing to be deserted into foreing planet but it's gonna be whole another story when you are late decendent generation of the ones deserted on hostile planet. Enough so that your generation knows nothing about the technology nor where they originally came from or what their original purpose was. They just survive, live and die on area. And then one day things start to change and there will be new kind of threat and new type of situation and past is being revealed to people who who have no idea about it. Also the late geneations of surivals have their own tribes and cultures and belief system that bases to the days of first colonists. Scary part might be that just how long have they been there on their own for people to forget where they came from and what was their actual purpose to be there.
World and story building are great. I kinda hoped that "snowman" and their agenda had been clearer from get go and their thought of what was excatly was the purpose and reason for them to kill every last survivor. -I doubt that they were that dumb or that greed to just think that whatever as long as there's paycheck. Didn't they never notice that people that they're taking out... none of them for whatever reason looks like what you would expect average miner to look like. Also as very neurotypical cis-cavemanlogic: definetelly don't ask from anyone questions that might explain some things. It made no really sense for him to first try to save up the kids he as hunting and then try to kill them. His orders also were to just retreive whatever the colonists found and perhaps to find out what happened to them like why they're not responding. -Kind of stupid to think first that they're getting greedy up there in damn cold planet. Like where would or could they even run? That logic was bit off there.
I kind of get that actual aliens "the cold ones" of the world were kind of wanted to keep mystery but they could have had bit more panels. Their excistance and purpose. Why leave out the best part and keep that as prop?
As well as what excatly was it that happened to the colonists. While mining they came contanct with the alien life and then... the usual muricans did stupid thing and stirred the hornet's nest type of thing and aliens wiped most of them nearly out and survivors had to adapt to the situation. Unfortunatelly more data and story about that had been required. There was hints in the deserted frozen machines but....
And of course totally natural to leave people in their cryopods to sleep in world of ice. Yep.
Artstyle was ok. Like not the best nor the absolute worst.
World and story building are great. I kinda hoped that "snowman" and their agenda had been clearer from get go and their thought of what was excatly was the purpose and reason for them to kill every last survivor. -I doubt that they were that dumb or that greed to just think that whatever as long as there's paycheck. Didn't they never notice that people that they're taking out... none of them for whatever reason looks like what you would expect average miner to look like. Also as very neurotypical cis-cavemanlogic: definetelly don't ask from anyone questions that might explain some things. It made no really sense for him to first try to save up the kids he as hunting and then try to kill them. His orders also were to just retreive whatever the colonists found and perhaps to find out what happened to them like why they're not responding. -Kind of stupid to think first that they're getting greedy up there in damn cold planet. Like where would or could they even run? That logic was bit off there.
I kind of get that actual aliens "the cold ones" of the world were kind of wanted to keep mystery but they could have had bit more panels. Their excistance and purpose. Why leave out the best part and keep that as prop?
As well as what excatly was it that happened to the colonists. While mining they came contanct with the alien life and then... the usual muricans did stupid thing and stirred the hornet's nest type of thing and aliens wiped most of them nearly out and survivors had to adapt to the situation. Unfortunatelly more data and story about that had been required. There was hints in the deserted frozen machines but....
And of course totally natural to leave people in their cryopods to sleep in world of ice. Yep.
Artstyle was ok. Like not the best nor the absolute worst.
July 28, 2024
Lemire stories tend to start really strong, and then loose steam and end with a big meh.
On this one, surprisingly it's the other way around. Mediocre start, after reading the season 1 volume I considered dropping it. The characters annoyed me, the story seemed lifeless and felt like something we have seen a million times and I am not at all in love with Jock's visuals.
But then the season 2 volume got a bit more interesting, got me interested in the mystery. Ending is a bit too Hollywood, but all in all decent.
On this one, surprisingly it's the other way around. Mediocre start, after reading the season 1 volume I considered dropping it. The characters annoyed me, the story seemed lifeless and felt like something we have seen a million times and I am not at all in love with Jock's visuals.
But then the season 2 volume got a bit more interesting, got me interested in the mystery. Ending is a bit too Hollywood, but all in all decent.
December 13, 2022
Note: Access to this book was provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
It feels post-apocalyptic in ways that seem desolate but has the energy of a chase scene throughout. The characters are all likeable, and the story wastes no time in moving itself along. What results is a whole story that's greater than its parts, with some pretty great parts.
It feels post-apocalyptic in ways that seem desolate but has the energy of a chase scene throughout. The characters are all likeable, and the story wastes no time in moving itself along. What results is a whole story that's greater than its parts, with some pretty great parts.
January 25, 2024
The art is great you can almosy feel the cold.I was expecting the story to be more complete. Not everything is explained.It felt like was part of a bigger world that wont be explored. Its a good i wanted more.
September 10, 2024
Bah bah fou. L'histoire est pas mal. Bien que pas hyper originale... mais le dessin est vraiment pas dingue... bref je suis pas fan.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews