Welcome to the reviews section of FR. Grab a coffee and why not a slice of cake and enjoy.
First up is Impact Winter from Image comics skybound imprint.
Impact winter is based on, and prequel to the Audible series of the same name so already I went in knowing there would be some level of established universe here, which gave me high hopes. For me this meant characters, the mythos and worldbuilding were already some way along... And I wasn't wrong. Instantly when I picked the book up I was treated to a comic that had weight to it, it was hefty for its 32 pages, and the cover... oh, The cover, not only was the art work exceptional, already giving me an idea of the bleak world that was waiting for me. It was made from quality materials, the card was thick, almost like a DC cardstock book but matt rather than glossy. A+ here Image.
Art wise there was an almost undertone of manga here, more so on the cover than the interior, but I could feel the influence there. Stephen Green (Hellboy and the BPRD) does a great job or setting a bleak world for us that while seems removed from our current time doesn't seem to be in the future and could fit along what we see today, for me this was a nice aspect and allowed me to place myself within the world he envisioned. Like I said, there is a manga feel here and a feeling that comes from the Hellboy vibes. The colour palette is muted and works well with both the visual layout but bolsters the storytelling, reinforcing the decimated world and absence of hope.
Story wise, I had no prior knowledge of the Impact Winter world, and I was anxious to see if this would leave me at a disadvantage, I'm glad to say it didn't, there was a brief recap on the world that did what it needed to, so the scene was set. Impact winter is the story of Darcy and her mission to survive the Horrors of their world, alongside a rag tag band of survivors and her little sister. We find Darcy torn between looking after her sister, the inner rage, and the will to fight, having lost nearly all she held dear. We see her grow and become confident, becoming the woman from the child through the book. We see her risk and be betrayed, love and care, but hate and grow. - one-shots, I can imagine, are hard to make stick, with limited space and time to give over the story you want to tell.
Well Impact winter does it well, but in the end I immediately downloaded the audiobooks. I genuinely cared for Darcy by the final pages and wanted to know what was next for her, with the twists the story takes there are some unanswered questions that leave me salivating for more.
I have since listened to the audiobook, which, in its own right, is great, and I fully enjoyed them. However, having read the comic first only made the experience that much more fulfilling for me. I knew the characters and already had some emotional attachment to them. I don't want to say much, but I didn't see it coming and when it did the turns it took came from left field.
Excellently written on both formats and one that will remain in my personal collection going forward.
Score 9/10
