The Snowpiercer comic book series has
quite a history. A graphic novel by the name Le Transperceneige, the
first book was originally released in France in 1982. The series
continued with follow-up books being released in 1999, 2000, and
concluded in 2015. In 2014, the US got the film adaptation, directed
by Bong Joon-ho with an all-star cast that includes Tilda Swinton and
Octavia Spencer. The same year the first two volumes were translated
to English for the first time. Now, with the new TV show starring
Jennifer Connelly slated to being airing Spring 2020, we get to find
out how this whole thing got started…
For those who aren’t familiar with
the basic premise of The Snowpiercer, it tells of a post-apocalyptic
Ice Age on Earth where all remaining humans are aboard a massive
train 1,001 cars long. The wealthy end up at the front in the lap of
luxury, while the rest live in squalor in the rear cars. Part One of
the prequel, “Extinction”, begins to set up the events that took
place that lead to this dystopia.
Bringing back the artist from the
original graphic novel, Jean-Marc Rochette, the book has a dreamy
almost storybook vibe. Though I didn’t care much for the character
design (admittedly, I prefer a more classic comic book art style),
the splash pages and landscape scenes are moody and immersive. The
storybook vibe can probably be attributed to the coloring done by
Jose Villarrubia, which seems to be reminiscent of watercolor paint.
In this first
installment of the Snowpiercer prequel, writer Matz sets up a
pre-apocalyptic world, full of scoundrels, apathetic people, and of
course, those who may or may not end up having a place in a car on
the Snowpiercer. We meet Mr. Zheng, the mastermind behind the
ambitious invention of the 1,001-car train, and a young boy and his
father watching a new world unfold before their eyes. This book is a
quick read if you want it to be; the first half doesn’t have much
dialogue or character development but situates the reader for what’s
to come. The end of this book totally put me on the edge of my seat,
and I’m excited to see how everything transpires and what led to
and became of society on the Snowpiercer. In the next books, I hope
there is more character development for the people we were introduced
to in this first book.
-Mara Powell