Advance Review: Red Winter #1
There are times when, despite your best intentions, life can sometimes deal you a crappy hand. Even then, there is always someone in a worse shape or potentially and more dangerously, someone who can unintentionally give you something to live for, even if there is a probability that you will end up in a worse situation.
Take Eli Winter; an ex-NY cop stuck in the chilly wilds of one of the worst crime ridden cities in Russia, working as a runner for Nikolai Dubrovsky, a local crime lord. But when one of Dubrovsky’s drug factories gets given a bullet laden make-over, Winter is giving the task of dusting off his old detective skills. Without a badge and on shaky ground with the rest of the criminal fraternity, Winter finds his job difficult to say the least, But when his estranged son, Joseph, turns up as a surprise culprit, things get a whole lot more complicated.
Co-creator and writer Michael Gordon delivers a book that in part carries the downtrodden vibe of books like Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), with an equally downtrodden lead out only for survival. The scene regarding breakfast does remind me of the eating scales scene from the comic book adaptation. Being the first issue, Gordon wisely gives the reader a chance to get the lay of the land before throwing that curve ball at the end. This gives Winter a sympathetic resonance regardless of the company he keeps. There is no back story as to why Winter is in Russia, why he left the force and no explanation as to why he and Joseph are estranged; whilst there is a logic to not revealing your hand, there is also a risk that the reader may not stick around to get the whole story.
Co-creator and artist Francisco Munoz has a style that is a bit of a blend. Firstly, there are a number of characters that have straight lines, especially Winter himself, as if the hard edges and straightness implies that Winter is the only character that has any virtue. The rest of the characters have a squidgy feel, almost caricature -like that gives the book a disjointed feel. The backgrounds are detailed, which adds to the validity of the scenarios that Winter find himself in. The colors are provided by Rolands Kalnins who matches the darkness of Winter’s desolation, color for dark turgid color. Letterer Nikki Sherman keeps the monologue interesting and does well not to let wordiness of the script affect the art.
A crime book that is kind of like John Wick in reverse, posing the question of what to do when you have something to live for; do you take the risk or hold steady to the crappy hand you have; Red Winter may well have an answer for the lead character, delivered in the dark web of a father and son relationship.
Red Winter #1 is in shops July 31st.
Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 3 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Michael Gordon
Art by; Francisco Munoz
Colors by; Rolands Kalnins
Letters by; Nikki Sherman
Published by; Scout Comics
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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