Winter City #2 – Review

“High level graphic violence”. That really doesn't do it justice folks! 

Winter City

Patrick Purcell: Producer, Letterer, Co-Writer
Carl Purcell: Co-Writer
Pablo Verdugo Munoz: Pencils & Inks, Covers
David Aravena Riquelme: Colourist
Rating: 8/10

Volume 2 opens much more fiercely than volume 1, with Sam Shephard (or Death as I’ll refer to his adult incarnation) overlooking the city, in a very cool establishing shot (which reminded me of Max Payne for some reason). After disposing of some chatty mooks, Death walks into a hotel (sounds like the start of a bad joke, I know), and reaffirms his badass credentials by brutally killing a bunch of gangsters on his way to his target, Franklin Skyles.


Immediately after the kill the story flashes back to Sam Winters childhood. Still in the car with his ” ‘Ol Uncle Norman”, he arrives to his new life on a farm where he gets all kinds of life lessons like how to kill a pig, and gut it soon after. We all know ‘Uncle Norman’, having either met characters like him in familiar stories, or, unfortunately, come across men like this in our own lives. After seeing poor Sam smacked around and forced into gutting a pig’s carcass it’s no wonder he’s grown up to be an ultra badass killer.

Needs more puns…. “Mind If I- cut in?” 

As abruptly as it cut to the flashback, the story flashes forwards, this time on Daniels and Harvey again. We see them interviewing a corrupt corporate executive who clearly knows more than he’s letting on. That, and his vaguely German name, Smitz, just makes him seem like he’s knee deep in whatever’s caused Sam to start killing all these people.

All of these flashbacks and flash-forwards serve the story, as much as they hamper it. On the one hand, more characters have time to be revealed and developed, however by examining all of the threads so frequently, instead of say, focusing more on one or two, means that the characters rely more on first impressions and stereotypes than proper long term development. Still, this may be intentional on the part of the Purcell’s; with the multiple threads ultimately converging in a satisfying, and probably gory way. Still, I’d like to see some more development happening issue for issue, but, heck, story writing’s hard (I've tried) so I'm not too fussed.

In terms of art, it’s still the same. However we do get to see more of the colour palate, with some sickly blue greens employed in the early scenes. What I really liked was how in the last panel *Spoiler alert* (though I'm gonna keep it vague anyway) was how we get to see a door which Death’s clearly snuck into, and the door seems to be highlighted the same glowing green as his eyes. The curtains themselves are reminiscent of his cape, both in colour and in the shape they take in the wind.


P.S. I still think he looks like ‘Raziel’ from ‘Soul Reaver’, but that’s ok; Raziel’s a real badass as well.


Originally written for and posted on Comikkazee.
Posted on the 12th of June, 2012