WHITE DEATH original graphic novel
(Best of the Week!)
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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AiT/PlanetLar
Writer: Rob Morrison
Artist: Charlie Adlard
Price: $12.95 US |
When I saw this solicited in Previews, I figured, what the hey. I enjoyed Adlard's art, and publisher Larry Young has a solid track record. I've been wanting to wade into more original graphic novels and collected editions lately anyway. Little did I know I was ordering one of the most amazing war comics I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Those who enjoyed and appreciated the craft behind Garth Ennis's recent War Story one-shots will be awe-struck by the quality and vivid storytelling and characterization to be found in White Death.
Along the Austrian-Italian border during the First World War, droves of soldiers fight cold and horrible battles, right in the middle of it all is Pietro Aquasanta. The native of an Austrian province but boasting an Italian background, he once fought for Austrians and now fights for the other side. Hounded by a malevolent commanding officer, he is forced use nature itself against the enemy.
Adlard's gaunt approach to characters and gritty style suits the tone of this grisly war story perfectly. The lack of color also brings out the dreary and frigid aspects of the story and settings. What really impressed me visually, though, were the grey tones. Adlard's art gains a greater depth and texture to the convincing people and place we meet and see in this book.
Morrison selects some challenging subject matter here, and not just emotionally. There's historical, cultural and technical complexities to the premise and settings, but the writer manages to convey them all with seeming ease, making for an accessible and enlightening read. The descriptions of avalanches being employed against an enemy was vivid, as was the narration's focus on how dangerous, unpredictable and even immoral such warfare could be.
At its heart, though, this is a story about the human heart and the unseen wounds it sustains in the midst of something as horrifying and real as war. This is a brutally emotional story. I stagger at the reality that Morrison presents here. I can't imagine how a human being could survive -- either physically or psychologically -- the events depicted here. Every page of this tragedy, with its well-developed and varied characters, made me pleased to live the life I have, one in which there seems to be little worry about having to go to war myself.
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