War is hell. It's been said many times, including at the end of just about every Sgt. Rock comic, but it has never been as vividly demonstrated in comics as with White Death, a story of World War I trench warfare. Adlard puts the reader right into the Trentino mountain range with the same skill that Steve Lieber demonstrated in putting readers into Antarctica for Whiteout. Morrison portrays a cast of characters that would fit easily into any war movie, focusing especially on the mad bastard Lieutenant Orsini and the protagonist, a conflicted young man named Pietro Aquasanta. The story is a story of the men who deal with the war and the tactics used in World War I, but more than anything, it's a story about the cost of war, both in terms of what it does to the characters and the larger scale toll it takes on humanity throughout history.
I've never been to the Trentino mountain range, but Adlard certainly makes me feel like I have. I'm a bit surprised that the book was printed on gray, rather than white, paper, which seems an odd choice for a book set in such a snow-covered area, but it works out very well, as Adlard's snow effects really stand out. The sheer frightening power of an avalanche is conveyed in his artwork, and the sense of how cold it is comes through in the clothing, the expressions and the environmental effects of the work.
In other reviews, I've praised Adlard for his distinctive work on characters' faces, and he does create some interesting characters here. However, I did at times have problems figuring out which characters were who, as the uniforms and heavily bundled-up looks made them all look somewhat similar, and in conveying the chaos of war, Adlard did sometimes basically lose me in a mad stream of blood, bullets and pain. Mind you, the upside of this is that I got the same feeling of the terror and uncertainty of being in a battle that I get from a good war movie.
Morrison crafts a story that is unflinching in its look at wartime, particularly the brutal wartime of World War I, before the advent of modern medicine, surveillance, protective gear and things of that nature. Power mad combat lovers control the troops, pushing them forward for meaningless goals that cost hundreds or thousands of lives, and friends are forced to kill friends or leave friends behind, succumbing to the worst "kill or be killed" aspects of human nature. One of the interesting points of the story is how dangerous a weapon nature can be when an avalanche buries troops or a village, but Morrison makes it clear that nature, for all its power, is nowhere near as cruel or as dangerous as man. He also likens the avalanche to war, as both are sweeping, larger than men, existing only to cause death and destruction, and men foolishly believe they can turn both to their advantage.
While the larger scope of the story is about the use of avalanches as a weapon, the main focus of the story is a power struggle of sorts between Lieutenant Orsini and Corporal Aquasanta. There are things to admire about both of them, whether it's Orsini's stubbornness which manifests as a sort of mad bravery or Aquasanta's intelligence and willingness to stand up for what he believes is right. This conflict, which increases in intensity throughout the book, comes to a surprising conclusion, and one that really makes Morrison's point about the shifting fortunes and uncertain fates that war can bring.
White Death is a fascinating book, a well-researched period piece but one that also has universal characters that are easy to appreciate for a modern audience. It is a dark read, with an unpleasant view of some unpleasant truths, although Morrison does lighten it up somewhat with some comedy relief and strong characterization. If White Death were a war movie, it would probably be up for some Academy Awards, but instead it's a comic, and one that deserves your attention.
