Returning to the land of the before times, the book follows “mice” as they live and strive against the demons of the Ice and the demons of Fire. This is a story set before the classic animated movie, before Teena met Larn; as such the book serves as a prequel and the start of something new to those that are coming across these characters for the first time.
Who better to chart the untamed world of a prehistoric land than writer Bill Willingham of Fables fame. Here Willingham has a difficult job; reintroduce these characters and their lands and try and keep everything fresh to new readers. With these goals in mind, Willingham does well to mix-up the exposition with the story movements and the dialogue which also works in a two fold manner, setting motivations along with the environment. Characters interact well across the good guys and the wicked witch of the Ice. Considering these elements, could there be to much exposition?
It is true that a picture is worth a thousand words and Leonardo Manco delivers in spades. Adopting a kind of Frazetta style around the characters is one thing; the backgrounds are simply gorgeous! I don’t think I have seen a more breathtaking book this year. The painted colors add so much to the vibe of book that the art transcends it’s “could be Conan” sensibilities. The characters are equally well developed, again through the various factions. I even loved the parable at the start of the book, which did remind me of the first issue of Legends of the Dark Knight and the tale about the bat. Taylor Esposito delivers his usual excellent font work which adds nuance to the whole affair. As with any comic book, there are a raft of covers to choose from. For me, you can’t get better than cover A from Bill Seinkiewicz, sorry to all you Frazetta fans (see cover C).
The whole sword and sorcery genre is in for a bit of a reboot with Conan over at Titan Comics, Red Sonja who is always popular and now a semi-new world builder in Fire and Ice. If this genre is your thing, you would be well served in picking this book up.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art & Colors – 5 Stars
Overall – 4.5 Stars
Written by; Bill Willingham
Art & Colors by; Leonardo Manco
Letters by; Taylor Esposito
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment
Author Profile
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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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