Frostbite #2 Review and *Spoilers*

Baby It's Cold Outside

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Jason Shawn Alexander, Luis NCT
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 26, 2016
Review by: Christian Faulds

Check out Christian's Podcast HERE

*Non-spoilers and score at the bottom*

The first issue of Frostbite had me intrigued. I will have to admit I am a bit of a sucker for any type of post-apocalypse story. The world Joshua Williamson created made me want to know more about...well, everything. A world ravaged by cold, but also a world also ravaged by disease. Even though we did learn what caused the world to be like it is and it did feel a bit similar to the movie Snowpiercer,  it had enough things different and brought the story down to a personal level that made it feel new and intriguing. Hopefully, this issue will sow the seeds it planted and keep it all as engaging.  Does it?  Let's take a look and find out.


The issue starts off with a beautiful page of panels as we slowly focus in on a girl in a
middle of a blizzard calling for her mommy. Cut to Keaton in a train arriving in Post Apoc
LA. Her partner and her talk to Victoria as they make their way through a crowd of
people. They explain a bit of what LA is like for her sake and for the reader. They are
trying to make sure they don’t get spotted by Fuego’s men and are there to
resupply for the trek up north to the lab in San Francisco.

Moving on, they decide to split up with Barlow going to get a transport, and Keaton and Vic getting
supplies. They go into a heat shop, but have to lay low because Fuego’s men
would never look for them here because it's known that Keaton hates these places. Keaton gets a
private heat booth and leaves Vic for a bit to get warm. This is where it is revealed that
Keaton has Frostbite, the dreaded disease that slowly freezes you until you're a popcicle. This explains why she accepted this super dangerous job since Vic can apparently cure Frostbite if she gets to the lab. At least that is what her dad said before Keaton shot him.  Ah, the good old days!

As they leave the store, Keaton gets questioned and tries to play off  buying painkillers as a sports injury but almost gets caught when it turns out that Vic also played in the Snowball league as a kid. Vic asks what position and this would have lead to more uncomfortable questions except they run into people getting checked for Frostbite. This is where, through Victoria’s explaining, we get to find out what Frostbite is and that apparently the Ice Age part of the apocalypse was a good
thing since heat is actually what gives the disease strength. We do get a good pun
when Vic says “it's cool”. Keaton gives an excuse to leave for a sec and pukes and feels
guilty about killing Vic’s dad.

Barlow then comes back and tells them that he has found a transport.  The guy selling it is
apparently a "Jack Frost" which is a spoiled rich kid who slums it for kicks. They do get
edgy because Keaton has a charisma score of 0, but Barlow unruffles the feathers of
everyone.

The Jack Frosts then tries to jack all of the group's money and supplies. Keaton acts
quickly and kills two and the third runs away. They head into the transport because the
cops are on closing in because this transport was stolen and they try to book it.
Unfortunately, it won’t start. Fortunately, Vic knows what's wrong and fixes it quick and
they are off to the races. Keaton asks Vic where she learned to fix the transports heat
pulsar. She tells her that her dad taught her. Keaton feels guilty again and they speed
away and we see some weird tribal people as the issue ends.

Bits and Pieces:

All in all this issue kept up intriguing me and giving me enough answers to my questions
to not get pissed. It balanced the questions and answers very well. The art was amazing
in both the style of the drawing and the use and restraint of color. There is a great
amount of action as well and done right so that the pacing is on point.

9/10