SNOWPIERCER 1: THE ESCAPE — Titan Comics (Graphic Novel Review)

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New in stores (both tangible and virtual) is Titan Comics’ English translation of the French graphic novel that inspired the upcoming film directed by a South Korean.  Got all that?  I’m talking about Snowpiercer 1: The Escape.  Is it worth reading before or after seeing the movie?  Or not at all.  Let’s find out.

First published in 1984, Snowpiercer, written by Jacques Lob and drawn by Jean-Marc Rochette, tells the tale of a post-apocalyptic future (is there any other kind?) where a new ice age has wiped out all human life on earth except for the lucky few onboard the always-in-motion Snowpiercer train.

Or are they lucky?  The elite traveling in the front luxury cars sure are, but not so much the rabble in the dilapidated rear cars where life is a rolling ghetto.  And there you have the crux of the story — an examination of the hierarchy and class structure of society as embodied in the microcosm of a moving train that is 1,001 carriages long.

Proloff, the original name of Chris Evans’ character in the film, his umpteenth one based on a comic book, (*) is a refugee from the tail-end cars, whose downtrodden inhabitants are lovingly referred to by the onboard militia as, “Tail-F_ _ _ers!” (Try playing Hangman with that.)  Proloff is the only person ever to sneak his way from back to front and he’s determined never to return.  Captured by soldiers, he is interrogated by their lieutenant who wants to know how bad third class life is.  So too does Adeline Belleau, a second class activist petitioning the elite to improve living conditions for the third class.

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Proloff, whose name sounds like proletariat for a reason, treks further through the first class Golden Cars with Adeline in hopes of reaching “the mythical engine and, perhaps, find some hope for the future.”  Along the way, they encounter all manner of occupants from the creator of the perpetual motion engine nicknamed Olga, to religious zealots who worship said engine under the guise of Saint Loco.  Loco is short for locomotive, but it could also be Spanish for “crazy” because these zealots are cray cray.  And then there’s the president (of what isn’t clear) who plans to uncouple the rear cars because their weight may be slowing the train.  What about the weight of the poor souls in those cars?  Will they be moved to the front section like the prez promises Proloff and Adeline?  Or is that a lie?

Proloff’s journey from caboose to engine feels like a guided tour for the reader, but instead of one guide listing fun facts about each destination, Lob gives us many guides along the way.  Everyone from the love interest to the villain.

This is fine for a while, and most of the concepts — such as the giant slab of perpetually growing meat that feeds everyone and may be sentient – prove to be interesting, but eventually the plot has to take over.  Otherwise the momentum of the narrative chugs to a stop.  The story engine runs out of steam.  B & O Railroad loses rent on the ol’ Monopoly board.

Sick of train metaphors?  To put it another way, you know you have too much exposition when one character tells another, on page 60 of 110 mind you, that:

“Snowpiercer was a pleasure train before the catastrophe, remember?”

Of course he remembers.  He was there just like everyone else onboard.  Forgetting where you left your car keys?  Been there.  Not remembering if you turned off the stove before going out?  Done that.  Can’t recall the end of modern civilization as we know it?  Impossible!

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Want to know why this hardcover tome is billed as a “graphic novel” and not a comic book?  Three reasons — Nudity, adult themes, and so many F-bombs that The Wolf of Wall Street is f_ _ _ing jealous.

At one point, Proloff watches an archived commercial whose sales pitch is, “Experience an unforgettable adventure.  Take a breathtaking journey by rail… aboard the Snowpiercer.”  If this luxurious locomotive was intended for pleasure trips before the earth became a giant snowball, then why was it named Snowpiercer?  I’m just saying.

The artwork isn’t your standard comic book fare.  No bulging biceps or top-heavy babes.  Instead we get a more realistic style in line with The Walking Dead.  Or at least it would be if it didn’t occasionally look cartoonish.  Rochette’s style resembles a cross between American Splendor and Mad Magazine.  Seriously.  Some of the faces remind me so much of caricatures by Mort Drucker that at times it feels like you’re reading a future spoof of the Snowpiercer movie based on the Snowpiercer book.  Could this be intentional?  One would think not given the very uncartoonish tone of the piece.  Then again, a character on page 6 is named “Sergeant Druckmann.”  Coincidence?  You decide.

The book’s color palette is also reminiscent of The Walking Dead — there is none.  Black and white is appropriate given the grim storyline, as well as the snowbound earth.  One panel on page 65 is particularly successful in this regard.  Its depiction of abandoned cars on a blizzard-engulfed highway is rendered by shadows streaked with falling snowflakes that blend into the fallen snow — thus creating a believable whiteout effect.

As effective as B & W is in portraying a Hoth-like landscape, it doesn’t necessarily get across what it feels like to be on Hoth, i.e. to be frozen.  That would be best conveyed via subtle shades of cool blue, a technique that’s convincingly used on the book’s cover, but unfortunately not inside.

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The French apparently have their own way of handling word balloons — a confusing way to Americans, including yours truly, an avid comics reader.  Some balloons in this book point to who-knows-where so that you can’t tell who is actually talking.  When you can tell who’s talking and that character has a lot to say, multiple balloons are used — a common practice in the comic book medium.

What’s not common is that the balloons have separate tails pointing to the same character rather than connectors linking each balloon in correct reading order.  It looks amateurish and unattractive, as do the rectangle-shaped balloons (used instead of the standard oval-shaped kind), but that unattractiveness, just like the lack of color, meshes well with the bleak tone of the plot.

In the end, Snowpiercer offers some intriguing visuals (anything that evokes temps cooler than LA’s current 20-degrees-above-normal “winter” day is intriguing).  It builds a world worth having a story set in, but book 1 is too concerned with world-building to focus on story.  Now that the set-up is out of the way, here’s hoping that the pay-off is worth it.

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“You can call me Chris.”

What will happen when the choo choo finally stops?  What will become of Proloff, Adaline, and the rest of its permanent passengers?   We’ll have to wait until Titan releases Snowpiercer 2: The Explorers.

Or track down the original comics from the ‘80s and hire a French translator.  Or wait for the movie.  Or wait for the Mad parody of the movie starring Alfred E. Newman.  Chris Evans, Al Newman — when it comes right down to it, they’re pretty much the same guy.

 

 

 

(*Editor’s note: Chris Evans’ filmography includes 12 movies based on comic books.  They are:

  • Fantastic Four
  • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
  • Captain America: The First Avenger
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • The Avengers
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron (now in production)
  • Thor: The Dark World (cameo)
  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
  • The Losers
  • TMNT (voice only)
  • Snowpiercer

I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking, “But, Steve, what about Push, the 2009 Oscar-winning Lee Daniels film about an abused, overweight teen — pregnant with her second baby — who enrolls in an alternative school with hopes of improving her life?”

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“You can call me Al.”

First of all, you’re thinking of Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, the most self-indulgent film title of all time.  A common mistake.

Secondly, Push (also from 2009) is about telekinetic and clairvoyant- powered young Americans on the run in Hong Kong from a clandestine agency.

Third, while Push does feature superpowers and other comic book tropes, it was not based on an existing property.  However, a comic mini-series prequel was produced in conjunction with the film.  Long story short — it doesn’t count.

And thus concludes a preview of Chris Evans 101, a cinema studies class soon to be offered at USC, UCLA, and Greendale Community College.

 

 

 

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2 Responses to “SNOWPIERCER 1: THE ESCAPE — Titan Comics (Graphic Novel Review)”

  1. Oh yeah — I did kind of forget to say whether or not I liked it. Good eye. I just added this to the review:

    “In the end, Snowpiercer offers some intriguing concepts and builds a world worth having a story set in, but book 1 is too concerned with that world-building to focus on the actual story. Now that the set-up is out of the way, here’s hoping that the pay-off is worth it.”

  2. Kevin says:

    OUCH! But did you LIKE the book? LOL. When does the actual film come out?

    I’m a bit partial to “alternative” ways to tell the story (i.e., the balloons, black and white, etc.) and glad the medium can be used for something else besides Super Babes Gone Wild in tight spandex or Super Villain trying to rule the world.

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