Snowpiercer is a First Class Ticket to Great Comics
February 9, 2014 3:12 pm | Leave your thoughts
Other than Moebius, I was completely ignorant of the brilliance of French comics. Originally published in French in 1984, Snowpiercer is now available in English from Titan Comics. Part 1: The Escape is the story of two survivors of a decimated Earth where the only bastion of civilization is a train.
Written by Jacques Lob and drawn by Jean-Marc Rochette, this comic is a modern classic even though you have probably never heard of it before. After the frigid Armageddon, humanity is separated into classes from the dregs of society clamoring for food and warmth in the tail up to the pampered rich in the luxury cars in the front of train indulging in a doomed orgy of fine food, drugs, and wine.
The main characters are the kind you’d expect to make an experience in a story like this–such as Proloff, a man who has somehow managed to make it from the very back of the train and survive–a testament to his strength and unstoppable will to live. Or, you have Adeline, a middle class woman with a high social conscience who looks to better life for those less fortunate on the train. Naturally, you’d expect that these two people would band together and fight for what’s right and seek to overthrow the rule of the President and his supporting army on the train, right? Well, you’d be wrong, and that’s a great part of the fun when it comes to Snowpiercer, Proloff is not what you’d expect–he’s not fighting for some kind of political cause or even trying to better the lives of his car-mates. No, Proloff simply wants to escape the death and despair of the tail cars and see what it’s like on the other side. He’s not trying to overthrow anything, which is kind of a refreshing change from the norm–especially these days, considering the obsession with dystopia-themed books and movies. His motives are in many ways selfish–not selfless–and he does indeed put many others at risk as a result. Adeline, though, seems much more true to her cause, but it’s her run-in with Proloff that helps to further illuminate her character and where her true interests may actually lie.
Yet beyond the main characters, the train itself, the Snowpiercer, is very much a character as well, filled with so much wonder, nightmares, danger, and mystery that it’s something we want to know more and more about, even if Lob and Rochette are content to simply scratch the surface. Snowpiercer is a living and breathing world in this story, and as we follow Proloff and Adeline through various cars, we learn more and more about the mysteries hidden within the thousand and one cars of Snowpiercer. Cars like the brothel for the upper class, a car of worship that praises Saint Loco (the train itself), and the most insane car of all, the “Mama” car, which houses some kind of regenerative protein that somehow manages to feed all of the train’s passengers–well, most of them, anyway. If there’s one thing that I wish we got more of, it’s the train and its various cars, which seem to house enough mysteries and characters to fill out additional graphic novels. One might even picture the considerable variation in the cars to be perfect fodder for a television series that tells the story of Proloff and Adeline in a grander and lengthier fashion.
Still, the story of Proloff and Adeline is one of the main reasons to read this book, because even though they do not act in the way you might expect, their story is no less compelling as a result. After all, it’s the backdrop that helps to establish the tone of the story, and the classist nature of the train proves to be especially intriguing. As we learn more and more about what led to the population boarding the train in the first place, Lob and Rochette see fit to fill our imaginations with ideas of conspiracies and dastardly plans that bring into question everything that is going on. No, the storytellers never see fit to definitively answer these questions, but that’s okay, because the suspense remains thick–and it’s all part of the enduring fun. Even after finishing the book, you’re left thinking about the possibilities that exist within the Snowpiercer, and whether there truly is any semblance of hope for the human race within its confines.
Moreover, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that even today, some thirty years after its initial publication, Snowpiercer seems timely. I’ll spare you a diatribe about the nature of the haves and have-nots in modern society, but Snowpiercer resonates with these themes incredibly well, perhaps even more so now than ever before. That Lob and Rochette were capable of creating something that could remain so resonant this long is a testament to their abilities as creative storytellers. You’ll quickly find parallels and themes that are instantly recognizable, and more than that, it will allow you connect to the material rather quickly.
Lastly, it would be foolish not to comment on Rochette’s art, which is utterly fantastic. While his backgrounds are often very minimalist and not always heavy on detail, it instead allows Rochette to hone in on the characters and their reactions, giving us an up-close look at the very raw and real emotions that they go through as they discover so much about the nature of the train. Most importantly, though, is that Rochette perfectly captures the tone and nature of Lob’s story, helping to bring to life the harsh and despair-filled world that Lob has created. Each line on a character’s face tells a story, and the grit, grime, and sorrow that lines so many characters’ faces speaks volumes in each and every panel. If there’s one area to fault the art, it’s that Rochette sometimes draws the guards a little too similar, as they tend to get lost in a sea of faces and look too alike. Otherwise, everything is spot on, and to this day, looks wonderful.
I can’t wait for the next part of this story to come out later this month. Snowpiercer: The Escape is a Tupperware all the way.
Yours Truly,
domesticateddave@gmail.com
Categorised in: Comic Reviews, Random Reviews & News
This post was written by David Griffin
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