) Oleg Kutukov, a military officer accompanying Pi’s group, is too stereotypical for his own good. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that he spends the whole story shirtless. He has a lovely, distinctive look about him, and I love the strong silent types who you can always rely on. Yes, he is a secondary character who literally says two words over the course of the story. I absolutely adore her brother Geri, though. I would’ve certainly appreciated more of Freki if she was featured more, but she was very literally in the background almost all the time and had only about two scenes to star her. He is sweet, gentle and caring, but also too green and weak to completely fit in with the team, but that just makes him even more endearing. James McKay, the team’s newly-arrived medic, is a character that is especially dear to me: he is new to the world of the Far North just as the readers are, so we often follow events with his eyes. Nickel’s devil-may-care attitude grated on my nerves a lot, too, but I loved London being the voice of reason and somewhat of a fatherly figure to the whole team. Not to mention that Pi’s way to handle conflicts in the team just made her look inconsiderate for her team members. She is the leader responsible for the whole team, and her protectiveness toward her charges is a good thing, but her total inability and unwillingness to listen to someone who also obviously cares for the team is not. In a way, Pi’s risk-taking and London’s overcaution balance each other and make them a good team – but I still think that Pi is too quick to rush into the fray. In a way, having characters with flaws and faults is a good thing because it makes them more human, but being annoyed with a character’s behaviour doesn’t help my enjoyment of the story. ![]() However, I had trouble sympathizing and identifying with most prominent character. ‘Across Thin Ice’ follows a team of protagonists, so it would be unfair to single out a specific hero, though there are several who get more screen time. However, I do believe that the story would’ve benefited if the pacing was more even and not so slow during the first half of the book.Ĭharacters – 3 stars. At that point I was sitting on the edge of my seat. It’s only halfway through when the action starts and flies by practically non-stop, with only a couple of breaks to let the heroes – and readers, - to catch their breath. To be honest, I was quite bored throughout the first half of the comic. The story started with a bang by showing us a life and death situation on the mine that sets the whole plot in motion, but then it abruptly slowed down as Pi and her team are introduced. The pacing of the story is inconsistent, and I consider it one of the drawbacks. I admire the accuracy with which this scene and the likes of it are drawn. Then you realize that McKay is working in the second plan all the time – cleaning the wound, removing the bullet, sewing it up and bandaging, one step in every panel. The said traveler relays some important information there, so at first your full attention is on the conversation. My personal favourite got to be the scene when James McKay treats the wounds of a random traveler the team saves. There are lots of details that make you admire the pages. There are beautifully drawn animal faces and anatomy. There is marvelous scenery of snowy wildness and northern lights. ![]() Amazing art is why we love comics, right? And in this case, the art is beautiful. Throughout the story Pi and her team have to brave bad weather, frozen rivers and ice drifts as well as skirmishes with bandits – and even though they never get to come face-to-face with the mysterious villains, the story doesn’t lose its excitement, and I applaud the author for the mastery of this level.Īrt – 5 stars. A disaster strikes one of the mines in the northern territories, and so a team of sled dogs is sent out for the rescue, toward the greater danger than the heroes can imagine. I really love the Far North stories, and this one was captivating, with a good old ‘Jack London’ feel about it. ![]() ‘Across Thin Ice’ is the first issue of ‘Nordguard’ series, and who doesn’t love a good comic book?
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