Even with the Guice art and some solid writing in places from Dixon, his approach to Winterworld and its revelations is getting too annoying.

The protagonists have found a wonderful refuge from the ice, but it turns out the people living there have only read an Al Gore book and now they’re crazy about global warming and, apparently, crucifying the heroine.

Maybe if there were more grand action from Guice and not so much of the settlement, which looks like the Greek island from Mamma Mia!, the comic would be more compelling. But without any great visuals and such deceptive, manipulative plotting from Dixon, he gets tired fast.

There’s an unnatural stop and go to the pace–Dixon revs up to get to the cliffhanger, for instance, while dragging through other scenes. The comic always comes off too controlled; Dixon and Guice know what they’re doing, maybe even too well.

C+ 

CREDITS

Writer, Chuck Dixon; artist, Butch Guice; colorist, Diego Rodriguez; letterer, Tom B. Long; editor, David Hedgecock; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Just like last issue, Dixon is writing Winterworld for the artist, in this case Butch Guice. Unlike last issue, Dixon doesn't give Guice much to do this issue.

There's a little bit of action, large and small scale–though the small scale is just the bad guy murdering some cannibal scavengers so it's not like it's interesting to see–and there's a lot of scenery. Dixon gives the comic a deliberate, slow pace. The protagonists have their quiet little scenes together, full of expression (thanks to Guice) and a lot of inferred importance.

But Dixon's approach keeps the narrative from being compelling. At the end of this issue, he's putting the teenage girl in danger. Why? Because she's a teenage girl and there's lots of danger for them in a post-apocalyptic frozen wasteland. He just hasn't made her a person yet, so he's threatening a caricature.

Great art aside, Winterworld's in trouble.

B- 

CREDITS

Writer, Chuck Dixon; artist, Butch Guice; colorist, Diego Rodriguez; letterer, Robbie Robbins; editor, David Hedgecock; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Winterworld is about some guy who has a teenage girl sidekick in a post-apocalyptic frozen wasteland.

Writer Chuck Dixon has a very strange approach to the plotting–every scene is a glimpse of a full scene without any real transition between them. It reads like it’s on fast forward. Luckily, Dixon has Butch Guice on the art and it doesn’t matter how fast it reads, Guice’s panels are gorgeous.

Particularly great are the frozen battleship and then a chase sequence where the protagonists are on the run from some bad guys on motorcycles. Maybe it’s like The Road Warrior but who knows because Dixon doesn’t spend time on anyone but the leads. And all they do is bicker and try to survive.

The surviving stuff isn’t particularly interesting; the bickering passes the conversations. Dixon can write so maybe the pacing’s intentional. Or he just knows Guice will carry it.

B- 

CREDITS

Writer, Chuck Dixon; artist, Butch Guice; colorist, Diego Rodriguez; letterer, Robbie Robbins; editor, David Hedgecock; publisher, IDW Publishing.