A smalltown sheriff gets fed up with being pushed around by the drunken louts employed by the corrupt local businessman and mayor and one day decides to push back. You can’t break the cold by breaking the thermometer…
Pierre Wazem and Antoine Aubin’s Snow Day is an ok comic. I get the impression they’re shooting for a Coen Brothers-type quirky comedy/drama but, like everyone else who attempt to mimic the Coens’ style, fall short.
That’s probably because everything about the story feels like it’s happening at quite a distance from the reader – I never really connected with or got too wrapped up in what was happening on the page. As Wazem doesn’t take us into the inner thoughts of the main character, Spencer, I never felt like I got to know him and therefore cared less about his mission. That, along with his general blank look, quiet demeanour and understated actions made him seem almost autistic and that much more difficult to relate to.
There are a couple of deliberately “kooky” characters that felt contrived and unnecessary and a magical realist sequence that doesn’t quite work. But on the whole the lo-fi approach to the archetypal western-esque “lawman cleaning up shop” story was quite enjoyable and I liked Antoine Aubin’s pretty black and white art.
It’s trying a bit too hard to be an indie movie, nor is there anything too outstanding or memorable going on to make it a must-read, but Snow Day isn’t a bad comic and has its charms – worth a look for indie comics fans if you see it in the liberry.
No comments:
Post a Comment