Nerdly » ‘Snowpiercer Prequel Pt.1: Extinction’ Graphic Novel Review

20th Sep2019

‘Snowpiercer Prequel Pt.1: Extinction’ Graphic Novel Review

by Chris Cummings

Written by Matz | Art by Jean-Marc Rochette | Published by Titan Comics | Format: Hardcover, 96pp

Now, I’ve sadly yet to read the Snowpiercer comic books (though I intend to eventually) but I am a fan of the overlooked brilliant movie that came out back in 2013 that was directed by Bong Joon-ho and starred Captain America himself, Chris Evans. Snowpiercer is also getting a TV show, apparently, which is set to air in 2020 and stars Jennifer Connelly. I’m excited to see this concept given more life in the form of a show, and I need to check out the other comic work, but I jumped at the chance to take a look at Extinction, part 1 of the Snowpiercer prequel.

Now, good for me that Extinction is apparently the first part in a three-part prequel series that leads to the happenings of the movie. I was immediately impressed by the writing of the book, from Matz and Jean-Marc Rochette, as they builds up to what will come later and does so in a very interesting way. I cared about the story and how the train was built, and found myself more and more curious about the characters, their motivations, and what would happen next to them in upcoming parts.

The artwork, also from Jean-Marc Rochette, who is well known for working on the original runs of Snowpiercer books, is stunning. His artwork is really something beautiful and due to not having previously experienced his work, I was really blown away by it. It’s distinctive, unusual and also has this somewhat whimsical and watercolour paint manner to it that bursts from the page in a way that I found really nice to look at. I thought it fit the tone of story superbly.

There’s some shocking moments I didn’t expect from the book, from the violence and sex we see from time to time, but it’s the excellent writing and delightful art that sells it all. If you’re a fan of the film then I would imagine you’d find this book very interesting, and if you’re already familiar with the Snowpiercer books then I would imagine this would be on your radar to check out too.

It wasn’t perfect and I did find that there were some moments where the story felt a little forced and not especially as riveting as other parts, but overall I had a very good time with this, and look forward to reading the second part when it’s released.