Antarctica #2 Review

 

Writer: Simon Birks

Artist & Colorist: Willi Roberts

Letterer: Lyndon White

Cover Artists: Willi Roberts; Rahsan Ekedal

Publisher: Image Comics (Top Cow)

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 16, 2023

 

Engineer Hannah Curtis went to the Smith-Petersen base in Antarctica to pursue her career and find her long-lost father. Then an identical base appeared, along with her identical twin. Has she just entered the Twilight Zone? Let's dig into Antarctica #2 and find out!

 

Story

The first issue ended with her double's announcement, "We need to talk about Father." Hannah asks, "What did you say?" The woman says, "We need to talk about our father." While the subtle change invites speculation, her double pulls a gun. Hannah ignores the threat and reenters the base.

 

Her coworker Matteo called her a novice, but he's out of his depth in Antarctica #2. She grabs his hand and leads him to the locker room. They find Dr. Philip Campbell, who's beaten and bound Dr. Hirsch.

 

Interestingly, Campbell and Hirsch seem to understand what's going on. Hannah's not surprised. While it's the first we've heard it, her research into her father's disappearance suggested all kinds of supernatural mysteries on the southernmost continent. Can she withstand her counterpart's machinations and the final shocking revelation?

 

One word of caution: the paragraph on the inside front cover is loaded with spoilers and likely intended to grace the inside front cover of the next issue.

 

Art

Hannah and her colleagues wear protective red suits that sport purple visors but expose their mouths. Dr. Hirsch's high-cut red and purple jacket leaves only a black shirt protecting her midriff. Matteo and Philip Campbell use handguns; the opposition has rifles. The soldier wears a stylish black outfit with a balaclava and infrared visor. Hannah and Matteo peel down the upper half of their suits. They tie them at the waist, underlining that they’re infants to this Twilight Zone situation.

 

Hannah's face shows how life on the streets aged her, while her counterpart's looks smooth. Characters are drawn with precision and captured consistently throughout. Buildings and vehicles invoke realism, making it easy to follow the action as the tension increases and the stakes mount. A flashback in Antarctica #2 suggests her father’s profession. The bases show minor color variations. While the control room features the latest technology, the hallways, and the locker room look dirty, as yellow overhead lighting casts the gray walls green. When the action moves outside, the slightly blurred snow tells us how fast it's falling.

 

Hannah's thoughts appear in colored narrative boxes, but less than in issue #1. White dialogue balloons fill panels as conversations—and interpersonal drama—become the norm. The appealing lowercase text is darker in Antarctica #2, while inflection makes words bold. Sound effects amplify emotions and battles.

 

Final Thoughts

The action comes thick and fast in Antarctica #2, as her sophisticated doppelganger threatens Hannah and her coworkers. The ending of this parallel world story leaves readers fearing for their own.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

See another cover on my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Antarctica #1 Review

 

Writer: Simon Birks

Artist, Colorist, & Cover A Artist: Willi Roberts

Letterer & Cover B Artist: Lyndon White

San Diego Comic-Con Cover Artist: Abigail Harding

Publisher: Image Comics (Top Cow)

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 12, 2023

 

Each time her father's job took him away, Hannah looked forward to his return. At least until the day he didn't when her world fell apart. Lost in a bottle, she ended up on the street. Can she find a way to reclaim what she lost and become someone her father would have been proud of? Let’s dig into Antarctica #1 and find out!

 

Story

Homeless, Hannah steals and hurts people to get money for her next drink. One day, the owner of a coffee shop offers her a deal: if she takes a class at the local technical college, he'll give her a place to live. His concern prompts her to survey what's on offer. Once, she dreamed of becoming a scientist. Yet, she realizes that getting her hands greasy appeals to her. So she throws herself into the Mechanic Assistant course. In time this gives her the idea to search for her father. She’d heard him speak about Antarctica. Perhaps that was where he had worked before his employers declared him lost.

 

There's no mention of Hannah's mother or who cared for her when her father's work took him away. I also wondered why learning more technical skills held no appeal. Antarctica #1 left me pondering how she converted her Mechanic Assistant course into graduating with an Engineering degree.

 

 

 

 

Art

Hannah destroyed her childhood toys when she lost her father. Sinking into alcoholism made her hair turn white. Jim's caring cuts through her façade. Figuring out how to repair engines and coffee equipment gives her determination and a purpose.

 

Hannah grew up in the suburbs, lived on the streets, and often sat outside Jim's coffee shop. Her friend's café looks like your typical roastery or diner. The architecture, bridges, and vehicles in Antarctica #1 give scant clues that she lives anywhere other than the United States. Yet eagle-eyed readers will notice a red, double-decker bus drive past the technical college, and envelopes accompanying application forms read British Antarctic Research Company. While Willi Robert’s art doesn’t scream of England, writer Simon Birks lives in Scotland. Perhaps that’s where Hannah lives too.

 

When she accompanies her coworker Matteo out into the cold for the first time, Hannah wears an outfit—bearing a Union Jack--designed to protect her against Antarctica's harsh extremes. Yet when she returns to the blizzard-like conditions, she foregoes her hat and goggles and wears a black, monogrammed fleece jacket. The cover for Antarctica #2 shows her wearing this jacket and clutching a semiautomatic pistol. I'm guessing that exciting times lay ahead for Hannah.

 

Final Thoughts

Gorgeous art envelopes you like Hannah's father's arms as you sink into Antarctica #1's warm embrace. Although dialogue balloons reveal select conversations, the diary-style narrative summarizes Hannah's lost years and how grit and determination—aided by a friend's kindness—propels Hannah to Earth’s least visited continent.

 

8.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.