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Jan 04, 2010 WildStorm By Kyle Lemmon

Writer Brett Lewis and artist John Paul Leon have created a ripping yarn in The Winter Men. It’s a shame that this critically acclaimed, yet poor selling WildStorm mini-series slowly leaked out its five regular issues plus an over-sized special over three years. The woes of a protracted print schedule may of hindered this series but that type of gradual build is almost necessary for such an engrossing and dilapidated tapestry of post-Soviet life. The Winter Men follows a very loose “superhero” throughline, and its hard-boiled, conspiratorial core will no doubt satisfy fans of Ed Brubaker’s Criminal. The plot tails Moscow’s Kris Kalenov (aka “The Poet”), a former member of the secret Soviet superhuman project The Winter Men, who now spends his life looking at his reflection at the bottom of a bar glass. He sees his dead-end job for the Moscow government and his almost insurmountable problems with his wife staring back at him. The Greek tragedy of Kalenov’s life is invariably flipped inside out when a little girl goes missing and he begins unraveling a dark and seedy plot. His criminal past also rears its ugly head.

The outcome of his investigations are not the main thrill here though. Once the dust settles you’ll have to re-read the last few, confusing chapters anyway. The way Lewis and Paul Leon get you there is the true hallmark of this diamond-in-the-rough trade. Their storytelling abilities retain the simple and gritty eloquence of their protagonist’s gruff dialogue. There are many things to take away from the book: American pop culture commentary, unbelievable Russian history, and an intriguing subplot of Russian gang warfare, keep you turning pages even if you’re not quite sure of the big picture. Kalenov lives up to his nickname, “The Poet,” through his terse and thought-provoking narration. Chapter Four: “Interlude: Citizen Soldiers” contains some of the best snippets of dialogue as it follows Kalenov and his “mafiya” buddies on a “normal” day of boozing and general mischief.

It’s easy to go on and on about Lewis’ contributions but Paul Leon is no slouch in the art department. His linework is appropriately grimy, utilizing thick, dark inks to accentuate the disreputable aspects of Moscow and New York City. The colors (by colorists Dave Stewart and Melissa Edwards) are muted to reflect the squalid hopelessness of the characters’ environments. Their palette picks up a few brighter notches on the color wheel when violence splatters across the panels. Letterer John Workman offers something that is largely unseen in many graphic novels; pages with 1,000-plus word count that are usually dripping with pathos. You won’t find too many unnecessary phrases in this comic book. The best part: translation captions point to characters’ tattoos and post-its. This is only something you can experience in a comic book world.

So yes, The Winter Men is an enrapturing, albeit flawed masterstroke. You can blame that on its unwieldy publication schedule or Lewis letting his arch conspiracy theories getting the best of him, but there’s no denying the series’ judicious marriage of word and image. It seeps into your mind like a swig of vodka in a blizzard. The harsh, and engaging truth is that Lewis leaves his characters out in the cold. (www.dccomics.com/wildstorm / www.myspace.com/winterboxer / www.johnpaulleon.com)

Author rating: 7/10