Reviewed by Scott J Grunewald.
WHITEOUT
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Steve Lieber
Trade Paperback published in May 1999 by Oni Press
After I read WHITEOUT I had a horrible dream involving below freezing temperatures, a metal door handle, and my penis. I'll stop there, but as you can probably imagine, it wasn't a pleasant dream. However, it was rather vivid. I remember stumbling though snow, surrounded by seeming nothingness, cold pinpricks being the only thing that I could feel from my legs and arms. My eyes getting so cold that it would hurt to blink. My lungs feeling like I had one hundred-pound weights on them whenever I attempted to breathe. That's not the typical kind of imagery present in one of my dreams, and certainly not imagery based on personal experience. I'm a Southern California boy; my idea of cold is those miserable days when I can't wear shorts. I lived briefly in Wisconsin, but needless to say, I spent most of my time inside, and certainly never experienced cold that did never did anything more drastic then making my teeth briefly chatter (Okay, maybe an erect nipple or two).
So of course I blame Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, the writer/artist team responsible for Oni Press' WHITEOUT. I remember that while reading WHITEOUT, I had to pull my blanket up to my chin (yeah, I read comics in bed, shut up) and put socks on my feet. It wasn't until after the fact, of course, that I realized the level of atmosphere that WHITEOUT'S spectacular prose and art created for me was responsible for a cold I felt through to my bones. WHITEOUT opens on a murder scene. Quite a common place to open a crime thriller, with the sole exception that this murder scene is in Antarctica and the faceless body is frozen so solid that it'll take a week for an autopsy to be done. Oh yeah, and our 'detective' is a woman. Marshal Carrie Stetko is the only law that McMurdo Station (a coastal town that caters to scientists and military personnel) has, and she only has two weeks to find the murderer before winter comes and 90% of the current inhabitants of our frozen continent leave.
Remember that old sit-com gag where a boss threatens to send an employee to Antarctica if said employee messes up? Well, Carrie messed up - or at least her boss seems to think so - and really did get sent to Antarctica. I won't tell you what she did (it's far too sweet a revelation); needless to say I doubt you'll find yourself agreeing with her superiors when you find out. Of course, none of this makes Carrie a happy camper, as she's living on a giant ice cube with a 200 to 1 male to female ratio. So as Carrie waits for her faceless body to thaw, she takes a quick trip to Victoria Station, a British run Antarctic base, looking for some leads, and runs afoul of Lily Sharp.
Lily has a job to do, but she's not too keen on telling us what that is. It seems on the surface however, that Sharp wants to help find the killer, and an uneasy alliance is formed. Toss in a few missing limbs, some more faceless corpses, people not being dead when they should be, and a double cross or two, and our tale takes off into high gear. Greg Rucka has crafted one of the most involving and fast paced detective stories ever to see print in comics. Rucka treats his characters as real people, and seems to sit back and simply watch the story unfold rather then write it for us to read. In fact, the story seems so unforced and natural, that at times you find yourself being immersed in this cold, white reality so deeply that you find yourself turning up your heater.
Aside from treating the readers with respect, Rucka never stoops to underestimating his characters. They're smart, well rounded, and left alone to react as honestly and naturally as possible. A character's motivation may be examined, but never too far. Sexual attraction may be hinted at, but it's never played for more then it is. Rucka knows when to leave well enough alone, and thankfully, what we get is a slick, fast paced story, with just enough background to keep us involved and caring without overloading us on information.
It makes for a delightfully quick read, but one that keeps you coming back for more, time after time. And where Rucka gives us words and a story structure, Steve Lieber gives us solid and chillingly good art. WHITEOUT should get its title not from the effect of losing yourself in an ice storm, but for Lieber's liberal use of the correction fluid of the same name. Lieber's visuals are so effective, that at times you find yourself just staring at the comic pages in trance like awe. So effective is his WHITEOUT with Zip-A-Tone effects that you find yourself just as lost and confused in this icy world as its inhabitants seem to be. One flashback sequence is so chilling, in fact, that images of it still linger in my mind from time to time.
A team like Rucka and Lieber are one of those odd things that just happen in comic books. The lists of artists and writers that are born to work together is frighteningly short. Just as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons were born to do WATCHMEN. Just as Warren Ellis and Darrick Robertson were born to do TRANSMETROPOLITAN. Just as Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon were born to do PREACHER. Rucka and Lieber just fit together perfectly, and the excellence of WHITEOUT is a testament to that fact. Yes, I realize the league that I'm putting Rucka and Lieber in. I know that some of those books are classics. I don't make those comparisons lightly. I expect my WHITEOUT trade will look just as dog-eared and used as my copies of the WATCHMEN, TRANSMETROPOLITAN and PREACHER trade paperbacks are.
side from creating what will be, of this I'm certain, a new classic to be added to the short stack of comics that can be called truly great, WHITEOUT is an excellent opportunity to bring in fresh blood. Comic virgins, as it were. WHITEOUT is a short, uncluttered and completely self-contained story. You won't need to explain any back history. The 'virgin' won't need to spend hundreds of dollars on back issues and trades to understand what's going on. It's perfect for fans of mystery novels, whodunit movies, and pretty much anyone looking to be entertained. And finally, WHITEOUT is a book that can be loaned to - gasp! - your girlfriend without having to say things like "they just wear spandex so they can fight in clothing that isn't restrictive, kind of like gymnasts!"
Don't believe me? Go buy the trade -it's only eleven bucks -and pass it around to a few friends. You're guaranteed to be greeted with more than a few compliments.
Strongly recommended.
WHITEOUT is available now in trade paperback. The sequel, WHITEOUT: MELT, is now available in issue format from Oni Press.
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