Reviews»Comic Books»Polar: Came From…
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Kareem Ali 4.5

Polar: Came From The Cold

 

  • The good

    Solid espionage action-adventure that proves its worth with actions (artwork) as much as words

  • The bad

    A few panels felt like trying to decipher a scene on a blurry TV

  • The ugly

  • Polar: Came From The Cold is a tale of espionage, assassinations, and plain old-fashioned revenge by Victor Santos and Dark Horse. Things didn’t have to be this way because the world’s deadliest spy, the Black Kaiser, was enjoying retirement and the company of a lovely woman when suddenly things get real, really fast. The woman was working as part of a team of assassins coming to kill him and even though he survives her assassination attempt there are others right outside his cabin planning to finish him off. This results in some great moves and counter moves and when the snow settles, the legend holds true and the Black Kaiser is left standing and wondering who would make an attempt on his life considering he’s well into retirement. But he’s not without his own resources as he sets out to track down those involved because if there’s one thing he knows it’s that they won’t stop until he’s dead and he has no plans to die any time soon. Was it an extremely foolish mistake on the part of those who orchestrated this assassination attempt and one they will pay for with their lives, or has the espionage business passed the Black Kaiser by and he’s now in over his head?

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    This is a noir style story but it has its own unique flair to it. The artwork is also done by Victor Santos so this is entirely his vision. And the artwork itself is as much a part of the storytelling as the words because there are many pages that don’t have a single word on them yet the story is still conveyed. It works for the most part because of the protagonist. He’s a legend and it’s stated in the beginning that he’s the type of man who doesn’t have to prove his mettle with words so his actions convey more words than one single bubble or panel filled with words could. And this got off to a great start. Every panel was clear and easy to follow. The actions shown were deliberate and powerful when the Black Kaiser took out the first team of assassins and I was fully engrossed. After this sequence I honestly felt like the Black Kaiser was rightly a legend.

    When those behind the scenes of this failed plot are revealed right after this, I felt there would be some really interesting confrontations because not only did they vary in style but seemed up to the task to give the Black Kaiser a run for his retirement money. And as the story progressed and he gathered more information to try to uncover who they were and why they were after him, it became an interesting cat and mouse sequence that was ultimately satisfying when he learned who they were.

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    The same thing that made Polar: Came From The Cold very interesting and unique also had some downside to it and a couple of sequences felt like watching a blurry tv where you can’t really make out the picture so you only have a vague idea of what it is that’s being shown. But that’s few and far between and there are way more panels that are visually stunning and convey the depravity of the events taking place. The ending is truly climatic and very satisfying.

     

    SUMMARY

    Polar: Came From The Cold is a very enjoyable comic and even though it’s a tale told with few words at times, it’s just like its protagonist and its actions (artwork) speaks volumes and is engrossing. And at 160+ pages the story isn’t rushed so you can sit back and take your time with it and appreciate it thoroughly. If the intention of Victor Santos here was to create an impression in the reader’s mind that the Black Kaiser was indeed a legend that should be feared he definitely accomplished this while showing the world the Black Kaiser used to be a part of and how it’s changed. If you enjoy espionage action-adventures then you definitely don’t want to miss Polar: Came From The Cold.

     

    Pages: 169

    Release Date: 11/27/13

  • Rating ( 8.5 )
  • Total score 8.5

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