Fresh from winning the Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic, Jeff Lemire and Jock’s stunning horror comic Snow Angels returns for its concluding volume. Having suffered a personal loss to the deadly Snowman, sisters Milli and Mae Mae are forced to carry on their quest alone. Travelling farther from the safety of their village, they’re taken in by a secret society of Trench dwellers who help them battle the Snowman, and Milli makes a decision that may have fatal consequences for Mae Mae.

Much like the opening volume, volume 2 is packed with suspense, action and emotions running high. Having laid some strong foundations with his previous world building, Lemire continues to build on the strong characters he established. Milli and Mae Mae were once the optimists in a bleak world where optimism and curiosity had long since died out, with their father acting as a cynical reminder of the situation they were in. But with their father gone and the harrowing experience they went through in the previous volume, these are not the same girls we were introduced to. Mae Mae in particular has been severely shaken and no longer believes she has the mental or physical stamina for their journey. Milli meanwhile is forced to toughen up further if she and her sister are to survive.

The tension is also on point. Even with the girls thinking they have found safety with the secret Trench dwellers group, there are soon secrets revealed that will turn everything they thought they knew on their head. But the real tension comes from the Snowman being just as menacing this time round. A terrifying figure who is mostly silent and equipped in armour that hides any sort of expression, he makes the series feel like a combination of The Terminator and The Thing which definitely works in its favour.

Jock continues to shine in the art department. The setting and characters play massively to his strengths. For many artists, the stark white snowy backgrounds would be an obstacle, but he uses them to great effect to enhance the bleak tone and atmosphere of the series. And as expected, his action sequences are top notch. All the sequences with the Snowman in particular are packed with tension and suitable terrifying.

This is a brilliant conclusion to a standout series. Both Lemire and Jock have established a survival horror classic in the comic genre. This is one everyone needs to read.

Snow Angels Volume 2 is out now from Dark Horse (9781506726496, p/b, £17.99)

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