After losing their parents in a pogrom, teenage siblings Alex and Yuli use the mystical power of a Golem to survive the chaos of the Russian Civil War. In a harrowing journey through war-torn Ukraine, the duo will face the harsh reality of warfare, ethnic bias, and national pride as they fight for their own place in the world. Edenfrost #1 mixes history and fantasy for a start that’s rather relevant.
Written by Amit Tishler, Edenfrost #1 is an interesting start that feels sort of like alternate history but also steeped in history. Tishler drops the reader into the action as two children make their way from some sort of chaos. While we never get all of the details, there’s an unreliable narrator who fills in some details, we’re teased with the involvement of a Golem.
Much like another release this week, Edenfrost #1 feels like it’s timing is both weird and perfect. The two children are Jewish, the Golem a Jewish myth, and their running is from the Antisemitism and hate from their tiny village. Add in this takes place in Russia and Ukraine, and you have a comic that covers a whole lot of what’s going on.
The art by Bruno Frenda is solid. With lettering from Taylor Esposito, Edenfrost #1 has a look that feels like it has feet in both history and fantasy. Like the story itself, its style works perfectly to create a world that’s antiquated. This is the early world of the destructive machinery used today in a current war in Russia and Ukraine and features myths still perpetuated today to discriminate against Jews. In Alex and Yuli, Frenda delivers an innocence that is hard for anyone to not feel something for and Frenda’s art does well to focus on the kids’ fear and exhaustion as they make their way into the unknown as they desperately attempt to find safety from those pursuing them and the weather.
Edenfrost #1 is an interesting comic that feels like an alternate world fantasy but it’s very much entrenched in the real world. It should be intriguing to see where it goes and how much it focuses on the Antisemitism that still exists today. There’s also the myth of the Golem, which while widely used, its Jewish roots are often overlooked and diminished. It’s an aspect that opens up a world that’s not known to many. Edenfrost #1 is a debut that kicks off a story and world full of potential.
Story: Amit Tishler Art: Bruno Frenda
Color: Bruno Frenda Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
Mad Cave Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
