There better be a sequel coming..

No, but seriously. I literally devoured this graphic novel from start to finish and that ending. I need more.

The story is about Oscar who has no idea what happened to him. Why he can suddenly sees black smokey shapes that seem to be spirits, why his eyes are different and why he's so, so cold. He's being called towards a huge fire without knowing why or who's calling him.

The story contains flashbacks, through which we learn more about the world Oscar lives in, who he is and what happened to him. The world in which the story takes place touches on current events, it's world in which Black people are unalived because of their skin color. This is also why I feel the need to address an event in the middle of the book that can (=will) be triggering as Oscar has an encounter with a police officer.

Oscar learns that not all spirits are friendly. It's a tense, but very intriguing story told in a very beautiful way and I seriously can't wait for the sequel (there will be one right???)

Black Ice is the beginning of Oscar's journey. He has powers, though they haven't been fully realized in the story just yet. He is gay and Black, so he faces double conflicts regarding insecurities and personal experiences based on those aspects of who he is. There is a lot of mystery and tension, but most of this introduction is spent focusing on Oscar's sense of feeling lost and figuring out where he's going next. This is an interesting start with a lot of intriguing pieces to build on. However, more story is definitely needed to get to know him, what he can do, and what is in store for him next.

This book tackles some really important themes and we need books that discuss these things, however the story felt incredibly disjoined and confusing, I found the MC difficult to like or connect with, and this overall just didn’t work for me.

This has some important themes about police violence, préjudice against black people but this was only discussed on the protagonist Thoughts . The part that hook me on Oscar journey having to leave the house being a willing person because the family doesn't support you and being reluctant to stay in touch or not in this difficult relationship At an age as early as his.
The fantasy element was a bit hit or miss to me, the art on the monsters or spirits were so good but the explanation or lore was weak and confusing.

I liked the story, I liked the images. It was not outstanding for me, but we absolutely need more comics from Black authors and illustrators and I am going to hype this one up because I know it will be a lot of peoples jam! I like the concept and where it is going, maybe I just needed a longer issue, or the second issue as well. I liked the dark ideas though and the shadows and stuff. It was definitely IMO a pretty unique concept.

I loved the main character of this unusual superhero graphic novel. This takes a different approach to the whole awaking to powers and trying to figure out where they came from and what to do with them. The insight about the never spoken, but very present racism is extreemly emotional and rings so true and suffacating. There are many good things about this work, many emotional connections and insights that I loved.
Sadly, the story overwhole feels a little lacking. We are only just presented with an intro and the end of this work feels like the beginning of the real story. I also think colours would have greatly helped with narrative comprehension, there is so much talk about the hero's eyes, and sometimes I couldn't make sense of the images because of the extreme close-ups or lack of details. But I really am intrigued about the rest of the series, and my rating might climb up in function of how the series go. It's just hard to have an opinion yet knowing so little of the story.

Black Ice drew me in right away with the cover art. The art within the book is excellent, but I sure wish it was in color especially with the importance of Oscar’s eyes. The story itself feels like just the beginning without an ending and I hope there is going to be another that dives deeper into Oscar.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

This book tells the story of Oscar, a teen who awakens with mysterious ice powers and finds himself drawn towards a raging wildfire.

To begin, the art in this book is very pretty (although I personally found that Oscar looked quite a bit younger than he actually is - I was surprised when I learned his age!) The illustrations were expressive and lovely to look at throughout.

This book is clearly trying to tell a deep, mature story, and does manage to make some important commentary surrounding discrimination and racism. My heart went out to Oscar and his troubles. While this part is well told, the plot is unfortunately not given the same opportunity to develop. Everything is very mysterious and the book ends right when you might potentially get some answers. I'm struggling to find if this is part of a series. The author mentions on social media that this will be the catalyst for many stories in the world, but if this the end of what we see for poor little Oscar, then his story is left woefully unfinished (which would be a shame, because it does seem very interesting!) If there is a sequel, then I would have preferred a little more content in this installment, just to give a sense of what is going on and an opportunity to really hook readers.

Oscar is such a loveable mc. I love how we see him having to adjust to new powers. I also thought the non-fantasy aspects were impactful as well. This book talks about what it’s like to be Black in the west (I think this book is set in America, but I can’t fully tell). I read this in about 40 minutes, so it’s a quick read. I cannot wait for the sequel, but in the meantime I’ll definitely check out Bradford D. Smith’s other works.

TWs: - racism (Specifically aniblackness)
- police brutality (There is a scene where Oscar experiences this)
-Homophobia
-Wildfires
-Death threats

I thought this was a very good beginning for this series. We are introduced to Oscar Lewis who has somehow acquired powers to turn things to ice, suddenly he realises that he needs to travel to a wildfire which is raging out of control at the other side of the country. As he travels he meets new people and strange creatures also accompany him, some benign some less so. His is a journey of discovery as he learns about himself and his calling, and learns the truth about our world.

The artwork is ok and complements the story. I enjoyed reading this first volume and I am waiting for the next.

Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

While reading Black Ice, there were times that I had no idea what was going on, but I feel like that is intentional. The story is told in Oscar’s point of view, and he doesn’t know what is going on. I enjoyed the simplicity of the art style and look forward to seeing what comes Oscar’s way in the future.

I really liked the premise of this book. I love speculative graphic novels, especially with added topics of ease and sexual orientation. However, this book had a very disjointed pacing that made it hard for me to understand the character and plot line. I know that a big part of the book is discovering the mystery along the way, but it took me out of the story to have so many unknowns.

[2.5 stars]

This was darker than I expected it to be. Emotional, but confusing too. There were lots of details left out as to why Oscar's like that, and whoever that woman was, or what the spirit thingies are exactly (the giant one near the end). The concept was interesting but it could've been executed better (I'm assuming there's a second book after this?)

TW for racism and police brutality.

This graphic novel is really weird, but I have nothing bad to say about it. I liked it.

Artistically though it would benefit from the art being more enhanced in sections because there is a lot of pointless whitespace. The pages with the most detail, like dancing with the little demon guy and the last quarter of the book in the dessert, have incredible rendering. It left me wondering why the rest of the story hopped around stylistically so much when the artist's rendering talent is clearly there.

Nice job though! It gave me Steven Universe and Studio Ghibli vibes.

I'm not sure if this book will published in black and white. It will look much better in color, since I found that I was so confused when I was reading it with black and white.

Black Ice is packed with rough emotions of isolation and loneliness. Oscar faces racism, separation from his mother, and the strange experience of traveling alone, all while trying to figure out the strange new power he possesses. Simple, but evocative line art brings out Oscars raw emotions and shows that black boys have and can express a wide range of feeling. The supernatural elements in the story were interesting, but not flushed out as much as I would have liked. I hope there’s a second book that explores Oscar’s world more.

This book had so much potential but needed to be more developed. It was good enoughthat I was interested until the very last page, but nothing felt like it was satisfied. Either needs to have a 2nd book immedietly follow it, or to be a longer one off book. I also wish the book on the inside had colors like the outside did, it would have been even better that way. The lack of colors around Oscar's eyes made it confusing at first about why everyone was talking about his eyes.

Holy shit, how can this book end like this?? You can't leave me hanging on this cliff!!

Can't wait for the next one to come out, many threads started but none finished here.

I habe to admit that I was very confused, due to the lack of explanations. I liked the drawings cuase they were very clear and neat. I hooe in a second volume to learn more about the story and ice powers

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

I could not put this down. I could identify with Oscar on so many levels and feel that other adults and kids will as well. Oscar was transformed after an encounter with a mysterious woman. He's taken off by himself to visit a mass forest fire. On the way he meets some characters which change his world view and life. I eagerly await the next installment.