It wa a dark and snowy night on the island of Landisfarne--“Holy Island” off the northwestern coast of of England in 793 AD. A group of robed holy men carried chains that dragged a massive block of ice. Inside the ice was a demonic form of some sort. Off on the horizon there was something approachning: a seafaring vessel straight from hell. War is coming in Violator #2. Writer Marc Andreyko and artist Kyle Hotz continue an exploration of darkness with colorist Dan Brown. The story for the issue is called “Blood + Snow.” It’s a stylishly dark journey into horror fantasy.  

They are certain that their doom has arrived in a snowy evening on the coast. One among them mutters something...hell could not possibly be worse than the ship. A figure with glowing green eyes from within a metal helm helps him along his way to the salvation of damnation as the conflict explodes across the coast. Somewhere in the midst of it all, the demon that calls itself the Violator is thawed from the ice and turned against the hell spawn that has come for the Creator’s followers. The Violator has been cast out of both heaven AND hell and would prefer not to deal with such issue, but the demon will be drawn into the conflict whether it wants to or not. 

Andreyko certainly makes the title character an appealing monster. The independence from the two major forces at work is easy to identify with. It’s a neutral force in the rather generic battle between good and evil that would otherwise be quite dull. It's a powerful piece that would prefer to be left alone. But it doesn't have any interest in senseless killing either. It's a powerful intelligence. And so it's fun to hang out with for 20 or more pages. The interaction between the holy men and the demon at the end of the issue is remarkably appealing in spite of it simplicit Andreyko cleverly constructs a fun complexity with the most humble horror fantasy elements. 

The horror fantasy is brought to the page with appropriate atmosphere by Hotz and Brown. Snowy evening carry a deliciously heavy immersiveness that’s often overlooked on the comics page. Hotz and Brown bring the chill to the page in the falling snow and blood as a profound amount of detail is brought to the page in a gorgeously-rendered horror onslaught as the forced of hell invade the holy men of the coast. Brown’s color adds a rich depth to it all that feels dazzlingly deep.

And now the Violator has found a new body. It’s ready to find its way in the world with a renewed appreciation for its own infernal durability. There’s no telling whee life is going to take the infernal thing navigates its way to the Heptarchy in England in the eighth century. Beyond that, there are a lot of directions that Andreyko and company could develop in the course of the ensuing issues.

Grade: A