Hit-Girl #5 Review: Blood in the Snow

Writer: Jeff Lemire / Artist: Eduardo Risso / Image Comics “What Kind of language is that for a little girl to be using?” “I’m from New York. Everyone talks like that there.” Everyone’s favorite tween angel of death returns with a fresh arc, creative team, and hunting grounds. Following the Colombian blood opera by Hit-Girl creator Mark Millar to kick off the new ongoing series, Jeff Lemire and Eduardo Rossi take the reins for an ice cold tale of vengeance. The new team slides into the material like a hot katana, mastering the voice and tone of Mindy McGready while adding a fresh sense of danger and atmosphere in the Great White North. “O, Canada . . .”

Part One of the “Canada” finds Hit-Girl on the trail of Billy Baker for trafficking heroin. After shaking down a source in Toronto and getting into bar brawl where she gets savage with a hockey stick, Mindy is forced to head even farther up north to catch her prey. She eventually tracks him to Kashechewan, a place so remote that it can only be reached by motor sled. What Mindy hopes to be a simple “kill and go home” job takes a quick turn when she falls into a bear trap and the forces of nature begin to turn against her. Cooler than a Polar Bear’s Toenail Timing is everything in Lemire and Risso’s Hit Girl collaboration. As a great narrative device to drive the mystery and action forward,  this issue unfolds both backwards and forwards. Lemire’s script adeptly introduces Mindy in a terrible situation, takes a step back to rev…