It's been a long time coming for Fire & Ice to get their due, but Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville more than pulls it off. in the hands of Joanne Starer and artist Natacha Bustos, the issue delivers what might be comics' most iconic friendship with both deep and obvious respect for their character histories while also leaning into more modern complexity. Read Full Review

Fun start to a really offbeat title. Does a great job introducing the characters and their current conflicts, both internal and external. Read Full Review

Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 is a hilarious book reminiscent of the glory days of late 80s Justice League. The humor comes naturally and never gets too silly and I love Martha Kents presence in the book. A surprise character pops up at the end and promises to make next issue equally fun. Recommended. Read Full Review

Fire and Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 checks all the right boxes with skill and aplomb from the entire creative team. A sharp, witty social commentary that also serves as a well-rounded and holistic reintroduction to its leading ladies. Whether you're new to Fire and Ice or an old-schoolJustice League International fan, this is a comic not to be missed. Read Full Review

While we don't get too far in terms of any actual larger plot or story here, and I'm sure there is one, that's more than fine. I'm still of mind that we need more low-stakes books that just enjoy good character material and engage in the world with them without it being some massive threat. The low stakes make it easier to enjoy and keep it from being so intense as to take the fun out of it. And while there are serious aspects to a Fire and Ice story, they excel in lighter fare. The team here has captured a lot of this very well and has me excited to see what's next for it and how their lives in Smallville will play out. I just hope it doesn't become too big and over the top because a smaller approach works better. Read Full Review

Starer, developed a really interesting concept and a fun cast of characters that fit into a potentially interesting premise. Read Full Review

It's much more Gilmore Girls/Northern Exposure than it is a superhero comic, but it started to win me over by the endand Natacha Bustos' art is perfectly suited for it. There are shades of both Maguire and Amanda Conner in it, but it's its own wonderfully colorful thing and really elevates the story. Read Full Review

Personally this is not my favorite type of story but that is my own personal opinion. I do have an interest to see where this goes in the future. Read Full Review

I'm not 100% sold on the premise, but I'm enjoying Ma Kent and Ice's rapport, and worried about Fire, so I think the issue did its job. Read Full Review

Fire & Ice: Welcome To Smallville #1 looks, reads, and feels like a YA story. That's not inherently wrong, but this story takes place in current continuity, and Fire & Ice are written as immature Junior High students instead of the seasoned heroes they're supposed to be. That doesn't make it bad, just very odd. Read Full Review

The series is clearly not intended to be approached through a serious lens, but Harley Quinn has the market cornered on goofball antics. Fire and Ice could be treated like top of the B+ level heroes if given a chance. This won't be the title that changes anyone's opinion. Read Full Review

Two former Justice League International members are banished to run a hair salon in Smallville in FIRE & ICE: WELCOME TO SMALLVILLE #1, the debut issue of Joanne Starer and Natacha Bustos’s new “Dawn of DC” miniseries.

TL;DR

After the incident involving Guy Gardner from Power Girl Special #1 earlier this year, Superman banishes Fire (Beatriz da Costa) and Ice (Tora Olafsdotter) to his hometown of Smallville while the fallout from the situation dies down. They’re tasked with managing the town’s hair salon and fitting in with small-town America. The duo’s friendship is put to the test as Ice takes a liking to the slower pace of life, while Fire is looking to redeem her image and is ready to do whatever it takes to prove her might.

REVIEW

I was not expecting to like this issue as much as I did, but it may actually have been one of my favorite DC books of the week! Starer’s script is hilarious and really plays into the campy tone Fire & Ice have established throughout their history in the DC Universe — they are comedic relief without being inept or relying slapstick humor. They have faults, which they acknowledge (sometimes against their own will), yet their intentions are right and their reactions to the world around them are entirely relatable.

Fire’s reaction to being sent to Smallville could easily have become a caricature but Starer’s writing prevents that from happening. Her fascination with social media is one of my favorite gimmicks from the issue, and the video she makes with L-Ron to attract bad guys to Smallville so she can beat them up was hysterical. It may have only been topped by the interaction between Fire and King Shark, who answers the call.

I loved the female-centric presence of this issue. Beyond the main two characters, there are many other women of Smallville who make appearances throughout the book. A cameo by Superman later in the book includes Fire commenting on how she doesn’t need a man to jump in and save herself. It all felt very empowering to see the friendship between two women take center-stage.

In addition to writing Fire and Ice with surprising complexity, Starer establishes supporting characters, including L-Ron, Martha Kent, and Tamarind, equally well. These three characters add depth to the story which complements the personalities of Fire and Ice. L-Ron is the affable servant who helped sign the lease and has an affinity for apple pie. His need to address Fire and Ice with a formal title is a running joke throughout the book that never got old. Without Clark around, Martha instantly becomes a mother figure persona for Ice who becomes increasingly frustrated with Fire’s need to make a scene. Tamarind seems to be the level-headed friend that can help to balance out Fire and Ice, if they’d only let her. She’s an experienced stylist who needs the salon to survive so she can make ends meet. At 19, she’s of a different generation than Fire and Ice and provides a Gen Z perspective on the world around them.

Bustos’s art and Tamra Bonvillain’s colors are a great fit for the campy story. Characters have a 90’s animation design and color palette that give this the feeling of a Saturday-morning cartoon version of the Odd Couple. There is so much drawn into the environment that brings Smallville to life. I loved Bonvillain’s greens for Fire, especially as she flying through Smallville in her fiery blaze.

FINAL VERDICT

What a hilariously pleasant surprise this issue was and I can’t wait to see how the rest of this story plays out! It’s not easy to maintain it consistently, but we could be in store for an epic miniseries if Starer can maintain this perfect level of camp.

Rating: 8.5/10 more

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• KittyNone

hesfkshgf - Sep 5, 2023

Tasked with running the hair salon is more like them renting it (for no reason) and somehow just doing it- thank god they didn't rent the old meat packing plant building or the old abandoned mine!

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While Bustos's art wasn't my favorite, especially when we have Terry Dodson doing the cover, I thought Starer presented a nice and more grounded story for these two. I will admit that this is my first time reading a book led by Fire and Ice, so I didn't really have any prior standards and/or expectations going into this. However, I enjoyed this for what it was and I'm interested enough to read more. I think this has the potential to be a fun miniseries that I hope gets a bit better as time goes on.

This feel like this is a good book to base a '5' off of. It is not good in the least, but also not a total disaster.

What it does hilariously wrong: The characterization of Fire and Ice, with the big emphasis on Fire. Fire comes off as an out of touch, unlikable a-hole who really has no redeeming features and doesnt seem like the Fire from JLI at all. Also her entire background of being a secret agent is gone. Only a model/influence style background remains. She is far more shallow. Ice is much better but still kind of flat. She needs more to her. Fires rant at Superman is totally uncalled for. If you said this book was to justify taking Fire and Ice out to pasture and put justify them not showing up in comics for years after this mini is done, I would believe it.

Meh Factor- The art. Its not good, rather weak but not bad either. Just uninspiring. Overarching story is also meh. Like the plot per say isnt a disaster but it isnt pulling you in at all. Reads like a YA book and just pointless fluff.

The Good- One joke- I enjoyed the Ambush Bug bit. I did laugh.

Who is this for: Probably for people who like reading YA books and know nothing about Fire and Ice. This also feels like a really niche audience so I am unsure why you would write towards this group. more

If this is the kind of thing your into, God bless. I knew what this would be from reading the preview story a while back but I wanted to give it a chance since I enjoyed the old Giffen DeMatteis stuff and hoped beyond hope it would at least be decent. Well, it's written fine but it's not my kinda thing at all. It saddens me as I know we wont see these two characters again for years. This is cutesy wootsy YA type stuff and I really don't care for it. There is a fan base for this but I'm not a part of it. Again, if you like it I'm glad...it' just not my cup of tea. I really think this should have been labeled differently from the dawn of DC stuff. Maybe as a YA title.

Reads like it was written by someone whose faculties stopped developing past the age of 13.

Well, we've established in this issue that Joanne is not a comic book writer. She's a slice-of-life writer who has a very specific feminine agenda. From the opening dialogue from Fire, I knew this was not a book for me. I loved Fire in Checkmate, but this is not that character. She openly brings danger to Smallville without a care for the residents. This is a piece of trash and I won't be continuing. If you're thinking of picking it up -- don't.

My comic Reviews - https://youtu.be/m7c7jeAi4Xc

HA HA HA...No.