Iceman Thawing Out Review - An Emotional In-Depth Look at One of the Original X-Men
Format Reviewed: Physical Trade Paperback
Collects:: Iceman #1 - #5
ISBN: 9781302908799
Release: January 1st, 2018
Pages: 136
Genre: Super Heroes
Rating: Unrated
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Sina Grace
Artist: Alessandro Vitti, Edgar Salazar
Bobby Drake has been in the super hero game longer than most - but what has he left behind besides a few good one-liners and a string of failed relationships? And now a younger version of himself has emerged from the timestream - and he's more put together than Bobby ever was. He grapples with his gay identity and his family and how to build a life and legacy he can be proud of...and become the best Iceman he can be! But, whether it's seeking his ex-girlfriend Kitty Pryde's advice on meeting guys, or delivering his latest news to his folks, it won't be easy - and that's before a gang of revenge-seeking Purifiers comes calling! And, still learning to be comfortable in his own skin, Bobby will meet someone who's perhaps too comfortable in his - the son of Wolverine himself, Daken!
This article was originally published on Positive Plugs on February 7th 2020. It has been ported here so that it may live on.
Iceman: Thawing Out is a collected edition of issues #1-5 of the 2017 Iceman comic series which was created by Sina Grace, Alessandro Vitti, Edgar Salazar, Ibraim Roberson, Ed Tadeo, and Rachelle Rosenberg.
The book focuses on the titular character Bobby Drake, a.k.a. Iceman, who is one of the original X-Men and an Omega-level mutant. He is well known in the Marvel Universe for his ‘punny’ humor and one-liners, which are effortlessly thrown out even during more brutal conflicts – but this book delves deeper, beyond the outer layers of Iceman’s grand superhero persona and explores the very much human characteristics that exist within his normal everyday self, Bobby Drake.
On this blog, I try to keep spoilers to a bare minimum. I don’t share key plot points because I want readers who are interested in the material I cover to be able to experience it with a blank slate like I did. But sometimes very minor details will be outlined to help explain the basic premise of the material or to help me express why I feel so strongly about the content.
This is one of those times.
Bobby Drake has recently accepted the fact that he is gay. Coming to terms with his own homosexuality has been a complex and difficult process for himself, but it becomes even harder when he finds himself opening up to friends, family, and even ex-girlfriends.
The initial pages of the book open with Bobby creating a profile for himself on “Single Not Stirred,” an online dating site that asks you to describe yourself in 500 words or less, and he’s doing a pretty good, if not ‘wordy’ and egotistical, job of explaining who he is until he’s interrupted by a family emergency that ends up being much more than a simple hospital visit.
By the end of the first issue, he completes his profile with a description that I feel a lot of people can relate to, and it also sets the tone for the rest of the book as we get to know Bobby on a much more intimate level.
Thawing Out has plenty of action scenes with Iceman showing off exactly why he’s considered an Omega-level mutant, but the real meat of the story is hidden in the moments where I became physically and emotionally uncomfortable between pages.
By the end of the fifth issue, I was struggling to see the last few panels as I dealt with a flood of complicated emotions in relation to the characters on the page.
It was a feeling that I don’t take for granted. To be so moved by a story in any format is genuinely a wonderful and rewarding experience – even when it’s a hard one.
I am an X-Men fan and if you asked me who my favorite mutant was, you’d hear that it’s a toss-up between Cyclops and Wolverine, both of which I have tattooed on my arm, and Iceman never really crossed my mind. That is, until I completed this book… Now I can honestly say that I’ll have much more fondness for the character in my heart moving forward.
I feel like there’s probably someone out there who needs to read this book. Not just for fun and entertainment, but to help them grow stronger from the process of accepting themselves, and to acknowledge the trials ahead of them should serve as stepping stones, not barriers.
This is why I love the X-Men. Their stories are often about diversity, acceptance, and love even in the face of great opposition, and Thawing Out tells that story better than most.
I highly recommend this book.