The Winter Men


The Winter Men is an American comic book limited series published by Wildstorm Productions in 2005. The series was written by Brett Lewis, with art by John Paul Leon.
The story is about a Russian policeman who is the product of a Soviet project to create superhumans.

Publication history

The series was intended to be published by Vertigo
as an eight-issue limited series. The series was delayed, moved to Wildstorm and the total number was dropped to six issues. Issue number 5 included the message that the story would be completed in The Winter Men Winter Special, which was released two years later on December 31, 2008 as an oversized 40 page special.

Collected editions

The trade paperback of the Winter Men was solicited for release on November 25, 2009.
Comic Bulletin gave the first issue full marks and said "Brett Lewis comes off as an astute observer of the contemporary Russian cultural milieu, and, via an injection of superheroic fantasy into real Soviet history, he draws powerful portraits of his tragic protagonist, Kalenov, and the nation as a whole." Stumblebum Studios was impressed by the research saying, "is one hell of a dense book, packed to the gills with details and insights into Russia post-Reform". The Fourth Rail felt "Brett Lewis's script challenges the reader with its complexity and its immersion in modern Russian culture. And he's been paired with an artist whose style is perfect for bringing the cold, stark and dingy quality of the backdrop to life." Ain't It Cool News concluded their review of the first three issues with a similar opinion "is a book with a singular voice and style the likes of which I haven’t seen in quite a while."
Sales estimates started off with issue #1 at 11,340 but dropped to 8,862 with issue two. Sales then slowly dropped from 8,324 for issue #3 to 7,129 and ending on issue #5 with estimates of 6,480 sales