Murder and mayhem on ice

The graphic novel "Whiteout", by Greg Rucka and artist Steve Lieber, begins with a murder that took place in Antarctica and U.S Marshall Carrie Stetko is called to investigate. Her arrival is welcomed by a killer who left her unconscious in the cold after brutally assaulting her. No, she didn't die; she somehow managed to survive, losing two of her fingers.

The rest of the novel follows her investigation, from an asylum to dead zones of that frozen part of the world, and results in chaos and mayhem which will keep you thrilled and finger-bitten until the end. The identity of the real culprit, to some extent, is a shocker. The only thing missing here are the penguins. Maybe hunted by the killer? This should be investigated too.

Stretko is a lovely and pitiful character for whom you sympathize at some point but she has some frightening moments too. One of which is a flashback sequence which details her encounter with a schizophrenic ruthless killer whom she caught and was locked down with for hours in a room due to some unknown circumstances. The killer both physically and mentally assaults her despite of being handcuffed. She suddenly loses her temper and bursts out on him madly, and almost kills him before the cops are able to break the door. This incident will haunt her forever.

"Whiteout" is followed by 2000 Eisner Award wining sequel, "Whiteout: Melt." The sequel follows Stetko's return to Antarctica from her vacation in New Zealand, where she investigates the theft of nuclear warheads at a Russian science outpost. She is accompanied by a Russian intelligence officer, she also walks on foot on ice for miles to track down thieves.

The third installment, named "Whiteout: Thaw" was first expected to come out in 2007 but now will be released sometime later in Fall 2009.

The feature film adaptation of "Whiteout" is currently in theaters.