The Winter Men

The Winter Men is a 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 (November 2006) 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.


 * Winter Men (176 pages, Wildstorm, December 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2526-8, Titan Books, January 2010, ISBN 1-84856-516-X)

Reception
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,[The Winter Men] "is one hell of a dense book, packed to the gills with details and insights into Russia post-Reform". Sentiments echoed by The Fourth Rail who 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 (#163 in the top 300) but dropped to 8,862 (position #168) with issue two. Sales then slowly dropped from 8,324 (#186) for issue #3 to 7,129 (#187) and ending on issue #5 with estimates of 6,480 sales (at a position of #180)