Snow Day

Spencer, the sheriff in a remote, snowbound American town, runs afoul of the local powers that be when he arrests three factory workers on charges of drunk-and-disorderly conduct. An outsider to the community, the quiet sheriff has to this point been largely ignored by the quirky townsfolk, treated by them as part of the scenery. But after receiving a minor beating from the aforementioned drunks and then being forced to let them go by the mayor, Spencer hops into his trusty snowplow and stands up for himself in a way that is the stuff of a decent country-and-western ballad. A thoughtful, largely wordless work in which not much happens, the strength of this piece lies in the stark, realistic depictions artist Aubin (Blake & Mortimer) gives of the narrative’s utter mundanity. Everything about it looks and feels like something pulled breathing straight out of an everyday happenstance in some podunk town that would barely be noticed when driven through en route to somewhere else. (Feb.)