Graphic novel winter worlds move beyond holiday cheer, drawing on pagan, folk, and secular traditions where snow, darkness, and isolation shape the story. These chilling titles use winter itself as myth, menace, and memory.
As the nights grow even longer and the month of December settles in, many people would rather stay home, cosy with a book than venture out. For those getting heavy snowfall, heading outside often isn’t even an option. In these graphic novel winter worlds, artists and writers use ice, snow, and darkness to evoke the season’s chill without needing to experience it firsthand, especially when the colouring and atmosphere land just right.
But when you start looking for material that isn’t rooted in year-end celebrations, Yule, or festive tradition, it becomes surprisingly difficult to find winter stories that truly stand apart. In these tales, winter becomes the main character, not tinsel or mistletoe. Here are some standout titles that embrace the season on their own terms:
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is visually stunning, emotionally rich, and anchored by Oscar Isaac’s haunted performance—but is that enough when it’s no longer a Byron/Shelly style tale?
Just how good Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is depends on how much of Mary Shelley’s novel this auteur chooses to bring to life on screen. It’s safe to say he’s rearranged a fair bit. Some changes strengthen the story, drawing out its emotional and thematic cues, while others never quite take shape.
Heinrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz), the mysterious benefactor who bankrolls Victor’s (Oscar Isaac) experiments, is a notable addition. He isn’t in the novel, and his motives feel not all that fleshed out—yes, the pun’s intentional. His inclusion explains how Victor funds his unholy pursuits and builds The Creature (Jacob Elordi) after being blackballed by his peers for daring to defy death. When this financier’s true identity as an arms dealer and seeker of immortality is revealed, the moment ends before it begins. The hint of Orwellian horror lingers but is never explored, leaving an intriguing idea unfinished.
Not even Jackie Chan can save Karate Kid: Legends from feeling like a distant memory. While it delivers some entertaining moments and tweaks the formula, straying from Daniel LaRusso’s story is a misstep. That tale is already explored beautifully in Cobra Kai, where alliances matter more than grudges. I had hoped the film might explore Miyagi’s teen years, but without Pat Morita, who passed away in 2005, that tale is impossible to tell. The absence of that deeper connection leaves the film feeling like a story missing its heart.
The film opts for a hard reboot, introducing Li Fong (Ben Wang), an immigrant trying to stay out of trouble in New York. Skilled in Kung Fu and bound by a promise not to fight unnecessarily, Li is quickly drawn into conflict after encountering overzealous muggers. His path crosses with Victor Lipani (Joshua Jackson), who reluctantly asks for his help.
A bold and emotional story blending mermaid mythology, interspecies romance, wild mecha rides, and high-stakes drama, ChaO makes a memorable splash.
This movie played at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival on July 27th.
GKIDS
When a movie simply titled ChaO begins with an account of a mermaid saving a boy from drowning, writer/director Yasuhiro Aoki moves away from the idea of presenting another fairy tale. Unlike those fantasy yarns from long ago, what we find here is perhaps more inspired from Splash! that Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah film is more of a sitcom about a fish out of water trying to get used to living in the human world, and in this anime, what’s offered here is similar.
In this presentation, Stefan (Oji Suzuka) and Princess Ao Sonni Chao Neptunus (Anna Yamada) haven’t even had their first date. Technically, this film begins in the present, where the surface world lives in harmony with the aquatic one. Here, we find that this human has moved on. Although the plot makes Juno (Shunsei Ōta) look like the protagonist, he is not. He’s a reporter who loses a scoop to a story, but when he finds Stefan, this chance to interview the sailor may well save him from being fired! During my second viewing, I noticed he’s similar to the actual lead, because both are wishy-washy.
… viewers interested in what life is like in China will find it rather maudlin. What people need to know about Caught by the Tides is that it’s made from bits and pieces of other films, and in what ties everything together is its focus on the leading lady.
Caught by the Tides is a curious film that can be tough to deconstruct. When writer/director Jia Zhangke is assembling bits from his other works, the result can feel like a jumble. He either never had in mind a plan to create this latest movie, or he just wanted to play around. Even I had to check where the footage came from. The movies he pulled from are Unknown Pleasures, Still Life, and Ash is Purest White. I’ve only seen one, but the rest were a mystery.
I suspect the idea for this film comes from the idea that whatever random pieces of celluloid film are from the cutting room floor, he can collect into a tale. The film partially captivated me at times, but, like the receding tide, my interest waned. At least I can appreciate the moment where the protagonists are dancing to Butterfly on Dance Dance Revolution.
Legendary filmmaker Tsui Hark is one busy man! And we got a recap on what to expect soon in theatres. Not only can we get to revisit the classics, but also expect his trademark style in two upcoming projects.
Release Date: June 20, 2025
Shanghai Blues has been updated to 4K and unlike other releases, Tsui Hark knows that audiences have to experience this classic on the big screen instead of just releasing it to disc! This film is one part comedy and another romance. As for what’s next on this auteur’s plate, fans can look forward to the release of Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants sometime this year, and in pre-production is Shih, Queen of the Sea. The former is a new take on a fond tale and the latter concerns one of the meanest pirates to sail the Asiatic seas! Both are equally ambitious works, and we’re glad this filmmaker is not retiring soon.
Shanghai Blues Plot Synopsis
In 1937, after The Second Sino-Japanese War breaks out, a soldier and a young woman have an awkward meet cute in darkness under a bridge as they seek refuge during a bomb raid. Although they can’t see each other’s faces, they promise to meet again after the dust settles. Ten years later, the soldier, now a burgeoning songwriter and tuba-player in a marching band, is back in town desperately searching for his would-be soulmate. As fate would have it they end up living in the same building unbeknownst to each other. Through a series of mishaps he mistakes her new ingénue roommate for his love interest and wacky love triangle hijinks ensue.
Shanghai Blues in 4K (sample image)
Consummate auteur Tsui Hark almost single-handedly reinvented Hong Kong cinema in the 80s and 90s with uber-kinetic genre opuses, amping up cinematic spectacle whether with special effects or sheer unbridled energy. This Hong Kong styled homage to the screwball comedies of yesteryear features black belt level slapstick and delightfully droll romcom shenanigans. With striking mise en scène and inspired production design Shanghai Blues, “…luscious, loving and a lot of fun…one of Tsui Hark’s most enjoyable works” — Richard James Havis, South China Morning Post.
The 4K restoration of SHANGHAI BLUES was supervised from the original negative by Tsui Hark with L’Immagine Ritrovata and the soundtrack remixed by One Cool Sound.
Tsui Hark Biography
This filmmaker is widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in Hong Kong cinema, known for his innovative style and pushing the boundaries of filmmaking. He emerged as a key figure during the 1980s Hong Kong New Wave, challenging genre conventions and censorship restrictions with films like Butterfly Murders and Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind. And with his film series Once Upon a Time in China and Detective Dee turning into major commercial successes, Tsui remains of the highest-grossing filmmakers in Chinese-language cinema.
In 1984, Tsui co-founded Film Workshop, leading to a series of commercially successful films that defined the golden era of Hong Kong cinema. Works such as A Chinese Ghost Story, Swordsman, and Once Upon a Time in China solidified his dominance in Asia. After directing films in Hollywood, Tsui returned to Hong Kong in the mid-1990s and expanded his reach globally with films like Iron Monkey and Time and Tide, which reinvented the Hong Kong action genre for international audiences.
From 2011, Tsui ventured into 3D filmmaking with films like Flying Swords of Dragon Gate and Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon. His film The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D earned him the Best Director award at the Golden Rooster Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Other notable achievements were co-directing and co-producing The Battle at Lake Changjin, a record-breaking Chinese film that garnered Best Directors and Best Film awards at the Golden Rooster Film Awards. Most recently, his film Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, was an Official Selection for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, and his adaptation of the classic Jin Yong novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes was released in 2025.
As the nights grow even longer and the month of December settles in, many people would rather stay home, cosy with a book than venture out. For those getting heavy snowfall, heading outside often isn’t even an option. In these graphic novel winter worlds, artists and writers use ice, snow, and darkness to evoke the season’s chill without needing to experience it firsthand, especially when the colouring and atmosphere land just right.
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Caught by the Tides is a curious film that can be tough to deconstruct. When writer/director 
Release Date: June 20, 2025
This filmmaker is widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in Hong Kong cinema, known for his innovative style and pushing the boundaries of filmmaking. He emerged as a key figure during the 1980s Hong Kong New Wave, challenging genre conventions and censorship restrictions with films like Butterfly Murders and Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind. And with his film series Once Upon a Time in China and Detective Dee turning into major commercial successes, Tsui remains of the highest-grossing filmmakers in Chinese-language cinema.