Jason Howard (1)

Looking through the reviews on this one, there's a deep divide between those that indicate it's awful because it's not typical Warren Ellis and nothing much happens, and those that indicate that it's an interesting start because it's not typical Warren Ellis and nothing much happens yet.

Me? I enjoyed the world-changing concept of the alien trees just showing up and this random act of chaos acting as its own change agent, just because it's so full of potential. If the world has changed this show more much just by their introduction, what's going to happen if they actually do something?

In the meantime, we're treated to a few different character studies, each a person also so full of potential, just waiting to do something. It's a neat setup: These characters are essentially human equivalents of the trees. And while there's a hint that the trees are building to something, we're along for the ride of the people who are also building to something.

Ellis is a good enough writer that I'm along for the next two volumes. Let's see what he can do with all that potential. show less

It's ten years since a bunch of huge space things landed all over the planet and proceded to do absolutely nothing except every now and then leak some sort of poisonous waste that kills everything it touches. There's nothing worse than mysteries from outer space descending from on high and then ignoring the locals completely as of they really don't matter - that'd be enough to drive any round the bend. A young artist enters a city in China where artists live in the shade of a Tree. A New show more York poltician contemplates a run for Mayor. A research station in Svalbard discovers a black flower growing around the base of their Tree. An Italian woman chafes under the protection of small-time fascist hoodlums, and the president of Somalia eyes the Tree on his border with a strategic eye.

This is a big, sweeping, global epic about art, science, technology, politics, survival and living with the utter indifference of the mysteries of the universe, and possibly the best thing Ellis has ever done, and I say that knowing Injection is probably the second-best thing he's ever done, so well done Ellis for still firing on all those cylinders. show less

I really don't understand a single thing in this volume, as we, the reader, are dropped into what feels like the middle of a story that is already currently being told, but part of me likes that. Ten years ago, an alien race landed on Earth. The ships (or whatever they are), are huge and resemble trees that reach into the heavens. These Trees have been here so long now that they have become just a part of the landscape in many ways, and in others, they are a source of great intrigue or show more discontent. No one knows a thing about them. And by the end of this first volume, that doesn't really change.

While on the surface this should be an alien invasion story, it really is more about the people of Earth and how their lives have changed because of the Trees, specifically the three main protagonists: a young Chinese boy who is trying to find his way in the world; a young Italian woman who finds herself at a crossroads with the local mafia; and a scientist who desperately wants the ten years he's been studying the Trees to actually mean something. These three stories never intertwine, but they are all equally fascinating. Ellis truly gets to the heart of each character, and while that may not always be a good heart, it's there.

Jason Howard's art fits the story well; having not experienced his art before, I don't have a frame of reference for what his art can be like on other titles, but here it works, and works well. Between the engaging story and Howard's art, this is a title that I'll definitely be picking up in the future. show less

Trees Vol 1: In Shadow written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Jason Howard collects the first eight issues of the ongoing comic book series Trees. I read Issue #1 back in May and was intrigued and then picked up the first volume when I came across it in my local genre bookshop. If you read my short review of issue #1, let me just say, the first issue barely begins to scratch the surface of the awesomeness contained within this series.

Ten years after they landed. All over the world. And show more they did nothing, standing on the surface of the Earth like trees, exerting their silent pressure on the world, as if there were no-one here and nothing under foot. Ten years since we learned that there is intelligent life in the universe, but that they did not recognize us as intelligent or alive.
Trees looks at a near-future world where life goes on in the shadows of the Trees: in China, where a young painter arrives in the “special cultural zone” of a city under a Tree; in Italy, where a young woman under the menacing protection of a fascist gang meets an old man who wants to teach her terrible skills; and in Svalbard, where a research team is discovering, by accident, that the Trees may not be dormant after all, and the awful threat they truly represent.

First things first, there are no chapter breaks in this volume, so it was impossible to tell where issue #1 ended and issue #2 began, which was slightly confusing at first but not a hardship to reread the first issue again. And the issue covers are included at the end so you're not missing out. This lack of structure makes Trees feel much more like a continuous story than a lot of other comics I've read. Even Marvel's multi-issue arcs tend to have little recaps at the start of the issues, something that was completely lacking in Trees. A good choice, I think, lending a sense of coherence.

As I had already seen in issue #1, Trees follows several groups of characters in different parts of the world — a world in which towering alien structures have landed and then done not much else. A lot of the story doesn't directly involve the Trees, but some of it does and, of course, what kind of a story would it be if nothing continued to not happen? (Answer: a boring one.) But Trees doesn't stick to tired tropes when dealing with weird things happening with the alien structures. It subverts tropes and brings the Volume to a close with an unexpected bang. I have no idea what to expect in Volume 2, aside from maybe some of the things a couple of characters were planning.

Genre tropes aren't all that Trees subverts. What I found wasn't at all hinted at in Issue #1 was the scope of the gender issues dealt with in this comic. Most obviously there's the story in the Chinese artists' enclave under a tree, where the new boy a) learns that trans people exist, b) explores his own sexuality and c) deals with everything better than anyone particularly expected him to. I'd say it's worth reading just for those bits (actually, I'd say Trees is worth reading for any one of the individual storylines). There's also a strong feminist story in Italy, where a gangster's girlfriend learns some life skills from an older guy and takes matters (and the town) into her own hands. There was one thing the older guy said to her that particularly struck me. I was going to quote it but looking at it again it doesn't quite work out of context. But it's along the lines of the older guy feeling bad for contributing to a world where women like her (no money, minimal education, etc) are marginalised. He's helping her to redress the balance and has zero interest in her sexually, which I appreciated.

The other storylines involved scientists studying the Trees, which I don't think I can say too much about, a politician in Manhattan who will obviously be relevant in Volume 2, and the president of an African country. The latter story was left on a bit of a cliffhanger and I'm particularly interested in seeing what happens next. Hopefully it will be developed further and, hopefully we will eventually get some answers as to what the Trees want, where they came from and why they're here. I look forward to finding out.

Trees Vol 1: In Shadow was an excellent read and I highly recommend it to all SF and comic fans. In particular, I think readers who enjoyed Saga but are (also) interested in a more down-to-Earth SF read would do well to have a look at Trees. I am very much looking forward to the next volume, which I'm sure will be just as though-provoking.

5 / 5 stars

Read more reviews on my blog. show less