Trees #09

by King on July 18, 2015

Trees #09 Main Image
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Jason Howard
Publisher: Image
 
After a brief hiatus, Trees is back – and with the original team, no less! But how does this fare for the world the way Ellis and team left it, and will we actually discover anything about the true nature of “the Trees”?
 
The issue opens up with a vision of drowning, as we see what appears to be the fate of the (formerly) comatose Dr. Marsh, while finding that Dr. Joanna Creasey is still haunted by events resulting from the first arc’s finale. Back in London the good doctor manages to find herself summoned to “the Public House”, in an environment completely different from her formerly barren and ice-riddled surroundings which have been neatly replaced with “Googlebuses” and “suicide protests.” The true nature of the Blindhail Tree incident still has yet to be revealed, but Creasey’s expertise has placed her in the eyes of some high rank and file personnel – hopefully for the better.
 
I’m glad that, given the tumultuous nature of the comic industry today, Trees was able to retain its creative team in its entirety post-hiatus – but this is to be expected with a creator driven publisher such as Image. Howard continues to draw a surprising amount of emotion and detail out of both environment and cast alike, and Ellis’ world grows ever larger as we start to see the potential political/social ramifications of the Trees. It took me a while to get into Trees, but it’s quickly become one of the most cerebral books on shelves so long as you’re in for a slow burn and a long haul.

Our Score:

8/10

A Look Inside