Reviews

'Trees, Vol. 1' is the start of a series, and this volume is mostly just the set up. I liked it for the most part, but felt it got a bit bogged down about 2/3 of the way through. I thought it recovered by the end and think it's an interesting premise.

10 years ago large columns came from outer space landed on our planet. They are different sizes and groups. They are nicknamed trees, and for 10 years they have just stood silently with no indication why they are there. The story takes place in different places on the globe with different ways of approaching these strange trees. Some are artists, or scientists, or people on the fringes of their societies. An over-obsessed scientist finds strange black flowers growing near a tree in the Arctic, and they may lead to a breakthrough. Just as the story winds up again, the volume ends.

I like the premise. I liked the global aspect and the characters that were introduced. The stories don't connect at this point, but it's possible they might. Some of the fringe folks and their stories didn't seem to advance the story at this point, and I wanted to get back to what was happening with the scientists. I liked it, and I'd like to see where it's going to end up going.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

lsparrow's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed the different stories and characters in this future dystopian world - so many questions about what these 'trees' are and who will survive

pacifickat's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I don't know if this was brilliant or a giant mess of storytelling, but I liked it and would like to read more in the series to find out what happens next. This volume contains far more questions than answers, and has a pretty bleak trajectory from start to finish. The artwork is great, the various storylines distinct and interesting, and the sci-fi premise suitably dark and mysterious. Also, that cover art? Just excellent.

The biggest thing that struck me with this book is that the trees themselves did very little. They are a slow-moving, ever-present kind of threat. It reminds me of old zombie movies where the zombies are extremely slow, the worst threat arising more from the slow degradation of human morality into violence and chaos amongst the surviving population. It turns out the primary threat was a bit of a red herring in this graphic novel as well, the true monsters revealed to be humans sinking into their worst impulses once fear and panic allow for them to be expressed unhindered. Basically, in Trees: Vol. 1, humans simply do more of what humans were already doing to each other, just in more extreme and radical ways:

The scientists do science that screws everyone over
The communists build a commune, which then gets annihilated by the big “C” Communist government in China once it's deemed a failed social experiment
The dictator in Africa commits genocide against a civilian population after dehumanizing them in the media
The Americans turn to politics and military might, trying to solve their problems with election rhetoric and WMD’s
Organized crime bosses in Italy organize crime as they fight each other for power and money on a local scale
Marginalized communities continue to be demonized and targeted for violence and oppression regardless of location
Power continues to corrupt, and the masses suffer for it

In short, humans in general behave in pretty predictable patterns.

I’ll be curious to see if we learn more about the trees themselves in later volumes of this series.

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