What if the aliens landed – and they didn’t even acknowledge us? With this new title from Image Comics, Warren Ellis and Jason Howard portray a world where the unthinkable has become commonplace.
Written by Warren Ellis
Illustrated by Jason HowardTen years after they landed. All over the world. And 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. Beginning a new science fiction graphic novel by WARREN ELLIS and JASON HOWARD.
Obviously, “Trees” is high-concept sci-fi, and we have a lot to catch up on before the story even begins. To that end, we get two helpings of exposition. The first is straight-up narrated in the first few pages; the second, As-You-Know-Bob’d by a prospective mayor of New York. It’s quick and dirty stuff, laying out the parameters for engagement with the Trees, which are essentially nil. And if it feels a bit artificial to have so much of it dealt with so early, at least it’s out of the way. The essential mystery of the Trees lingers on, and that’s where the meat of this story lies.
Surprisingly, we switch locales twice more, swinging by a mainland Chinese city and an Arctic research station. The former is portrayed rather broadly; apparently, by their very presence, the Trees can wreak deeper changes that you would think, and we’re already being offered a more metaphorical reading for their existence than this story might be ready for. Still, the fact that all three settings have so much potential adds quite a bit of excitement to the reading experience. Each of these could quite easily house a series of its own; but observing the Trees from three different perspectives promises a more cumulative, global angle to the story.
Jason Howard takes advantage of this emphasis on setting, crafting sprawling cityscapes that are completely dwarfed by the Trees. Closer-up views offer food for thought, with a view of homeless people living in a Tree’s branches getting across a wealth of information. Similarly, the expository montage that begins the issue does more than enough to set us in place and time – from the design of the police robots to the desolation of the streets, there’s plenty of nuance added to the rather on-the-nose narration.
And while we don’t know much about our characters as of yet – besides their position relative to the Trees, basically – Howard finds the smarm, eagerness, and willfulness in their expressions. Our Chinese narrator, Chenglei, might be the most compelling among them in that respect. Visually overwhelmed and practically erased by the colourful city that surrounds him, he’s still got an interesting gravity. It’s hard to portray innocence without being cloying, but this character’s palpable earnestness provides an interesting counterpoint to the chaos of his home.
The ending of this chapter is on the sudden and ambiguous side, leaving us with a lot to mull over but not much in the way of a cliffhanger. That said, the central concept of the series is its own cliffhanger, so the usual music-swells-fade-to-black moment isn’t really missed here.
It’s got some rough edges, but the strokes of this story are broad in the best possible way, setting up an intriguing first-contact scenario that could unroll into all manner of things. For now, though, “Trees” is a visually spectacular vision of first contact that will leave you with plenty to wonder about.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
