In “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1, writer Dan Watters and team sketch a world that’s both bitterly hostile and resoundingly plaintive. The result is a rich world and somewhat compelling story that still has room to grow. The art’s gorgeous, the writing fluid, and despite some contrivances, “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1 generally works. We were looking forward to this one since the start of the year, so regardless, we’re excited to finally review this one.
Cover by Sebastian CabrolWritten by Dan Watters
Illustrated by Sebastian Cabrol
Colored by Dan Jackson
Lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot®
Reviewed by Kobi BordoleyBOOM! Studios is thrilled to announce THE SEASONS HAVE TEETH, a brand new 4-issue horror series from Home Sick Pilots writer Dan Watters, Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts artist Sebastián Cabrol, coming to a comic shop near you this April.
Our story opens in a somewhat mildewed, bleak, colorless town. The stores are boarded up, the streets are empty, the sky is gray, the walls are grey, and the whole world looks…lackluster (in an artful way, this is not an knock on the illustration). We then meet Andrew, a retired war photographer, who seemingly lives alone. Everyone else has fled, but he’s meandering the house alone as the voicemail of his editor(?) monologues on between the panels — he hopes Andrew is well, that he’s not reflecting too much on Cindy’s passing, that he’s safe, etc etc. At the same time we get snippets of world building from TV/radio/newspaper clips, and the world of “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1 reveals itself further.
Basically, the world suffers from a calamity every season (which come and go sort of Game of Thrones style, with some seasons lasting years, or in otherwise unpredictable ways, so it seems). As the seasons change, a personification of the incoming seasons appears, and the monstrous season-Kaiju rampages through a somewhat predicted swath of land. Hence the evacuated, vacant look that kicks off “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1. Some number of people have fled some area of land, yet Andrew has stayed behind to photograph the personification of Spring. We’re then served some flashback sequences to give backstory on Cindy an Andrew, followed by a here-and-now series of scenes where Andrew gets the perfect shot of Spring (this is actually a pretty touching moment, and don’t worry, we didn’t just spoil everything that happens in “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1.
So, that’s the face of the narrative of “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1. The premise is really interesting, and makes us curious about the how the world of “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1 functions. How do the rampaging seasons affect the world, and its cultures? How do they predict where the seasons will land, how long the stay around, or how long a season itself lasts? Are the seasons Gods, and revered? Or are they nuisances? Given that “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1 is the first part a four part miniseries, we probably won’t find out. This is too bad, because the premise is one of the most intriguing parts of “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1.
That’s because Andrew, the main character, is kind of boring, and his story, including his dead wife…is just fine. Watters is a talented writer, and the prose itself isn’t low quality. It’s nice. It’s pleasant to read. But the it’s not super compelling. Sure, there’s a lot of juxtaposition between the bleakness of the moment and the blossom of their love, and there’s lots of wordplay and metaphor having to do with Spring, rebirth, etc. It’s a little sophomoric (but hey, maybe we’re the pretentious ones here).
All that being said…”The Seasons Have Teeth” is still very good, and we found ourselves quite moved by the end of the first issue. The totality of the comic outweighs any of its shortcomings. A lot of that probably has to do with the art. While the flashback scenes with Cindy don’t do much for us on a narrative level, they’re swathed in an ethereal green that makes reading the words just really appealing. The art itself is gorgeous, balancing simplicity with elegance and detail in terms of character design and landscape. “The Seasons Have Teeth” also does something really fun with color. The bleakness of the world turns verdant as Spring approaches, but also as Andrew becomes more engaged in his photography. This is a cool visual metaphor for Andrew’s mood and what he cares about. When he’s not connecting to his work (and by proxy, Cindy), his world lacks color, lacks purpose. When he’s seeing the world through the lens of the camera, and channeling his lost lover, things really come alive. This makes sense for someone who’s a conflict photographer — if something lacks stakes, it probably doesn’t get Andrew excited. On a visual level, the art in “The Seasons Have Teeth” does a lot to make the main character come alive, and become less boring. Finally, the personification of Spring is just expertly imagined, drawn, and colored. The design of the creature isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but it just looks beautiful — both dangerous and soft, which really comes out in some of the later panels in “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1.
“The Seasons Have Teeth” #1 will reward readers who live to have a wholistic, aesthetic experience with comics. Those looking for hard hitting story might find themselves looking for more, but if you’re interested in just experiencing something beautiful and letting it impact you, “The Seasons Have Teeth” #1 is the story for you.
Final Verdict: 7.6. “The Seasons Have Teeth” does a lot more showing than telling, which makes sense for this subtle story about love, photography, and monsters.
