A review by pacifickat
Trees, Vol. 1: In Shadow by Warren Ellis

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, and Vomit

Minor: Domestic abuse and Incest

Gang violence, organized crime, bombings, war crimes, civilian casualties