I almost feel bad reviewing this issue of The Woods. It’s not because it’s bad, in fact it continues to be a fantastic read and one of my favorite comics being published. I think James Tynion IV deserves a lot of credit for making teenagers that are believable and that come from different walks of life. All the while he keeps them human even in this crazy situation as they think about themselves and haven’t settled in the situation completely yet, it’s the most human thing to do. No the reason I feel bad is because the above paragraph is the only new thing I have to say about this series. It’s time for me to pass the reigns to someone else for review or at least jump on and off the book. It’s already proven itself as a series worth following until the end. It did that three issues ago and has only continued to be great. Each arc feels fresh and in a strange way self-contained.
I know that comic readers always complain that there’s some aspect that you need to know or whatever. I hear it all the time with the Mignolaverse, but like any comic you just need to dive in and the rest will reveal itself to you as you read. I didn’t know shit about the X-Men until I started reading it. I barely knew who was who in the DC Universe when I started reading, but for some reason we make these lame excuses that we can’t jump on a series because it’s already going and it’s too hard to catch up. I once bought the last issue of a mini-series and read it backwards as I found the other issues… I still enjoyed it because good stories are good stories and excuses are just that.
I’ve run out of ways to say “Michael Dialynas deserves your love and praises.” His range is incredible on this series and there are very few artists out there that manage to produce this level of quality and consistency each month without taking a month or two off. His creature design is immaculate and his facial expressions put a lot of other artists to shame. Josan Gonzalez is the perfect complement to the linework and makes Dialynas art shine.
So what happens in this issue? Well the next logical step for every aspect of the story. There is one twist and it’s great, but otherwise all of the character moments we saw in the last arc come to the forefront in this issue. There’s no payoff yet, but it’s coming and that’s great.
If you’re not reading The Woods then I have to question your love for the medium because this title is way better than the vast majority of comics out there and definitely better than a lot of Image titles that get a free pass because of their creators or title. Yeah that’s a dig, but one that should be thrown out there because this book is just too damn good to be ignored and too many of you are doing just that.
Score: 5/5
The Woods #11 Writer: James Tynion IV Artist: Michael Dialynas Colorist: Josan Gonzalez Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 3/4/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital