In Trees, Warren Ellis and Jason Howard are in it for the long haul. It’s apparent in the way this first issue gives just the slightest glimpse at what’s going on in this not-so-distant future where aliens have invaded, and done nothing at all.
Aliens have invaded Earth, erecting giant, tree-like structures all over the globe. After ten years of their “silent pressure” on the planet, the aliens have not acknowledged the existence of human life on Earth, and in fact, it appears as though no one on Earth has ever even seen an alien life-form.
It almost seems like a boring premise, but naturally, where there is mystery, there is conflict. Humans have reacted to the alien presence by going completely berserk: police have became glorified street gangs, people are being slaughtered by other people, and civilization has fallen apart.
The first issue of Trees is very vague. Ellis takes us around the globe, showing us that the trees are all over, but hasn’t really introduced us to any characters. The transitions are a little disjointed and abrupt, so it takes a second to realize that we’re hopping continents and just getting very brief, very vague introductions to characters.
We are taken to New York City in one scene, and here I felt the dialogue was a little too expository. The two characters, both unnamed (all we know is that one of them is a Democratic candidate for Mayor), discuss how the trees appeared in New York and how the government initially responded. Ellis packs a lot of information into just a few panels with their conversation, and its really the only background we get in the entire issue.
The most intriguing and longest part of Trees #1 is where we meet Tian, an aspiring artist entering a Special Cultural Zone known as Shu. This scene is trippy, there is a lot going on and Howard’s art really shines in this section. The contrast between the droll, desert-like landscape outside of the city limits and the brightly colored, hustle and bustle happening in the city is fantastic. You can definitely see that this city is a whole different world from the other places we are introduced to. It’s interesting that this city is the only one we see where the trees are not the focus, but the diverse and strange people Tian sees are.
This introductory issue of Trees is definitely solid, and I think the way Ellis focuses on the human reaction to an invasion, as opposed to the actual invasion, is really cool and it leaves him a ton of room for innovation in the story. This series could go in a lot of different directions, even if the aliens never leave their trees (but I hope they do!). Howard’s manga-influenced art is the perfect style, and the amount of information he is able to reveal just through character’s facial expressions is impressive. Most of the things I didn’t like as much in this issue, like the disjointed structure and the lack of characterization, can be explained by the fact that this is an introductory issue, so my hopes are high for this series.
Trees #1 definitely leaves the reader with a lot more questions than answers, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing where Ellis and Howard take this one.
