More and more symbolism.
Creative Staff:
Story: Warren Ellis
Art: Jason Howard
What They Say:
A Tree stands on Orkney. Five thousand years ago, this was the center of the world.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Each new installment of this series has me waiting with anticipation as I get that new arrival notice in my email. The series is one that’s building an intricate and intriguing world where there’s the potential for all these pieces to come together beautifully, but it’s near impossible at the moment to really see how they’re all going to fit and what impact they’ll have on each other. That has me excited with each issue to see what new reveals and touches are being introduced, a sense of anticipation that keeps it from being easy to figure out the direction within the first page or two like a lot of books. With this current arc moving through its various phases with different parts of the overall cast, it’s definitely keeping me really engaged and looking forward to when I can read a large chunk of the run as a whole and see all the pieces coming together.
With this installment, we again get the two main stories running through it that have connections to each other that are becoming more obvious. In the initial one, we get to see Jo making her way closer to her destination but finding some real resistance from one of the researchers in the area, Dr. Greenaway. While she’s come to check on the Tree and to see if a similar issue to what she experienced is going to happen, he’s convinced she’s come to shut the place down and bomb it all. With the places there being considered by him to be the true center of the country and of the world at one time, dating back five thousand years, we get to see some of the stones and circles that exist in the area. He provides a little history, but the fascinating piece is the symbolism of how the standing stones are easily interpreted as being an ancient form of the Trees as well. This plays again into the final pages of the book when it returns there, and the larger scale of events and connections are teased again. There’s some really fun dialogue between the two here and just getting this expanded view of the area helps immensely.
The other story gives us more time with the mayor, who has made his way down into the area closer to the Tree where it’s beyond third world level with its destruction, even after all these years. With bodies still floating in the water, it’s here that we learn of how some of his ascent into political office came from as those looking for revenge for what happened back then made it happen with their help. It’s a reminder of where some of his support came from and that he needs to provide them what they want for their revenge, though he has to struggle with the red tape and other issues of actually being mayor. It’s another piece of the puzzle that gets filled in without giving us the whole picture, but we also see how the mayor experienced part of that time. We knew some of it from his talk with the commissioner before, but seeing the bullet wound, which then ties into Jo’s story in Orkney, really brings it to a very potentially intriguing place.
In Summary:
While symbolism has been heavy throughout the series in different ways, this installment has it feeling like it’s being used in a blunter way in order to get certain points across. That doesn’t bother me at all because it’s working to tie some of the concepts of what’s going on in these areas together without really giving anything away. It’s a whole lot of “there’s something more here” kind of moment that doesn’t have to pay out yet. With the two arcs that are currently working through the series, we get very different characters and elements and each are adding to the overall narrative. I’m amused by the introduction of Greenaway and his view of the world and what’s coming for him, and I’m really curious to see just how far this new mayor will go to get his particular vision of revenge against his fellow man for what they did amid the chaos of the arrival of the trees. Piled on top of the existing stories we’ve had, which haven’t made an appearance in this arc, it’s a pretty grim and depressing world in many ways but it ha some fantastic story points working through it.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 15th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
