Ghost Tree #1
(W) Bobby Curnow (A/CA) Simon Gane
IDW Publishing
2019
Seeking a refuge from an unhappy life, Brandt returns to his ancestral home in Japan to find a haunted tree and the departed souls that are drawn to it, including his Grandfather. Brandt attempts to heal some of history’s wounds but will he be able to find any measure of peace for himself when someone special from his past returns?
From writer Bobby Curnow (Ward’s Valley, TMNT) and artist Simon Gane (They’re Not Like Us, Godzilla). A touching story about love, loss, and how the past never truly stays dead.
MINOR SPOILERS
When Brandt was a child, his grandparents lived along the edge of an idyllic forest. One day, Brandt follows his grandfather into the heart of the forest and finds a single, mystical tree thriving there. His grandfather speaks mysteriously about the curiosity that runs in their family, and asks Brandt to make him a promise – to visit the tree ten years after his grandfather’s death.
This is the kind of comic I wish we got more of. It may not be as well drawn, or as popular as some of the biggest name with the biggest budgets, but it’s probably going to be unlike anything else you read this month. That gets major points for me. And while it may not be the best of the best, the art is just fine. It’s a slightly more abstract, more impressionistic style than the hyper-real superheroes we so often see, but that suits the strange story just fine.
But ultimately, it is the story that will hook you. When a first issue manages to be mysterious, sad, touching, and exciting all at once, I look forward to what could follow.
Ghost Tree #1
Brian Reed
Brian has been reading comics since January, 1987, when the death of Optimus Prime rocked his young world. Once a regular presenter on The Nerdstravaganza Podcast, Brian now writes for Florida Geek Scene.
