The Woods, Vol. 4

The Woods, Volume 4: Movie Night doesn't come out until June 7, but I stocked up on The Woods back when it went on sale about a month ago.  One year has passed since Volume 3.  The school has become a community, and the students inside it have changed, become accustomed to their new surroundings.  They are building two things: a democratic society and a stage for movie night, but are they safe from the Horde?  Casey Macready, Calder Macready's older brother, has found a drug, gazer root, that helps people "remember," but everyone's getting strung out on it.  He's using the drug as political capital, giving it to people in exchange for votes.  Karen has become a hunter, and she goes deep into the forest.  

As for the illustrations, I in particular like the faces.  A lot of the characters look somewhat the same, with dark hair and olive skin from living in the light of their solar system, but I could still tell them apart.  What really helps is how in Issue #13, each character is named, with how she or he is feeling about the situation.  Michael Dialynas, the illustrator, also has created a number of different creatures that live on the moon.  In particular, I liked how Mister Robot, the rabbit-like creature the teens keep as a pet, has grown over a year.  The colors by Josan Gonzalez are another highlight.  He uses vivid greens and fuchsias with just a touch of orange to complete the triadic color scheme.   The letters by Ed Dukeshire are interestingly clear.  They horizontal lines lean backward a little bit, while the vertical lines remain vertical.

I think I've read too much Nietzsche, too much Hermann Hesse, because I see the Apollonian and the Dionysian in everything.  New London and the school are hunter/gatherer communities (Apollonian), and the Horde must be farmers (Dionysian), ready to attack with greater numbers.  The conflict, according to The Birth of Tragedy, creates great art.  I don't know if James Tynion IV intends this or if I'm just chasing literary ghosts.  Either way, it's a fascinating story.