In The Woods #9, the wandering students have finally reached the city their captors mention. They find it a seemingly peaceful, civilized place: A chance to have normal lives after the madness of their strange transportation. They find, too, that the people there have been transported from a range of places and over centuries. Flashbacks to two hundred years ago show that Adrian is not the first person to insist that the planet is a weapon waiting to be used nor the first to contact it, though it is not clear what happened to the prior people or why the inhabitants of New London are so terrified of it happening again. Also, while the rest of the group are just glad to reach civilization, Isaac is skeptical, and some of what he overhears indicates that he is right. Also, the coach is back in play, and he is still dangerous.
Tynion continues to increase the complexity of The Woods, adding new layers to the story as he writes. There is enough happening that the story progresses, but the mysteries are mounting, chief among them is still the question of who is transporting people and why—and what their apparent fascination with Earth is. So far, at least, there do not appear to be alien civilizations other than the builder’s of the world’s systems (unless they, too, are human?). He continues to make the interactions among the students interesting and valid, as they have not left their problems and concerns behind them with the planet—and, in fact, have carried a number of conflicts and concerns along with them.
Dialynas, having created a terrifying, twisted wood, now adds a bustling semi-Renaissance city with a busy marketplace and an array of townspeople who have built ordinary lives in the middle of chaos. The new clothing styles, the strange fruits in the market, and the brightness of the city in contrast to the forest makes it clear why the students are so tempted to just relax and start their lives over. Gonzalez’s colors are the primary indication that, however pleasant this city seems, it is not on Earth.
The only complaint I have is that the city itself is not different enough: With the variety of people and times represented there, and over two hundred years to evolve and change, one would expect building and clothing styles to have changed even more than they have in New London. That, however, is a minor quibble. Overall, The Woods remains an intriguing tale with many twists and turns yet to come.
Author: James Tynion IV
Artist: Michael Dialynas
Colors: Josan Gonzalez
Letters: Ed Dukeshire
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