Reviews

Family Tree #4 by Jeff Lemire

_egg_wash's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

quirkycatsfatstacks's review

4.0

"FAMILY TREE #4, out this Wednesday from Image Comics continues the horrifying yet thrilling tale of one family and the dramatic changes they are going through. This is a series that takes the concept of a family tree more literally than most.

Family Tree is one of those unique series that’ll make fans stop and think. It merges family drama with chilling horror, and the end result is something memorable. Here we have one family torn apart. At first glance, it’s just the normal drama. Dad bails on his family, never to be heard from again.

But it’s not that simple, is it? The last few issues of this series have revealed all of the reasons why the father had no choice to leave – and the legacy he unintentionally left behind in his wake. Now it’s up to the disgraced father to change the course for those that remain. It’s safe to say that this is a tale as full of bitter feelings as it is intrigue.

The creative team behind Family Tree has been going all out to make this series something memorable. Together, Jeff Lemire, Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur, and Ryan Cody have merged such human elements with something utterly disturbing – the concept of losing everyone and everything to something outside of your control."

Check out the rest of my review over at Monkeys Fighting Robots

wesleyrose's review

5.0

For this first third of this issue, I was worried it would be another filler comic. But I was wrong. A doctor is looking into Meg’s transformation, and Judd and Josh’s relationship becomes stronger. As Judd is telling Loretta that her husband went through the same change, the arborists enter and try to take Meg. The family manages to escape, but Judd stays behind, trying to fight them all with the encouragement from his son, channelling through his branch arm. The issue concludes on a cliffhanger that I’m excited to follow up on.

#4 was a vast improvement on the last issue. I think Lemire was trying to solidify relationships in the comic for the reader in issue #3. There was still a little bit of that here, but also some action and twists.