Twig [Image Comics, 2022]

Twig (Volume 1 )

by

Skottie Young, Kyle Strahm, Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colours) and Nate Piekos

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I can say with absolute honesty that when you look at Twig, what you see both is and is not what you get when you read it – it is a book that both should and shouldn’t be judged by its covers.

For those like me who have read the works of Skottie Young over the years, he has a very particular style of drawing, he’s distinctive, cartoonish and his writing tends to be on the humorous side. He is known for cutesy covers and for his creator owned series I Hate Fairyland which is a decidedly dark-ish comedy series.

Twig however, breaks the mold.

It is at its core, a very simple and child-like story about the titular little blue character who must go on an adventure and he has his tiny pet snail-blob-thing named Splat for company. Their dynamic is at the core of this story and though they meet many people, it is their interaction and friendship that is the heart of the proceedings – they take care of each other with Twig being a caring, gentle soul who is perhaps a tad too earnest and Splat being his cheeky, sassy friend who pushes him and gives perspective of a different sort. It’s a nice, wholesome relationship that really feels natural, healthy and supportive and I found it quite engaging as a reader, reminding me of the kind of rapport one has with their closest friends at times.

On the face of it, this seems like a nice conventional little story and I started it as such but then it took on dimensions I was not expecting. For starters, the story is about Twig taking over the job/role his father had which was to deliver magical items to specific places – in essence, he has to make sure that the mystic item that a mystery hero needs to save the world is where it is meant to be when the hero gets there. A decidedly unique take in my experience on the heroic saga’s we’ve all known, almost like a peek behind the curtain.

Accompanying Young on this journey are Kyle Strahm and Jean-Francois Beaulieu and the trio of artists not only are telling a fantastic story, but they are showing their collective artistic might in a wonderful way. There is no doubt that the story is populated by fun characters, with highly creative names (like Mount Guphin) and in a nutshell I would say that it almost feels like this was a testing ground and creative outlet for these talented folks to just… create!

There’s also a massive, massive and expansive world that we see during our heroes’ journey but I have to admit that it was a joy to behold and there felt like so much potential to tell stories in this wide, varied and fascinating world. There are moments and things that feel almost like an artists notebook brought to life, like ideas that they loved but had no home yet were polished and given a home here to fill us with awe – serving little other purpose than to serve as crazy, funky and fun concepts to expand this huge new world we’re exploring alongside Twig and Splat. It shouldn’t work but somehow they make it work and more points to them for that!

Overall this reads almost like a passion project. It’s simple and crisp; it’s well-paced and engaging; it’s vivid and full of life; it’s funny and silly yet strikingly emotive and hearfelt; it is colourful and bright and fires the imagination in almost every panel. It is that rare comic that makes me again love the medium of comics and for that I thank all three creators. If any of the above intrigues you, I highly recommend giving this little-big adventure a try.


(View all my reviews over on GoodReads)