The Woods Vol. 1 Review (VIDEO SCRIPT)

Summary

Collects the first four issues of The Woods, written by James Tynion IV with art by Michael Dialynas, where an entire school - students and staff included - are teleported to an alien moon populated by dangerous creatures that are actively trying to kill them; some of them succeeding. A group of these students however decides to venture off into the woods of this moon in order to find out why they were teleported there and try to get back home.

Story

• Sucks you in from the very first chapter/issue
• You’re introduced to the characters and get a clear idea of their personalities, the scenarios they’re each involved in
• Proper pacing between the kids that have ventured off into the woods and the kids that stayed behind at the school

Characters

• All of the main girls (so good)
• The dynamic between Maria, Karen and Satomi works out very well and the readership is rewarded for their conflict almost immediately in a very natural way
• Favorite: Maria. Her arc in this volume is so powerful. A great allegory of women in politics, absolute power corrupts absolutely, speaks a lot about the modern day movement of young influential boys seeking mentorship and guidance from dangerous individuals, and reinforcing why it’s okay to punch Nazi’s in the face.

Likes

While the other male characters have their own stakes in the race, they’re being slowly built up for later issues but there’s still enough of them there for you to get an idea of their individual vibes

Dislikes

Nit-picky character personalities and decisions between 3 of the main male characters. But given how steadily we get to know each of them, I’m sure it’ll be a bit better once I read more of the story

Overall

• Like The Woods Vol 1 and digging the overall story
• Has proper pacing and delivers equal focus to the different groups
• The mystery of why they’re there paired with the overall subplots is enough to keep me invested in the series
• Retail price for Vol 1 is $9.99 American, and it’s worth every penny. Surprised it was $10 despite being worth $12 IMO