By Jacob Cordas — If you had told me that there’d be a mini movement of amazing plant-centric comics, I’d have told you that was an incredibly specific and confusing prediction. But here we are halfway through 2020 and we have several excellent, plant-centric comics, including Farmhand, No One’s Rose, and basically the entire X-Men line. But no comic is better able to mine this imagery for horror than Family Tree. 

As a small summary Family Tree is a combination body horror/action comic with a dash of post-apocalypse thrown in. It follows a family trying with minimal success to protect the daughter from a group of evil (?) arborists since the daughter is turning into a tree. While it started a little slow, mostly a symptom of the amount of exposition it had to get through, Family Tree has quickly turned into an exciting and engaging comic that I look forward to every month. 

Family Tree #6 is no exception. Writer Jeff Lemire and illustrator Phil Hester have turned in my favorite issue so far. Broken into three distinct scenes, this comic is a testament to Lemire’s ability to structure a story and Hester’s excellent coloring. 

The idea to break this issue into such clear sections is brilliant. His ability to make them flow together seemingly almost effortlessly is just a marvel. The opening sequence serves as wonderful tone setting, filling in an important moment without the expositional clunkiness of the first few issues. The interrogation and action set piece that follows evolves naturally out of what just happened pivoting flawlessly to this threat at hand. (This section also features my favorite moment in the issue involving knots and the benefits of being one handed.) The final sequence centered around an escape is engaging and exciting leaving me anticipating where the next issue will go. 

The coloring really sells this structural choice though. Hester’s art is great the whole way through as it has been through this whole series. But it is the coloring here that is perfect. He divides the three sections by distinct color choices. The first section is filled with muted browns to not only imply the time difference but to heighten the sadness of the sequence. The second section is all yellows and greens matching the visceral nature of the torture/violence we are watching while keeping conversation about nature ingrained in every moment. He even gives it a sickly tint to make sure the toxicity of the villains is impossible to ignore. Finally we get to the blues and purples of the escape. This lets us in on the pain of the protagonist (physical and emotional) as well as hints at a tragedy to come. 

This issue is all around great and leaves me wanting more. I truly can’t wait to see how this series grows. 

Overall: Family Tree #6 is an excellent comic featuring easily the best coloring this week, if not this year. Take a break from tending your gardens, watering your plants or transforming into a  plant person and read this issue. 9.0/10

Family Tree #6 - REVIEW

Family Tree #6
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Phil Hester
Inker: Eric Gapstur
Colorist: Ryan Cody
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
The story of Darcy's infection with the horrific sylvan disease is finally revealed as, in the present, Grandpa Judd struggles in the grasp of the deadly Arborists.
Release Date: June 17, 2020
Buy It Online: Click here!

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My name is Jacob Cordas (@jacweasel) and I am not qualified to write this.