I have something called the “Oh, Hell, No” rule. When a writer uses those three words to show how much stronger his (or her) female character is compared to someone else or her situation… well, there’s a line is all. And Ellis steps over it with this issue of Trees. His super strong, gang leader’s girlfriend who’s really smart but also soulful is hideous and lazy.

She’s stalking an old professor–who loves books–because she needs mentor. In the post-apocalypse, books are very important. Trees is turning out to be nothing but Ellis regurgitating ideas he gets from elsewhere. Some of them seem familiar, like he’s regurgitating himself; it’s a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy. With pretty art.

Except this issue, Howard’s art is lazy, lifeless and hurried. Without him, Trees loses its single saving grace; outside muted, hostile condescension, Ellis isn’t bringing anything to it.

C- 

CREDITS

Writer, Warren Ellis; artist, Jason Howard; letterer, Fonografiks; publisher, Image Comics.

Oh, good, even when Ellis is doing better, he still feels the need to write dialogue about good coffee. I guess he’s assuming his audience has no longer seen Pulp Fiction or “Twin Peaks” or lived through the nineties and the litany of good coffee references in popular media.

Needless to say, the biggest surprise in this issue of Trees is when Ellis is original. Oh, the remix of other stuff is moderately successful–I’m really hoping it all ends up being dead people living on Earth and living people in the trees, like a “Lost” thing–but it’s not original. And the stuff with the South American small-time gang is just terrible.

But the Somalian president being an economist trying to survive in a world with the natural resources getting messed up? That bit is cool.

The Jason Howard art continues to impress and the Ellis writing doesn’t offend too much.

B- 

CREDITS

Writer, Warren Ellis; artist, Jason Howard; letterer, Fonografiks; publisher, Image Comics.

The Jason Howard art on Trees is probably going to be the best thing about it. While Warren Ellis definitely has an interesting idea–giant space aliens who don’t notice the human population and are apparently just gigantic columns (the titular Trees)–he does a roving eye thing with a lot of characters. Presumably they’ll be the cast.

Except the ones in the pointless opening action scene. It gives Howard a chance to show off his range, like later when he’s got some Chinese village guy walking around some hippie walled off city. The comic’s set ten years after the invasion so it’s in the future and there’s some advanced robotics in the future.

Robot dogs are goofy. Also goofy is the New York cops viciously killing the citizenry. They’re both tired tropes, just like Ellis following a mayoral candidate.

But Howard brings a (much needed) distinct freshness to the comic.

B- 

CREDITS

Writer, Warren Ellis; artist, Jason Howard; letterer, Fonografiks; publisher, Image Comics.