Graphic Novel Roundup: Afterlife Romance, Trees Take Over, and Dexter Strikes Again

Trees, Vol. 1, by Jason Howard and Warren Ellis
It’s been 10 years since the trees landed. Enormous, alien, possibly sentient trees, taking no notice of mankind whatsoever. It’s the kind of completely whacked idea that you’d expect from Warren Ellis, comics’ prolific master of big-idea science fiction. The trees aren’t entirely the point, but instead provide a mysterious backdrop to stories of life in their shadows. In China, a young painter comes to live in a city grown up in the shadow of a tree and winds up exploring notions of gender and sexuality; in Italy, a woman tries to escape from the “protection” of a fascist gang; and in Svalbard, a research team discovers that the tree might not be entirely dormant, nor benevolent. It might take a while to warm to the premise, but the characters are engaging and the mystery is sufficiently weird and creepy.

The Life After, Vol. 1, by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Gabo
Another big-idea series, The Life After follows a guy named Jude who lives the most boring life imaginable, doing pretty much the same thing every day, until he finally gets up the nerve to talk to the cute woman on his bus. It’s a small event that triggers a major glitch in reality: Jude learns that he’s been in purgatory with everyone else who’s ever committed suicide. It’s a romance that re-writes the rules of the afterlife, and, naturally, the powers that be are not at all pleased. With some help from Ernest Hemingway, Jude sets out to make things better for everyone, including himself.

Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay and Dalibor Talajic
What could be creepier than a new serial murderer stalking the streets of Miami? How about Dexter’s high school reunion? Our favorite crime-fighting killer has to search out this new menace while revisiting his own past. Naturally, the two threads don’t stay separate for long, as Dexter comes to realize that he might have had a hand in creating his new nemesis. The writer, Jeff Lindsay, is also the creator of the character and author of the Dexter novels, starting with Darkly Dreaming Dexter. If there’s been a Dexter-sized hole in your life since the TV series ended, this might be just the thing.

Batwing, Vol. 5: Into the Dark (The New 52), by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Eduardo Pansica
The first of two New 52 releases from D.C. this week, the Batwing series concludes in this paperback collecting issues #27 to 34. Palmiotti and Gray, the Jonah Hex team who also just wrapped up D.C.’s All-Star Western, end things with an invasion of Gotham by underworld forces. The series has seen two leads over the course of its run: David Zavimbe, the Batman of the Democratic Republic of Congo, handed the job to Gotham City’s Luke Fox in the previous collection. Luke’s final fight has him facing down a menace named…Menace (!) Does Batwing fly off into the sunset, or is this truly Luke’s last stand?

Justice League Dark, Vol. 5: Paradise Lost (The New 52), by J.M. DeMatteis and Mikel Janin
The JLD has a new leader in Zatanna, even as it rebuilds following D.C.’s most recent mega-crossover. The team is in shambles, though, and John Constantine is on the outs. Guillermo del Toro’s Justice League Dark movie is still in the works, so you might want to study-up now.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Vol. 4: What Lies Within, by Dan Abnett, Michael O’Hare, and Rafael Kayanan
He-Man and She-Ra were kinda my thing growing up, so I’m pretty keen on this series from D.C. In addition to his sci-fi work, new series writer Dan Abnett is an old hand at freshening up existing properties. In this volume, He-Man and his dad, King Randor, team up to free Eternia from an occupation by the evil Horde.
What’s on your pull list?