A Second Victim In Trees: Three Fates #2
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Kiara departs from the train station and is approached by an old woman named Oro gives her a grave warning. From there, Kiara continues to Dr. Osin at the morgue. Both Kiara and Osin agree that the murder victim was killed elsewhere and left at the Tree, but Osin informs Kiara that the blood o the Tree was somebody else’s. Two people left the body at the Tree, and one attacked the other. Later, Kiara returns to the Tree, and she sees Sasha there.
Trees: Three Fates #2 continues to follow Kiara’s investigation into the murder victim found by the Tree in front of her house. More is learned thanks to the visit with Dr. Osin, and an additional layer of ominous atmosphere is added thanks to the grave tidings of Oro.
Osin also picks up on the woman who runs the train station being a malevolent force in the story, even if Kiara doesn’t immediately heed his warnings.
Beyond that, Trees: Three Fates #2 provides a slow burn, with much of the tone and atmosphere relying on the Jason Howard and Dee Cunniffe’s visual work to provide a sinister and decaying atmosphere foreshadowing more tragedy to come. Dialogue and narration aren’t abundant, allowing those visuals to take center stage even more.
Howard’s artwork is damn good too. Its use of line detailing and emphasis on the gray sky and blowing wind drive home an almost metaphysical coldness in the world of the comic. Lighting and shadow is played with in a masterful manner as well. The coloring is always bleak and chilled too, and it really drives home the disquieting nature of this book’s narrative.
Trees: Three Fates #2 is an atmospheric masterpiece. The story is seemingly simple and straightfoward, but the sparse dialogue and brilliant visual work from Howard and Cunniffe hints at a far more sinister story at the heart of this Trees story. I can’t wait to find out what that is. As to be expected, this one gets a recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Trees: Three Fates #2 comes to us from writer Warren Ellis, artist and cover artist Jason Howard, color flatter Dee Cunniffe, and letters from Fonografiks.
Final Score: 8.5/10