I will be using this entry to represent all of TwoKinds (at least what Tom has released up until this point). The following review is for the entire series, not just volume 1.
There is a disproportionate relationship between the time that goes into making a story and the time that one gets out of consuming it. Authors will spend years writing their epics. It will take you only a month to read, and within the narrative itself, only a few days may pass from start to finish. Movies are even more extreme. Millions of dollars, hundreds of hours of time from hundreds of people from storyboard artists, actors, costume designers, editors, VFX artists, interns and more; all to create a movie that will take you 2.5 hours to watch.
Time is the supreme cost of storytelling. But luckily, humans have nothing but time, and if they have the drive they can create something truly special.
The best time to read TwoKinds is right now. After 22 years, a major (but not the major) story arc has just resolved. The two main relationships we follow have reached satisfying points, but both have yet to reach their climax. I thoroughly enjoyed reading TwoKinds over the past month, but I could not image having been a reader back in 2015 or, God forbid, 2005. One page a week just doesn't do this story justice. And I know there's no way to fix that. Tom Fischbach has been working his but off, almost entirely on his own, on this comic for the past two decades. Even I can only draw two comic pages a week, and that's because they aren't in full color. I've been doing this for three years now, I couldn't image doing it for 22. His patience as a writer is unparalleled.
Twokinds juggles a variety of story arcs at once. Sometimes these plot threads break off from the others as characters get separated, only to tie back in with the main cast. Some of these story arcs I love, and others I could leave. Trace and Flora's relationship for the longest time was mediocre. In the early days, Flora's personality was timid, gremliny, and overly cute. Trace had no personality to speak of. Slowly but surely Flora does grow into an interesting character, but I can't say the same for Trace. In recent years, the story has focused more on Trace's history and actions from before he lost his memory. Its a good move, and it gives him a lot of things to reflect on.
Keith and Natani, on the other hand, are actually perfect. Keith is a moody little closeted edge-lord who grows into a confident person that others can rely on. Natani too finds an inner strength and discovers his own identity separate from his brother's. Watching these two fall in love while becoming better people is my favorite part of TwoKinds. The rest of the cast is cute and funny, but I will say that Red and Raine's relationship is my my least favorite plot thread. Red can be entertaining, but Raine doesn't have much going on personality wise. She's learning to control her powers, which I just don't find all that interesting. Obviously I would like to see the two end up together, but I wouldn't be disappointed if Tom pulls the rug out from under us and does something else with the two.
TwoKinds, by its nature of having run for two decades, is a story that improves and evolves right before your eyes. The early art is charming, but the story writing isn't very good. Tom would often set up ideas, only to backtrack or retcon them later. But slowly the art and writing gets better and better, and I think the Basitin arc is the first point in which TwoKinds is actually pretty good. And from there the story only improves.
TwoKinds has always been about slavery, and in the early chapters it was shown as sad, but Tom didn't have the artistic capacity to depict the real horrors of it. After the Basitin arc we do get a pretty emotional chapter about the horrors of the slave collar, and by 2025 Tom depicts a Kiedran orphanage in all its horror. As for the backtracking and retcons, Tom has recently done a very good job of working them into the story, revealing that some paradoxical elements are actually just secrets the audience was previously unaware of.
TwoKinds is charming. It comes from an early version of the internet, and it stands as almost a time capsule back into those times. The art and story have only gotten better with time while still maintaining its identity. Tom Fischbach has dedicated countless hours and years into this project, and it absolutely shows. I can't wait to check in a year from now to see where he takes us.