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The Woods #1-3
The Woods: Yearbook Edition, Book One
A Midwestern high school is transported into the middle of an alien forest. This is the story of what happens next.
On a brisk fall day in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 437 students, 52 teachers, and 24 additional staff from Bay Point Preparatory High School vanished without a trace. Countless light years away, far outside the bounds of the charted universe, 513 people find themselves in the middle of an ancient, primordial wilderness. Where are they? Why are they there? The answers will prove stranger than anyone could possibly imagine. Written by James Tynion IV (Detective Comics, Memetic) and illustrated by Michael Dialynas (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles),The Woods Yearbook Edition Book One collects issues #1-12 of the critically-acclaimed saga Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer) calls “creepy, funny, charming, and mysterious.”
On a brisk fall day in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 437 students, 52 teachers, and 24 additional staff from Bay Point Preparatory High School vanished without a trace. Countless light years away, far outside the bounds of the charted universe, 513 people find themselves in the middle of an ancient, primordial wilderness. Where are they? Why are they there? The answers will prove stranger than anyone could possibly imagine. Written by James Tynion IV (Detective Comics, Memetic) and illustrated by Michael Dialynas (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles),The Woods Yearbook Edition Book One collects issues #1-12 of the critically-acclaimed saga Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer) calls “creepy, funny, charming, and mysterious.”
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2016
13 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
James Tynion IV
1,691 books2,040 followersPrior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.
Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.
Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
February 1, 2024
I really liked the idea of this but lost interest about 8 issues in.
It's not like it was bad - there's plenty of action, there's a mystery, there are monsters and violence - but there somehow was just not enough to keep me keen.
The characters are all a bit mediocre - no one really shines or draws the sympathy. None were really unique and there were no standout, defining moments for anyone.
The story starts strong but fizzles towards the middle with not a lot of explanation for what's going on. We kind of just have to adjust to this new level of weird and a lot of explanations are missing. That's around the time I lost interest.
Artwork is bright but it's also a LOT of shades of purple and pink. I guess that's intentional, but it didn't work for me.
A really fascinating idea that doesn't quite live up to its summary. Bit of a disappointment.
It's not like it was bad - there's plenty of action, there's a mystery, there are monsters and violence - but there somehow was just not enough to keep me keen.
The characters are all a bit mediocre - no one really shines or draws the sympathy. None were really unique and there were no standout, defining moments for anyone.
The story starts strong but fizzles towards the middle with not a lot of explanation for what's going on. We kind of just have to adjust to this new level of weird and a lot of explanations are missing. That's around the time I lost interest.
Artwork is bright but it's also a LOT of shades of purple and pink. I guess that's intentional, but it didn't work for me.
A really fascinating idea that doesn't quite live up to its summary. Bit of a disappointment.
July 24, 2020
A lot of fun and the art is a treat. There’s a lot of teenage angst (understandably, this is a story about high schoolers navigating an apocalyptic level monster attack) and I’m not entirely sure where the story is going. I need to get my hands on yearbook two!
Queer rep (m/m crushes, f/f crushes) too!
Queer rep (m/m crushes, f/f crushes) too!
August 7, 2025
I swear Tynion uses every cliché possible and imaginable in this type of story. But he has enough talent to use them well and maintain interest, particularly through effective storytelling.
There are many flaws, however: overuse of tropes that make many events predictable, extremely stereotypical characters—none of whom are particularly likeable—and a mystery so carefully maintained that after 12 episodes, we're close to being bored.
That close.
But it works. He has managed to make me want to know where it's going.
I'm not a fan of the artwork and colours at all, but that's a matter of personal taste.
There are many flaws, however: overuse of tropes that make many events predictable, extremely stereotypical characters—none of whom are particularly likeable—and a mystery so carefully maintained that after 12 episodes, we're close to being bored.
That close.
But it works. He has managed to make me want to know where it's going.
I'm not a fan of the artwork and colours at all, but that's a matter of personal taste.
March 21, 2022
Lost high schoolers trying to survive the wild? Check. Alien planet with mysterious objects left by an unknown and powerful entity? Check. Perfect pacing that made me want to keep reading one more issue and accidentally finish in one go? Check. Literally any fucking store with Yearbook Edition 2 in stock? No check. 😭
April 28, 2022
3.5 stars, i think? There's a LOT happening in this series but im definitely engaged
July 6, 2023
This is an interesting series. Imperfect but ambitious, The Woods feels a bit like a story from another era of comics. A lot of it feels to me as being of a piece with something like Y: The Last Man, which was important for its time but didn't age well in many ways. A big part of it is the protagonist, or at least who's introduced to us as the protagonist, an utterly unlikable kid who's cooler and smarter than everyone around him. It's the kind of protagonist who was all the rage in the late 90s and early 2000s, and I found The Woods really difficult to get into because for much of the book, it seems that he's who we're supposed to relate to and root for. It almost feels too late by the time we are certain that he's the villain, but by then we've come to care about the rest of the cast of characters, and Tynion pulls his biggest trick -- making us actually see the humanity in our villain for just long enough to make it heartbreaking when it's sniffed out.
I didn't find the act of reading this particularly enjoyable for great portions of it, but the way it all comes together at the end is actually quite remarkable.
I didn't find the act of reading this particularly enjoyable for great portions of it, but the way it all comes together at the end is actually quite remarkable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2022
4.5 Stars
Loving this series so far!
Loving this series so far!
October 23, 2023
"I did the right thing... I did the right thing"
December 18, 2023
That was legitness
November 24, 2021
It starts a bit rough and kinda in a rush but gets gradually captivating.
July 21, 2021
4.5 *
Oh man... I loved this one!! Again I gotta admit that the art style wasn't my favourite (I got a couple of characters mixed up every now and then), but I loved the flashbacks, the back story interspersed with the main plot and the context we got behind each of the main characters. My librarian is nailing these recommendations!
Oh man... I loved this one!! Again I gotta admit that the art style wasn't my favourite (I got a couple of characters mixed up every now and then), but I loved the flashbacks, the back story interspersed with the main plot and the context we got behind each of the main characters. My librarian is nailing these recommendations!
June 25, 2021
Rating applies to all 3 Yearbook Editions. A great series that holds up years later, and feels way ahead of its time.
March 17, 2022
Interesting sci-fi tale with lots of twists, turns, and mystery.
Worth reading.
Worth reading.
March 25, 2020
This is basically Lost in Space, which is not to be confused with Lost in Space which this has nothing in common with. While I'm not claiming that Lost has been forgotten or is unappreciated, I do think that people underestimate its influence; I think a lot of people think of it as that show that everyone watched for a couple years and had the ending that made a lot of people angry. Lost was incredibly influential on the modern media landscape and so many things would be different now if it hadn't existed. You can see its fingerprints in wide variety of tv-shows including Arrow, The Good Place, and This is Us. All of this is just my long winded way of saying that The Woods owes a lot to Lost.
The Woods is about a high school that suddenly disappears off of Earth and finds itself on an alien planet in the middle of the titular woods. The faculty of course mostly melt down and prove ineffective so it's up to the kids to save the day, or actually mostly screw things up. The president of the student council tries to build a new society while the weird loner kid tries to commune with the planet itself, and most of the others wander after him into the woods.
It's hard to express how much this is Lost with teenagers. Everything from the concept of the stranded group of people learning to build a society together, to the switching perspectives episode to episode, to the flashbacks, to the more and more bizarre supernatural twists and mysteries all feel like they directly descended from Lost. To be clear, I don't think that's a bad thing, although I do think it took The Woods awhile to find its own identity.
But it found it, and it mostly works. It's not a great comic yet, but it is a pretty good one. As far as stories about teenagers stuck in a remote location and having to get along go this is a pretty fun and diverting version. It's far more optimistic than that premise would usually suggest which is nice as well. I do think it could all be a bit more developed, especially it's analysis of both people and societies. The flashbacks really suggest that this is a character study first and foremost (something Lost understood and did well at), but the characters finish the first 12 issues still feeling kind of like broad sketches of a person. The pacing in the first few issues also doesn't really work at all. These are all small problems that all most likely stem from this being one of Tynion's first books (I think). Overall, it's a good time and I intend to keep reading.
It's also worth noting that I read this before, and I thought I only read the first issue but I'm fairly certain now that I got to issue 13 at least. So it's not super memorable unfortunately, or I have a really bad memory (which I do. I have a terrible memory).
The Woods is about a high school that suddenly disappears off of Earth and finds itself on an alien planet in the middle of the titular woods. The faculty of course mostly melt down and prove ineffective so it's up to the kids to save the day, or actually mostly screw things up. The president of the student council tries to build a new society while the weird loner kid tries to commune with the planet itself, and most of the others wander after him into the woods.
It's hard to express how much this is Lost with teenagers. Everything from the concept of the stranded group of people learning to build a society together, to the switching perspectives episode to episode, to the flashbacks, to the more and more bizarre supernatural twists and mysteries all feel like they directly descended from Lost. To be clear, I don't think that's a bad thing, although I do think it took The Woods awhile to find its own identity.
But it found it, and it mostly works. It's not a great comic yet, but it is a pretty good one. As far as stories about teenagers stuck in a remote location and having to get along go this is a pretty fun and diverting version. It's far more optimistic than that premise would usually suggest which is nice as well. I do think it could all be a bit more developed, especially it's analysis of both people and societies. The flashbacks really suggest that this is a character study first and foremost (something Lost understood and did well at), but the characters finish the first 12 issues still feeling kind of like broad sketches of a person. The pacing in the first few issues also doesn't really work at all. These are all small problems that all most likely stem from this being one of Tynion's first books (I think). Overall, it's a good time and I intend to keep reading.
It's also worth noting that I read this before, and I thought I only read the first issue but I'm fairly certain now that I got to issue 13 at least. So it's not super memorable unfortunately, or I have a really bad memory (which I do. I have a terrible memory).
June 25, 2024
I've read a few of Tynion's graphic novels at this point. Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 1, The Backstagers, Vol. 1: Rebels Without Applause, The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1... and now this. And I think I've realised that... essentially, Tynion has one story and just keeps telling it in different ways.
Because they're all more or less the same. Some folks of varying levels of queerness find themselves involved in something vaguely supernatural and/or fantastical and interpersonal drama ensues.
Which isn't to say that there's anything wrong with that necessarily, plenty of authors have made whole careers out of less. But it also doesn't particularly inspire me to read any more of his work, because I feel like I've been there and done that at this point.
The Woods might be his second best version of the idea though. The Nice House on the Lake was, to date, the best version, just because it was actual adults and not teenagers. But it's still pretty good overall.
Michael Dialynas's illustrations are strong, and work well with the story.
But, I think if there's a flaw, it's that... I just don't like any of these characters. Well, that's not completely true. I kind of like Calder McCready, but I don't really dig his storyline with his brother. Everybody else feels like a paint by numbers character, so much so that the two female characters with dark hair are functionally interchangeable and any time they're not in the same frame I never remember which is which.
Also, I feel like, if you're doing a time jump inside an ongoing graphic novel series, you probably should inform the reader with a text box or something, because there's more than one instance here where we still a couple of weeks or as much as a month and it's left up to the dialogue to inform us about it eventually.
I'll be honestly though, I don't think I need to know how this ends.
Because they're all more or less the same. Some folks of varying levels of queerness find themselves involved in something vaguely supernatural and/or fantastical and interpersonal drama ensues.
Which isn't to say that there's anything wrong with that necessarily, plenty of authors have made whole careers out of less. But it also doesn't particularly inspire me to read any more of his work, because I feel like I've been there and done that at this point.
The Woods might be his second best version of the idea though. The Nice House on the Lake was, to date, the best version, just because it was actual adults and not teenagers. But it's still pretty good overall.
Michael Dialynas's illustrations are strong, and work well with the story.
But, I think if there's a flaw, it's that... I just don't like any of these characters. Well, that's not completely true. I kind of like Calder McCready, but I don't really dig his storyline with his brother. Everybody else feels like a paint by numbers character, so much so that the two female characters with dark hair are functionally interchangeable and any time they're not in the same frame I never remember which is which.
Also, I feel like, if you're doing a time jump inside an ongoing graphic novel series, you probably should inform the reader with a text box or something, because there's more than one instance here where we still a couple of weeks or as much as a month and it's left up to the dialogue to inform us about it eventually.
I'll be honestly though, I don't think I need to know how this ends.
December 24, 2023
Doctor Robot is the most adorable ugly creature I've ever seen.
(But if you want to see something freaky, look up "Doctor Robot Plush" on Google.)
There was a lot going on here. As this is the first Book in the series, there is a lot of time spent setting everything up. Because all the characters are not in one place, this means multiple stories going on, which means that just when you get to a good part in one story, it flops over to another story and takes time to get back to the other one, which you've now almost forgotten about. It was like watching the later seasons of The Walking Dead when THEY WOULDN'T JUST ALL STAY TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE, DAMNIT.
Anywayyyyyy...we are slowly fed information about the creepy land/region/planet the school has been transported to, but it remains mostly confusing and elusive right up to the end. Or maybe I'm just a dummy.
There are also flashes back to before the school landed on an alien planet to give you the background on various characters. This is incredibly helpful to understand relationships and motivations. Unfortunately, I am not hooked enough to really care about any of the characters. Any one of these kiddos (or adults) could drop dead at any time, and I wouldn't feel much of anything. Except Doctor Robot. ❤️
The art isn't my favorite ever, but I've seen far worse. Also, the coloring is good, and the characters and creatures don't all look the same, so points awarded for that!
I have the other two Yearbook Book editions already, so I'll continue with the series. I'm hoping it can draw me in a bit more, but all in all, this is off to a good start with a nice mix of adventure, humor, horror, sci-fi, and mystery.
3 Stars
(But if you want to see something freaky, look up "Doctor Robot Plush" on Google.)
There was a lot going on here. As this is the first Book in the series, there is a lot of time spent setting everything up. Because all the characters are not in one place, this means multiple stories going on, which means that just when you get to a good part in one story, it flops over to another story and takes time to get back to the other one, which you've now almost forgotten about. It was like watching the later seasons of The Walking Dead when THEY WOULDN'T JUST ALL STAY TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE, DAMNIT.
Anywayyyyyy...we are slowly fed information about the creepy land/region/planet the school has been transported to, but it remains mostly confusing and elusive right up to the end. Or maybe I'm just a dummy.
There are also flashes back to before the school landed on an alien planet to give you the background on various characters. This is incredibly helpful to understand relationships and motivations. Unfortunately, I am not hooked enough to really care about any of the characters. Any one of these kiddos (or adults) could drop dead at any time, and I wouldn't feel much of anything. Except Doctor Robot. ❤️
The art isn't my favorite ever, but I've seen far worse. Also, the coloring is good, and the characters and creatures don't all look the same, so points awarded for that!
I have the other two Yearbook Book editions already, so I'll continue with the series. I'm hoping it can draw me in a bit more, but all in all, this is off to a good start with a nice mix of adventure, humor, horror, sci-fi, and mystery.
3 Stars
Read
November 14, 2023On a fateful day in 2013, students and staff at Bay Point Preparatory High are going about their normal days, when they are suddenly transported to an alien and hostile environment with violent monsters trying to eat them all, and strange glowing rocks. Several exceptional teens try to take some modicum of control and seek solutions. Several decide the answers they need lie in the woods, and they soon discover they are not the only humans who have been plucked from Earth! Some of them are abducted by warriors who look seem like Vikings, while others discover a Ziggurat full of writing from ancient civilizations, as well as more questions about why they were brought to . The Viking warriors, take the teens back to a civilization named New London, and they know English, but they are also keenly interested in what the rest of Bay Point might have to offer for their own continued survival.
Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.
Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.
August 6, 2024
Review is for the entire series read in one shot.
If I didn't have a strong completist streak I would have abandoned this about a third of the way through.
Dropping a high school onto an alien planet for unknown reasons, ok.
Encounter the mysterious denizens of said world? Sure
Join with them against an even bigger threat? absolutely
Spend several years on the planet and have not one child born or even pregnancy shown? This author has been to high school, right?
Aggressively showcase self-destructive homosexual relationships and exclude anything normal? Ah....no
Have all of the 'jocks' recruited by descendants of Imperial Japan so they can oppress the rest of the planet? You took a wrong turn at Albuquerque
Suddenly reveal one of the main characters has been cosplaying as a boy? byebye
If I didn't have a strong completist streak I would have abandoned this about a third of the way through.
Dropping a high school onto an alien planet for unknown reasons, ok.
Encounter the mysterious denizens of said world? Sure
Join with them against an even bigger threat? absolutely
Spend several years on the planet and have not one child born or even pregnancy shown? This author has been to high school, right?
Aggressively showcase self-destructive homosexual relationships and exclude anything normal? Ah....no
Have all of the 'jocks' recruited by descendants of Imperial Japan so they can oppress the rest of the planet? You took a wrong turn at Albuquerque
Suddenly reveal one of the main characters has been cosplaying as a boy? byebye
July 14, 2020
Who could resist the creepiness of Sabrina married to the more dysfunctional relationship dynamics of Buffy with a heaping side-order of Stranger Things and some Lost by way of The Child Thief? Not I!
All of that is to say that this is a compelling, creeptastic tour de force with engaging, sympathetic, flawed teenage characters; less sympathetic and far more flawed adults "in charge" of them; alien monsters; obsidian cities; and a boatload of complexes waiting to happen for these kids. If any of them survive, they're going to need therapy for eternity.
All of THAT means that this is an awesome series, and I see why it won awards. Looking forward to Book Two!
All of that is to say that this is a compelling, creeptastic tour de force with engaging, sympathetic, flawed teenage characters; less sympathetic and far more flawed adults "in charge" of them; alien monsters; obsidian cities; and a boatload of complexes waiting to happen for these kids. If any of them survive, they're going to need therapy for eternity.
All of THAT means that this is an awesome series, and I see why it won awards. Looking forward to Book Two!
April 19, 2022
Calling all people who like easy to read books or graphic novels that have cool pictures - “The Woods” is the book for you! This book is definitely not realistic and the plot is not believable mainly because it takes place on a whole different planet. “The Woods” can be a little complex at times because it switches timelines a lot, but it kind of still makes sense. The book didn’t make me cry or laugh. It was kind of not an emotional book. The book was not slow. It had a good speed at some points, but the end of the book was kind of fast. I give this book a 3.5. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes books that put characters in plight or difficult situations or if you like books with dubious or untrustworthy characters.
May 8, 2024
Theres certainly potential here past precedent shows that Tynion can knock out some terrific stories, and theres nothing blocking this from becoming a great series, but theres also nothing herein that convinces me it's anything other than a gamble at this stage. Some of the key thoughts about the series I've had are how rebelliously honest the characters tend to be, how malleable Dialynas' art is, and how quietly it likes to deal with its conflicts. Hopefully the story will split time between the core team heading out into New London and the rest of the student body and faculty remaining in the school. I can't wait to follow this comic and see where it goes. So far it has all the makings of a very strong, very horrific story and I couldn't be more excited.
June 22, 2025
A highschool gets zapped onto an alien planet. A handful of students try to figure out what's going on and how to get back to Earth.
This is the first graphic novel I've read from James Tynion IV that didn't really land for me. The writing itself is good, but I wasn't too crazy about the story and I loathed the direction it went in. I did enjoy some of the character work, but everything seemed a bit surface level and I'm not sure if it's due to the writing or because this is supposed to be YA or what.
However, in standard fashion he has written a diverse and queer cast which is always refreshing. The art is also decent, but nothing exceptional either. In total, Im sure there's an audience for this, maybe a teen audience, but I will not be continuing in the series.
This is the first graphic novel I've read from James Tynion IV that didn't really land for me. The writing itself is good, but I wasn't too crazy about the story and I loathed the direction it went in. I did enjoy some of the character work, but everything seemed a bit surface level and I'm not sure if it's due to the writing or because this is supposed to be YA or what.
However, in standard fashion he has written a diverse and queer cast which is always refreshing. The art is also decent, but nothing exceptional either. In total, Im sure there's an audience for this, maybe a teen audience, but I will not be continuing in the series.
August 25, 2020
Absolutely loved it!
I first stumbled over The Woods through a Forbidden Planet mystery back for a pound. There was one The Woods issue in there and I kinda liked it, kinda not but it stayed with me for easily a year or two.
Now I got the Yearbook Edition as a present and holy moly! is this good!!!
Teen angst aside, this is delightfully eerie, super exciting and the art just POPS.
It's a seriously great story as is and based on my experience, reading the Yearbook Edition makes more fun than reading single issues.
I first stumbled over The Woods through a Forbidden Planet mystery back for a pound. There was one The Woods issue in there and I kinda liked it, kinda not but it stayed with me for easily a year or two.
Now I got the Yearbook Edition as a present and holy moly! is this good!!!
Teen angst aside, this is delightfully eerie, super exciting and the art just POPS.
It's a seriously great story as is and based on my experience, reading the Yearbook Edition makes more fun than reading single issues.
January 2, 2020
I wanted to like this more than I did. I felt there was little to no character development. It was exciting to have lgbtq relationships, but the characters that were in these relationships fell flat. It constantly felt while lots of things were supposedly happening, that nothing was actually happening. Most of the story was talked about and not shown. I didn’t hate this book, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2020
im sure there was some social commentary about how adults suck among more important things but i genuinely am not here to analyze the meanings behind stories. what i read was really good and cool! i actually cant wait to read more about this world. i dont have major issues with the writing nor the characterization but i do hope i get more information about adrian and his motives among other things. it ended on quite the cliffhanger
June 17, 2023
Brilliant. The concept here is high fantasy (or science fiction....I guess I won't know for sure until I finish reading the story), but Tynion grounds it by keeping his characters familiar to anyone who's ever met a human. They have layers and are wonderful to get to know. I care more about them than about the plot (although the plot is great) and that is the most important part of any good story.
September 18, 2021
The art is mostly cool, but I think the story was a bit too out there for me.
I think I might want to see how the story plays out, but I don't know that I would read it in this format. It looks cool, but it's not something for me.
I think I might want to see how the story plays out, but I don't know that I would read it in this format. It looks cool, but it's not something for me.
August 29, 2022
I see why this series gets the love it does. Takes the well-used trope of "kids alone in an unforgiving environment" and cranks it up to ten on a distant moon. Doesn't spoon-feed you the plot either, drops you right into the world as the kids are, and spools out the story over the run. I've got all the Yearbook editions out of the library now and am looking forward to burning through them at a record pace.
Well worth reading, and in the top ten in terms of story, art, and originality of what I've read lately. Highly recommended.
Well worth reading, and in the top ten in terms of story, art, and originality of what I've read lately. Highly recommended.
October 31, 2023
I picked this up because it looked appropriate for the season and it was fittingly creepy. It was a nice enough read, but I didn't manage to get super engaged, so I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews