Twig

Twig #1-5

by Skottie Young, Kyle Strahm (Artist)

I Hate Fairyland andMiddlewest Eisner Award-winning writer Skottie Young and artist Kyle Strahm (Spread, Unearth) come together for an all-new epic fantasy/adventure mini-series! Join Twig on the first day of his new job, a Jeff Smith's Bone-esque journey to save a The Dark Crystal/Labyrinth-style world. Join our hesitant hero for an inspiring and imaginative tale of hope, heartache and the determination to overcome insurmountable odds!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Young Adult, Adventure, Fiction, Middle Grade

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2022

About the author

Skottie Young has been an illustrator and cartoonist for over ten years working for entertainment and publishing companies such Marvel, Warner Bros., Image, Upper Deck, Mattel, and many more.

He is currently illustrating the New York Times Best Selling and Eisner Award Nominated adaptions of L. Frank Baum's OZ novels with writer Eric Shanower. The series has gained acclaim from both fans and critics.

Skottie currently lives in Illinois with his family, Casey, Baxter and their Saint Bernard, Emma.

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a mix of an 80s fantasy kids movie (anything Henson), with weird 70s/80s Metal Hurlant-esque fantasy comics (without the grotty bits, of course).

It's fetch quests galore, it's new friends met, it's realising the-truth-was-inside-of-us-all-the-time kind of stuff.

Really quite sweet.

(Picked up a review copy through Edelweiss)

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would shelve this book somewhere between the Dark Crystal and Adventure Time, it's not quite for children, not quite for adults, it's charming, yet sarcastic, cute and sweet, yet creepy, the world looks immense, yet there's not much depth to it, and I found these discrepancies a bit annoying, the art on the other hand is quite fantastic, and is really the selling point of the book, if you like cutesy colorful art, you're gonna love the world of Twig, guaranteed.

[Hosein · Rating 5 out of 5]

دقیقا همون چیزیه که نیاز داشتم، حیف که خیلی کوتاه بود. پیشنهاد می‌کنم اگه شما هم مثل من از لحاظ روانی توی این روزا تحت فشارین، این کمیک رو از دست ندین. نهایتا یک ساعت طول میکشه بخونین...ولی همونم خیلیه.

[Chaunceton Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had the publisher not sent me this to review, I probably would not have lifted it off the shelf. And what a mistake that would have been.

This has the production value and feel of a Pixar movie. The art is polished and colorful, and the story is engaging and original. As the cover telegraphs, this is a fantasy adventure with a lovable fluffy blue protagonist. He and his amorphous yellow sidekick travel through lands that only an acid-soaked brain could come up with. The dialogue is terse, and the focus is on the spectacular journey.

Heartwarming, fun, and surprisingly endearing. Definitely give this one a chance.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art = THE SHIT (good way)

The writing = shit (bad way)

[Valéria. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute, simple fantasy story set in the interesting world, where one little creature is on its quest to save the world. Beautifully illustrated, the art and colours are really something in this.

[Daniel DanohsComics · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute as hell character in Twig put in a story of descovery set in a fantastical world with whimsical fun and som darker moments. A strong opening story arc that leaves me wanting more.

[Colin Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up the single issues from my local comic shop and it sucked me in absolutely. This is such a magical and lovely — yet deeply weird! — comic. It follows a lovable creature, Twig, on a somewhat obscure quest to place a stone in order to prevent the end of the world. It’s a simplish story that is enriched by the wild and wonderful character and environment designs provided by Kyle Strahm.

The absurdity of this universe is both a blessing and a curse. It’s stunningly imaginative, ecstatically so, as each page reveals a new strange creature of vista. One of my favorite little gags throughout the book is how Twig &co will move from one extreme environment to another (from a winter wonderland to a barren desert) from one panel to the next. It’s super fun but I’d love a bit more grounding at times. There’s a sort of logic to this world but it’s entirely amorphous and subject to change.

At its core, though, this is a story about Twig, Splat, and Lobee. The characters are instantly endearing, thanks to Young’s clever writing and Strahm’s expert illustrations of cartoonish yet real expressions. I don’t always understand the stakes or the purpose of Twig’s quest, but every moment of it is a delight.

[Estibaliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wholesome story, and such beautiful art to accompany it.

The 'Bone' and 'Dark Crystal' vibes are ever present in this tale about what happens on the backstage of the great hero quests, as we follow the travels of Twig, the last Placeling, returning the magic lost to the last magic stone.

A story with a sweet moral, cute characters, and quite a dry sarcastic humor at times, that clearly elevates the product over your average quest story, and certainly gives it that extra element that makes this into a perfect adult reading... for the child that we carry inside.

5/5

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young continues his trend of delightful yet emotional storytelling with bright and wonderful art from Kyle Strahm and Beaulieu. In only 5 issues, the creators take us on an epic quest with Twig and his friend Splat as they endeavor to place a vital item where it belongs in order to prevent the end of everything. With complex themes delivered subtly, rich heart, stunning visuals, and a fantastic collage of visuals and worlds--Twig is a fantasy adventure well worth your time.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute adventure with some amazing artwork!

[Harir Heidary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

[Valentin Derevlean · Rating 4 out of 5]

O bandă desenată pentru fanii lui Bone (a lui Jeff Smith) cu un imaginar debordant, o artă grozavă, Kyle Strahm chiar face o treabă bună și ridică nivelul poveștii cu mult peste potențialul ei. Ideea din spatele benzii e simpatică: călătoria inițiatică prin care un puști trebuie să se ridice la nivelul tatălui său pentru a salva lumea. Deseori însă povestea e fușerită și grăbită. Sunt 5 numere, deși cred că puteau fi 8 sau 10. Dar arta, personajele, micile trimiteri către sf/fantasy/comics etc, locurile comune și sclipirile de moment fac din bandă o experiență plăcută și nostalgică, cumva. Eu am citit numerele individual, dar pun comentariul aici că e mai simplu.

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't this a delightful little adventure!

The artwork on this one is gorgeous and the characters are so easy to fall in love with. I loved this whole thing from start to finish and would love to see more of Twig in the future!

The story is wholesome and full of wonder and odd things, but delivers a strong message about never giving up, all with Skottie Young's unique flair.

Really loved it, I'm looking forward to more.

[Alex Sarll]

I have no idea what Skottie Young's timekeeping is like in his everyday life, but this reads a lot like a tardy person catastrophising that to the max, and then trying to work out whether there's any hope whatsoever of salvation. Young Twig is a placeling, essentially a sort of professional quest-setter-upper, following in his father's footsteps – and on his first day at work, he's late! Which means that the gem he needs to place, which "would have opened the world to a new era of light and harmony", now looks like it's not going to get there! The whole world is screwed, and it's all Twig's fault for not giving his alarm clock (also his sidekick) clearer instructions! Except...it's really not, because there's a hiccup at an early stage which has very obviously been an issue since well before that first morning, so even if he had got in bright and early, most of the subsequent issues would still have arisen, completely undermining the whole Clockwise angle. More of an issue for me was that while Kyle Strahm's art is very good at catching the weirdness of the setting (think post-Adventure Time, which, having recently started watching The Owl House, seems an understandably popular vibe at the moment), for me it didn't get across the cuteness which I have to assume is intended when your lead is a little fluffy guy. But much like humour, cuteness is deeply subjective; there are people who find babies cute, after all. And even without that, and notwithstanding the gap in the emotional engine of the plot, I've read plenty worse.

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous art, but I just wanted a bit more story. I'm glad it'll continue at some point.

Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5

Total review score: 3.4

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023 Eisner Award finalist - Best Coloring (Jean-Francois Beaulieu), Best Lettering (Nate Piekos)

This is a charming anthropomorphic fantasy quest probably aimed at older kids (there is mention of death with some skeletons). It's a simple story told with bright and bold graphics by Kyle Strahm, coloring by Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and lettering by Nate Piekos. It made me think of the Wizard of Oz by way of Pixar--a bit dark but also cute and funny. The ending is perhaps a bit rushed, but it's self-contained, so that's a plus. There's definitely room for Young to explore this world and its characters some more, though.

[Δημήτρης Μπ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twig is a tale about a young monster trying to save the monster world. The story isn't very original, however, it's quite amusing and in the end it left me the taste for wanting more. It looks like a children's fantasy book but it's more mature and better suited for YA or adults.
The artwork and the colouring is fantastic and at times mesmerising.

[Basia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible artwork!!!

[Vanessa Gikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frickin adorable. Beautiful illustrations. Lovable characters. Heartwarming message. Read this when the world is weighing on you and you need something lighthearted. It's such a sweet and cozy adventure, full of imagination and humor.

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best cutest funniest comic I read so far! 💜

[Simone Hagemann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Illustrationerne var fantastiske! Men historien var bare ikke lige mig. Det blev lidt for weird, og det hele gik lidt for stærkt til, jeg kunne følge ordenligt med.

[Whitney Jamimah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twig is a cute AND meaningful comic and I loved it so much.

Twig wants nothing more than to be a chef but since his father’s untimely passing he has been tasked to be the next Placeling. Twig has to do this job since nobody else in the whole wide world knows the first thing about being a Placeling, including Twig himself. A Placeling is an adventurer who takes up artifacts and makes sure they get placed in just the right place so they can be used for good in the world. Twig’s journey is the very last placing ever to keep his world in ultimate peace and harmony but it just may be the most dangerous placing ever and since this is Twig’s first journey it will be that much more difficult and dangerous.

This is a short, one-and-done comic so the storyline is pretty quick and to the point but that does not mean there is any shortage of hilarity and heart within its few pages. Twig is learning as he goes and with the help of a few companions along the way he really learns some heartfelt lessons. The back of this comic gives a teen rating but so long as you are ok with your kid reading 1 swear word (damn) I really think this is a wonderful all ages comic.

The plot was good but the star of this show is the artwork. There was so much imagination used in the character development and world building. Each panel was bursting with color and unique designs and a clean, crisp art style to really keep the reader exploring. If there is ever a day when they make an oversized hardcover or, even better, an absolute of this one single trade I’d swoop that up so fast to have this gorgeous art in a bigger format.

Twig was wonderful and magical and exactly what I needed right now. 10/10 recommend!

[Emily Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful & cozy adventure.

I will be looking into other works illustrated by the artist because the art style is insanely captivating which is a good thing because there’s not a tonne of text, so you’re relying more on the imagery for the story.

I do wish we had a bit more depth to the story though, the world could be explained more thoroughly and certain aspects are glazed over especially towards the end. It’s such a beautiful world and there’s so much going on that a little more info would be welcomed.

I enjoyed every second of this comic and will likely be searching for a hard copy. Whilst it’s YA, I believe, I would have adored this at 7-8. There’s not really much violence at all but there is death, loss, and discussions around it. It’s more about adventure and valuing your environment.





TW// death, skeleton, death of a parent (past), animal/creature death, threat of violence/evil forces.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very weird book, as the author’s name probably told you to expect anyway. Twig is a questing character, to an almost archetypal level. But the eyebrows are raised with this when you consider the nature of the quest – it’s to do this with the dooflidonk and take that to the whojammaflip and make up time (for Twig overslept at the start of all this) to get to blazes before ramalamadingdong has either dinged or, worst case, donged. And such a plot would sound absolutely doolally and childish and stupid and asinine and everything else, if it were not done with the utmost seriousness and conviction, as here. We don’t care the preamble to all of this involves a passage through a sentient mountain’s digestive tract, we don’t scoff at the ridiculous nature of any one small task being hampered by so much more and yet opening out the world to leave so much more of the quest ahead – when it’s done with this authority we have to be engaged and firmly believing the seriousness of it.

Or at least, that seems to be the intention...

And this book succeeds in that. Bonkers character design, risible fantasy landscapes, yawnsome floating islands – all are in the visuals, but they’re hard to beat, for the craft here is very classy indeed. Yes, it does look so cartoonish many an adult reader will be put off taking it on their commute, but the last time that really happened with an oddball quest book we got “Bone”, so go figure. This book at hand felt a lot tighter, more concisely planned and prepared than that ever felt, mind (more books are promised but this is pretty self-contained). All told it’s so very much an “I’m gonna do this to the plot just because I can!!” kind of read, but one that seems so close to the ur-text of questing fantasies none of it seems too daft. Thinking back on it, the feel of the piece lost any comparison from my limited graphic novel knowledge, and seemed to have more of Walter Moers’ DNA than anyone else’s. Meaning this, for when 600pp of prose are out of the question, is well worth the investment. A strong four stars.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storywise, this is nothing new under the sun. Most people will recognize this type of chosen-one questing from TV shows or videogames. That said, I really enjoyed this. It was a sweet story of Twig gaining confidence, and ultimately learning that friends and heart are what save the world. I also enjoyed that Twig is the "hero behind the hero," which is something that I think more of us should aspire to. The art is also beautiful, and I enjoyed the creative, whimsical fantasy setting panoramas.

(Read the digitial review copy from Edelweiss+)

[Scotts Shelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twig is a typical Hero's Journey type of story set in a vibrant and charming world that seems incredibly vast but lacks depth at the same time. I enjoyed the somewhat predictable outcome but it had a heartwarming sentiment nonetheless.

It's not quite a children's story as it does get graphic in some places, but it doesn't quite feel adult either.

This isn't my favourite story written by Skottie Young but it's still enjoyable. The art and colours were the true highlight; some panels and two page spreads are worthy of hanging on a wall!

[2Due · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous art, fun and lovely story, charming characters, I wish this miniseries had more because I simply loved every bit of it. I'm a sucker for these kind of settings and unique looking worlds and creatures and this caught my eyes immediately at the bookstore, I knew from the start I'd love it.
Yeah, I wish it was longer, it was a lot of fun!

[Bexa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork is great, the colors are bold and bright and beautiful, and there are hundreds of amazing creatures designed in this book. The whole story is nonsense though. Not in a this can't be real so it doesn't exist sense, but in a there is really no explainable plot to this story. Each section of the story jumps around trying to move the story forward, but the reader doesn't really know the plot other than the fact that Twig is late and destroyed the item he needed. There's too much world and not enough explanation. Also, because the book is split into the sections, there's an extra 25+ pages of extraneous materials that don't add to the story and just annoy me for making it take longer to try and find the plot. There's going to be a part two, which might have more, but I don't see any reason to read it.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, bright and saturated with beautifully colourful landscapes and creatures. Each page was filled to the brim with charm.

I’ve read a few reviews that mention how simple and boring the plot was, with weird pacing and timeskips. But I did not find that at all. The plot is simple; A hero’s journey with a reluctant protagonist, but sometimes it’s nice to just read something familiar and not overly complicated or dark.

This comic would be great for all ages! Especially for a younger audience and/or anyone newly wanting to get into comics. It reminded me of being a kid flicking through stories in a comic book store.

If you want a self contained hero’s adventure story, I would give this one a go.