Final Verdict: 9.4 Seamlessly fusing elements of slice-of-life family drama, body horror, and apocalyptic fantasy, "Family Tree" #1 meets and exceeds the hype. Easily the best book by Jeff Lemire this week. Read Full Review

I did not know what to expect when I signed up to review this comic. But, as a parent, it hit me a lot harder than I anticipated. The body horror and parental dread in this comic are well implemented and I can't wait to see what happens in the next issue. I recommend this for anyone who is a fan of horror, especially that of the body-horror variety. Read Full Review

Family Tree #1 is a solid first issue, establishing the small circle of main characters and putting them in a horrific situation. The narration on the first page promises the end of the world; it will be interesting to see how the book gets from here to there. Read Full Review

With its unique premise and stand-out art style, Family Tree begins an interesting journey that displays what lengths a family will go to keep one of their own safe. Read Full Review

Jeff Lemire brings the dark and creepy in this story about a family struggling to make ends meet brought into what is nothing less than a global struggle. Read Full Review

Family Tree is truly successful in its ability to boil down the stressors and conflicts of our age into a tangible, personal, surreal and spooky story. Lemire, Hester, Gapstur and Cody tap into a vein of emotion, with the sort of deeply relatable empathy and charming grit that charms you and unsettles you with equal ease. As the leaves continue to turn and you shift from the screams of the undead to the screams of your embittered relatives, Family Tree may be able to offer just the catharsis you're looking for. Read Full Review

Family Tree #1 is a dark and disturbing introduction to a unique series. One that is sure to send chills down your spine. Read Full Review

Family Tree #1 is a gripping family tale of horror, mystery, and action. Check it out on November 13. Read Full Review

This story of a young girl who grew into a tree and the subsequent collapse of society features both an exciting plot and a much more intimate portrait of how scary it is to feel alone, even as we are surrounded by others. Read Full Review

With the solid base Family Tree #1 provides in our characters, I feel ready to see where their journey takes them. My questions right now are about the pot, not about trying to understand who these people are and what they want, though certainly there is more to understand about these characters. Now that the story has roots, I look forward to seeing how the Family Tree grows. Read Full Review

What you see is what you get, and Family Tree #1 is a confident opening issue that presents puzzles and mysteries for the characters and audience to solve. One of the pleasures of reading a story like this is that the readers have a sense of what is happening, and are keenly waiting to see what the protagonists make of the horrors to come. Read Full Review

In a career of telling these stories, Jeff Lemire arrives at something truly terrifying. Read Full Review

The opening narrative tells of the end of the world, and Im dying to see how the coming issues unfold. Were promised shadowy mercenary groups, fanatical cults, and predatory paparazzi all chasing down eight year old Meg Hayes. If things end up being as exciting as were promised then this is going to be a new series to follow closely. Read Full Review

With a story that has implications to become apocalyptic, Family Tree #1 starts off that tale with a strong base. Lemire’s family-centric storytelling lulls you in, but the promise is that horror is just around the corner. The art holds everything firmly in place with great stylistic choices by Phil Hester. The start isn’t anything groundbreaking, but the end is sure to surprise. Read Full Review

Family Tree #1 presents a world that is ending not because of war but because of nature, as the creative team ably balances ambiance with character study. Read Full Review

Good read. Thought it wa going farmhand route but it was different. In a good way.

Really enjoyed this, excited to see where the series goes.

Interesting start and I'm always down for some good body horror.

Kinda neat, I’m interested to see where it goes.

More personable than a lot of Lemire's work. It's like Donny Cates, but not as good.

Jeff Lemire put ordinary family to very bizarre situation. And it works. Family is very symphatethic and i'm looking forward to continuig their story. Art is decent and ideal for this kind of really slow start of end of the world.

THE GOOD:

-This was a fine, but forgettable issue.

-The suspense is well-done, especially before things get crazy.

-Generally speaking, the script is good.

-The horror elements are probably the strongest here. I think that horror is Lemire's biggest strength as a writer.

-I'm mildly excited for the next issue. I'll read it, but I'm not looking forward to it as much as I want to.

THE BAD:

-I wasn't a big fan of the art. It was cool and stylistic at first, but later it became a pain in my ass to try to decipher what was going on because the art was so abstract.

-I'm not a huge fan of the main character. Her son is far more interesting.

Eh, it was cool. But it wasn't " amazing ". And while I might sound uptight, Jeff Lemire is writing this book. The guy who does Gideon Falls and Black Hammer and arguably thee best writer right now. It didn't want my reads to be dominated with all Jeff Lemire, but people are really hyping this book up. So I gave it the first issue, and it was good, but not Lemire good.

We start off with this woman named Loretta and her two kids and their everyday lives. Through this front, Lemire subtly builds up a dark secret about how people can turn into trees. Than after this phenomenon gets more apparent, its goes buck-wild crazy.

I'll give this to Lemire. He is playing with alot of " personal " elements in this book. It is centered around this dysfunctional family with no dad who ran away, and Lemire handles it pretty well. This book while it does heat up half way into the book with some high emotions and a great cliff-hanger, it merely just introduced the concept of what this story is going to be about. Probably I am just subconsciously comparing it with Gideon Falls, which also builds in a similar manner.

But there isn't much suspense or build-up to concept of turning into a tree. It just starts happening albeit subtly and with a few nods from the grandpa but thats it. And while this isn't necessarily bad writing, it doesn't make this issue have that umph I expect.

Another problem was the art style. I am not familiar with Phil Hester, but his pencils and style is very much like Frank Miller's art, where it has very staccato-type line-work which I am not feeling. I probably just have to sit through it for a few issues and it will probably grow on me. Anyways good start. more

A dysfunctional, though loving family goes through some bad stuff (and grows closer). By Jeff Lemire, but it's a new series.

A fairly promising story but marred by awful artwork.

Not very interesting. The lead character is pretty unlikable. The series synopsis sounds good, and Lemire has more hits than misses. This might be a miss though.