One of my favorite graphic novel series right now is Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV. So I was excited to see he had another series out, something a little more hopeful. Where SiKtC is dark, gory, and full of doom and gloom, Wynd is kind of the opposite of that. It's full of color, hope, and adventure.
Though it's chalked full of trauma.
What I've come to like about Tynion's writing are the characters that he creates for his stories. Wynd was no expectation. Right from the start I adored Wynd. He's just the cute, fumbling, main character that you instantly fall in love with. He's not perfect, but he's a good guy who's just trying. Oakly is the definition of the big sister, best friend combo. And, every story like this needs a heartthrob, and we find that in Thorn, but he's not just a pretty face. He's a sweet kid with a lot of feelings. And, then of course there's the Prince. He kind of grew on me, but I still want to smack him in the face. He's alright I guess. We'll see if he grows, or just stays annoying.
He did the right thing this time, but I'm unsure if he'll continue to do so. I'm dubious. Though, maybe I shouldn't be because this graphic novel is geared toward younger readers. So everyone we met are probably the heroes of this story, but you can never be sure, no matter who the target readers are.
I will say I do love the world of Esseriel. The world-building isn't always my favorite part of the fantasy genre. I'm usually more here for the characters and the sword fights. One of the upsides of this being a graphic novel, the world-building is done right in front of you between each panel. We're seeing the world expand for our main characters, so you're learning about this world right along with them. Because all of them have lived a sheltered life in the last colony of humans.
And, I cannot say how much work went into these panels. I spend so long just looking at them, searching every corner of every detail. Wynd is done up in such bright colors, especially when our crew leaves Pipetown, which is done mostly in brown, tan, and very beige colors. Outside their colony is so bright and full of these weird little creatures that almost seem to glow. It's cool.
Also, I liked how the history of this world was told. It fits perfectly into the story, as a tale Wynd and Oakly are being told. So it doesn't fill disjointed or misplaced, nor does it pull from the main story. It's also very important to Wynd's journey.
The plot moves very quickly as well, and I felt like it told the individual stories of our main characters very well before they came together. It allowed us to get a look at all of their backstories, without drawing them out through the volumes. We have most of the facts going into the second volume, though I'm sure some missing pieces of information await us in Volume 2. Something we weren't shown. Like what happened to Miss Molly?
Also, I liked how easy it was to start to put the story together as we moved along. As we learn more about the world and its history, it was pretty easy to figure out who the Bandaged Man was. Through those same stories, I've also maybe, hopefully, started to piece Wynd's backstory together a little more. I at least have thoughts. The only wildcard for me is the Prince. While they were very clear on why the Prince was on this journey, I don't trust it a hundred percent. Just something about the last panel got me thinking.
Maybe I'm wrong, but there was a lot of trauma in this first book. So, I know there's more coming in the second one as well! Which I already have on hold at my local library. Because I did enjoy this first volume. Wynd was adorable, easy to read, and has the cutest main characters.
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