THE DEVIL TREE #2, from Blood Moon Comics on 7/19/23, finds Jimmy growing more fearful that his wife had something to do with the murdered children. Meanwhile, Lilly gives the unhappy couple an opportunity to air their grievances.
The Details
- Written by: Keith Rommel
- Art by: Wolfgang Schwandt
- Colors by: Kristal Sayers
- Letters by: Wolfgang Schwandt
- Cover art by: Wolfgang Schwandt (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: July 19, 2023
Is It Good?
THE DEVIL TREE #2 builds on the unsettling influence the lonely tree has on the people it comes in contact with as the townspeople can’t escape the tree’s call to murder and sacrifice. Keith Rommel’s take on a factual murder case may just have you rethinking any plans to visit the Devil Tree’s town.
When last we left the assortment of characters, Jimmy found himself pulled into a murder investigation after finding the remains of two children during a fishing trip. Pressures from his loveless marriage and tough work environment lead Jimmy to believe his discovery wasn’t a coincidence. In the past, Lilly takes the kidnapped couple to the Devil Tree for guidance.
What’s great about this issue? Keith Rommel’s supernatural take on historical events rings true and disturbing. It’s easy to enjoy a horror comic with good humor when everything and everyone are complete fiction, but when the murderous events ring a little too true and close to home, you get an extra layer of disquiet to make the reading experience uncomfortable. Uncomfortable horror is the best kind of horror.
What’s not so great about this issue? The narrative focus is much better than issue #1 because it’s a little easier to track the timeline of events. However, the two major threads of this issue (Lilly and Jimmy) don’t appear to have any connection to each other except for the presence of the Devil Tree. It feels like you’re reading two disconnected stories in different timelines with different people, so the overall flow is random and a bit confusing. Further, Lilly’s interrogation is very wordy and lengthy, so the pacing drags significantly during the kidnapping scenes.
How’s the art? It’s fine. Schwandt’s line work and character designs are generally good, and Sayers’s coloring is adequate. Specifically, Sayers’s color palette selection is good, but the highlighting is terrible, so the coloring is a mixed bag. This issue isn’t the best example of art from Blood Moon, but it gets the job done.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our THE DEVIL TREE #1 review to find out how Jimmy found the bodies of two children.
We begin with Jimmy waking from a nightmare, convinced Susan is somehow responsible for the murders of the two children he found in the woods. Jimmy grows increasingly paranoid that Susan killed those children as a means to frame him and get him out of her life. When Jimmy approaches the police at the crime scene to express his concerns, Jimmy’s description raises the police’s suspicions.
In the past, Lilly orders the kidnapped couple out of her car at knifepoint. When Lilly removes the gags of the man and woman, she badgers them with interrogation questions, forcing each to admit the reasons behind their relationship troubles.
We conclude the issue with painful truth, violence, and a repeat performance.
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Final Thoughts
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THE DEVIL TREE #2 improves the focus and plot development over #1 with a disturbing, disquieting escalation of the Devil Tree’s influence. The two primary, strangely disconnected plots are enough to give you the creeps, but their disconnection is confusing, and the art is serviceable at best.
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