Communication isn’t always easy, especially when the message is trapped inside the most elusive envelope in history. Your Major Spoilers review of The Seasons #1 awaits!
THE SEASONS #1
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Paul Azaceta
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Editor: Harper Jatan
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 29th, 2025
Previously in The Seasons: A quartet of sisters lost their parents years ago. One of the sisters has been on the hunt for them, and the information they found is dangerous and warrants a dire warning to the youngest of the sisters, Spring.
CATCH THAT LETTER
The Seasons #1 opens in Neocairo Egypt. A news report states that the city had gone completely silent and there has been no communication with the city at all. On the streets, everyone appears to be dead or asleep. A solitary dog barks at a group of beings that appear to be straight out of a circus or carnival. Things then transition to a pleasant little village as the local postal courier named Spring and her fish desperately chase down a letter that has been captured by a playful gust of wind. What ensues is a madcap chase through the village, where Spring and the letter leave a wake of chaos in their wake. Thankfully, a circus and their parade through town give Spring the chance to snatch the letter. Inside is a message from her sister, Winter, warning her that something is coming and she needs to run away before it’s too late.
DOING SOMETHING REALLY WELL
If nearly ninety percent of your comic is going to be taken up by one elongated chase sequence, then it better be a pretty dang good one of those. The Seasons #1, has a dang good chase sequence. This sequence achieves this status by accomplishing two things. The first is that it’s entertaining to look at. Seeing Spring crashing into groups of old women, terrorizing a bakery, and being thwarted by a bookshop owner is wacky fun. It’s plotted out incredibly well, making it feel like a fluid series of events and actions in a way that isn’t always easy to accomplish in a static image medium. The second thing that this sequence does surprisingly well, is to communicate information about both the world and Spring as a character. This world is full of whimsy and it seems to be planted in the fuzzy area between exaggerated realism and something a bit more fantastical. We see hints of this like when Spring needs to hitch a ride with a chimney sweep, who utilizes his Rocketeer style jet-pack to get her up to the rooftops. We also learn that Spring might not have the best relationship with her sisters and all it took to convey this is a single panel of her reaction to a billboard featuring her. While this is a well-done sequence, it does go on for just a bit too long, and it might’ve benefited from having one less little series of hijinks. Also, the whiplash speed that the tone shifts once Spring starts reading the letter is a bit jarring, and it straddles that line between being a pleasant shock and just feeling out of place.
AN UNCOMFORTABLY WHIMSICAL WORLD
Whimsy certainly seems like the base adjective for everything about Seasons #1 and this goes doubly so for the art. Between the pastel colors and the imagery that looks like it could easily sneak into The Yellow Submarine, what the reader is presented with is both delightful to look at, but unsettling at the same time, especially as the circus parade enters the picture. Also, as mentioned before, the chase sequence has a strong fluidity to it and a lot of that has to do with well drawn action poses that feel like they’re in sequence with one another.
BOTTOM LINE: I’M CERTAINLY INTRIGUED
In terms of actual story, Seasons #1 is pretty light. We get a few establishing facts, but beyond that this issue doesn’t really tell us what sort of direction it’s heading in. In lieu of that, though, we get a wonderful atmosphere and world-building action sequence that manages to create just as much interest in this series as any set of cryptic secrets could. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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The Seasons #1
Seasons #1 is essentially one long chase sequence, but don’t let that turn you away, in between all the hijinks are the foundations for a captivating new series.
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Writing8
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Art10
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Coloring10
At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.