A young man and his talking fox must reconcile his family’s history. What will Abel do in this dangerous lands in Middlewest #11 from Image Comics!

MIDDLEWEST #11

Writer: Skottie Young
Artist: Jorge Corona
Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
Editor: Kent Wagenschutz
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 18, 2019

Previously in Middlewest: After Abel met his grandfather in the winter woods, he leaves without getting any relief to his burdens. Now cold, angry, and alone he is reunited with his fox companion but will his anger be misplaced?

ANGSTY ABEL

Fox and Abel reconvene at the edge of the Winter Woods but Abel is cold and distant to Fox. They begin to travel to Piper City and during the days of travel, Abel has chosen not to eat anything and treats Fox with a cold shoulder. In the city, Fox finally confronts Abel about what happened in the Winter Woods and Abel explodes at Fox. Abel laments that there is nothing that he can do about his family curse and sends Fox away. Almost immediately after the argument ended, Abel gets kidnapped and thrown into the back of a truck with a bunch of other kids.

Abel, still with adrenaline in his body, picks a fight with another kid in the trunk who was making rude comments towards him. While Abel ultimately wins the fight, he receives a couple of good jabs. At the end of the trip, he meets a bird like anthropomorphic creature who sells Abel’s friend Bobby to his kidnappers. The kids are then pushed onto an airship from Raider’s Farms and Fox looks up from the city watching the airship fly away.

I AM REMINDED OF MYSELF

I want to preface the rest of the review with I have no idea what is going on in the story. I found myself lost and unable to really pick up the larger context. However, the art is really engaging and the dialogue is well written and brings you into the story. I just have no idea what the characters are doing. I picked the story because I thought the cover looked cool and cute but I would have liked to know what this curse they referenced a few times since that seems to be the driving force for Abel.

So I will talk about what I do know, and that is the personality of the main protagonist. Abel is relatable as an adolescent. He goes through mood swings, he holds on to feelings, and he loves and hates at the same time. These are contradicting ideas that are only understood through the eyes of a hormonal teenager. I believe what Skottie Young was trying to portray with Abel and I believe the character is realistic in his traits and personalities. This was the saving grace for the book in my eyes without knowing that larger context.

BOTTOM LINE: GOOD WRITING BAD JUMPING ON POINT

I think this is a worthwhile series. This book wants me to go back and check out the previous issues because of the strength of the writing however I do not believe this will be the best jumping on point for a new reader.

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