The Forever Home #1 Review

 

The Forever Home #1 Review

Writer: Christian Ward

Artist: Sami Kivelä

Colorist: Jason Wordie

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Cover Artists: Christian Ward, Frany, Sami Kivelä, David Rubín & Miguel Mercado

Publisher: Oni Press

Price: $4.99 US

Release Date: September 9, 2026

 

Sarah and Tommy love their parents. But they want to play and explore the world around them. While their mother sympathizes with their struggles, their father seems less approachable. Then one day, Henry shares his concerns with them. Their father wants to protect them from a world that threatens them in innumerable ways.

 

Will Sarah and Tommy abide by their father's wishes? And how long can they stay cooped up inside, when there is a world outside to explore? Let’s leap into The Forever Home #1 and see!

 

Story

Henry enjoys the comfort and refinement of home. Yet Tommy wants to run and play, and Henry’s smart house isn't set up for that. When Tommy asks why he can't go outside, his father decides he's old enough. He activates a wall of viewscreen windows that reveal the devastated world outside. Everyone else may have died. Still, a plant arising from barren ground suggests that the Earth will recover.

 

The Forever Home #1 begins in the future, with Henry seemingly experiencing his final moments. Then, Henry explains the world to his son in the past. When the issue arrives in the present, Tommy and his sister have grown. Sarah is no longer a child bored by her father's condemnation of the world. The teenager looks after Tommy, who enjoys doing art. Yet the world has changed greatly in the six years they have been locked inside. What was once a desert has become a jungle. And creatures climb through trees to study the seemingly impregnable home.

 

As the camera switches between Henry and Tommy, Christian Ward’s story addresses the clash inherent in generational change. Henry has fashioned an ideal life for his family. He wants them to embrace his values and takes drastic steps to protect them. Tommy and Sarah may challenge his authority in small ways. Yet, neither attempts to usurp his authority. Still, a time will come when Henry and Tommy's paths will diverge. Then, each must choose how to navigate the chasm that divides them in The Forever Home #1.

 

Art

Henry, dressed in a suit and sporting a trimmed goatee, sits at a dining table heaped with appetizing food and sips tea from fine bone China. After pouring the tea, Cecil rolls away. As the robot departs, his wife and daughter arrive. Sarah toys with her bacon, eggs, and potatoes. Elizabeth helps their young son sit in an upholstered chair. A puppy sleeps in a basket at Henry's feet.

 

While Sami Kivelä works across pages to reveal the grandeur awaiting the family outside and how their house sustains them, smaller panels provide close-ups and dramatic reactions in The Forever Home #1. Jason Wordie adorns the home in browns with accent colors, while brightly colored paintings hang on the walls. Against the unchanging 1970s interior design, the view outside the diamond-shaped wall of windows grows increasingly green. A limited palette enhances the foliage as it surrounds the A-frame house. Black silhouettes against red hint at more dramatic changes than Henry is prepared to accept.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou places black uppercase letters in dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Small, lowercase letters indicate lowered voices and may appear in backgrounds outside balloons. Words grow bold for intonation and swell for raised voices, while cloud-like balloons signify distress. Like his metal housing, Cecil speaks using green dialogue. The house addresses its father, Henry, in rectangular balloons. Sound effects accompany the Golden Labrador's actions as it grows up to be a family friend and proves just as curious as Tommy. Thanks to Oni Press and Superfan Promotions for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

As in Robert Charles Wilson’s Hugo Award-winning novel Spin, Humans live behind a protective barrier. It keeps them safe from the world outside. Yet, it restricts their movements and inhibits growth. As mythology replaces the facts they cannot learn while trapped inside, Henry fights to keep his family safe and secure in The Forever Home #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more cover art, see The Forever Home #1 Cover Preview. 

 

For more from Christian Ward, see Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 Review. 

 

For more from Sami Kivelä, see Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox TP Review.