Escape #4 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist & Colorist: Daniel Acuña

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Daniel Acuña & Ryan Sook

Production Artist: Erika Schnatz

Editor: Gabe Dinger

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 26, 2025

 

Like other members of his crew, Flynn argued to abort bombing the Titan Cannon. But Milton believed the strike would end the war. So, even though he couldn't destroy the superweapon without inflicting significant collateral damage, Milton dropped 'Ol Sockeye's bombs anyway. Milton has fled Narenian soldiers since he abandoned his ailing plane. How long can he remain at large? And how does Milton feel about his actions? Let's leap into Escape #4 and see!

 

Story

Exhausted, bleeding, and his knee giving him gyp, Milton broke into a shop and hid in the basement. He awakens in a bed. Across the room, a child sits and reads. Milton's first thought is to complete his mission. Perhaps, if Flynn has survived his injuries and the parachute landing, Milton can reunite with his friend. Maybe they can even destroy the Titan Cannon and find a way home. But as Milton searches for his satchel with the maps and explosives, he frightens the boy.

 

In Escape #4, the boy isn’t the only one frightened. Milton never wanted to go to war. But when Ruth became pregnant, Milton knew he had to safeguard his wife and unborn child. His longing for home and his missing friend played through his mind while he slept. Now, as Milton awakens, memories feel like reality, while his present resembles a nightmare.

 

Rick Remender continues the dialogue Milton began with Flynn and his late crew before he made his fateful decision. Only this time, Milton can't dismiss the enemy soldiers by turning magazine photos into caricatures. Instead, he comes face-to-face with Narenians. His enemy's arguments threaten to undermine Milton’s justification for going to war. And his forgiving spirit shakes Milton’s assurance of the rightness of his actions in Escape #4.

 

Art

A red, blue, and gold flag hangs from the porch of Milton’s home. Flynn awaits him amid the swooping elegance of his red convertible. As Milton hesitates on the front steps, Ruth stands behind him, adorned in a blue maternity dress. Her face and hair take on a reddish hue as Milton realizes what he is giving up. Lush greenery surrounds the homes with spacious yards as Flynn drives him off to war.

 

Compared with the suburban paradise he left behind, Daniel Acuña fills Milton’s present with darkness in Escape #4. He awakens in a room with cracked plaster, boarded-up windows, and laundry hanging across the room. Yellow-white light pierces the gray and green gloom. Paintings adorn the living room walls, while a metal bowl on the floor contains the red proof of its occupant’s ministrations. Brown wooden floors, a radio, and a grandfather clock link the make-do domesticity with Milton's fur. But a glance outside reveals a busy gray street, adorned with red accents, hints of blue, and purple-white flags.

 

Rus Wooton fills ivory dialogue balloons and beige narrative boxes with narrow black uppercase letters. Words grow bold for intonation, and arrows zigzag between speakers and balloons. Sound effects attend Narenian hospitality, while giant red punctuation marks in a gray balloon accompany Milton’s attempt to mend fences. Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

When Milton takes refuge in a shop cellar, a family helps him recover. Milton is confused and unwilling to admit that his leaders duped him with rhetoric. But while Milton refuses to budge from his preconceptions, the Narenian who risks his life to help him echoes the views of Milton’s late crew in Escape #4.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For another cover option see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Escape #3 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist & Colorist: Daniel Acuña

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Daniel Acuña & Greg Tocchini

Production Artist: Erika Schnatz

Editors: Gabe Diner & Iván Brandon

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 22, 2025

 

Milton never imagined going to war. Despite his rough childhood, he fulfilled his dream of buying a plane. But when Ruth and her father stumped for Walter Donovan in the same wheatfield where he ran his flight business, Milton offered her a ride. Years later, Milton is deep in Narenian territory. He lost his plane and his crew, and the bombs he dropped didn’t reach their target.

 

Milton knows he can't return home to Ruth. Still, he wants to safeguard his child's future and prevent the spread of fascism across the free world. Can Milton slip through the Narenian soldiers and reach his objective? Or did he sacrifice his crew and blacken his soul for nothing? Let’s put on our flight jackets, leap into Escape #3, and see!

 

Story

Milton prepped for this mission by defacing photos of Narenian soldiers. His best friend, Lieutenant Flynn, argued that most Narenian soldiers were like themselves: good people caught in a bad situation. But Milton sacrificed to be here because President Donovan described the Bats as an unstoppable force marching across their allies' homelands. Milton insisted no one could pressure him into something he didn't want to do. People who commit atrocities are monsters, full stop.

 

But when the Bats damaged his plane, Milton pressed on. And when Billy told him the Titan Cannon was in a heavily populated quarter, Milton dropped 'Ol Sockeye's bombs anyway. The bombs didn’t destroy the Narenian super weapon. But they leveled residential areas. In Escape #3, Milton slips through the ruined buildings and rubble-strewn streets. He tells himself that his opponents, even enlisted teens, are just animals. The Narenian soldiers are hungry for revenge. And they shout after him, "Child-killer!" But Milton doesn't understand their language.

 

Rick Remender's story is a desperate race through the night. It's pitch-black, with the buildings and street lamps under blackout conditions. Despite his promise to find Flynn, Milton's thoughts center on Ruth and their unborn child. Amid his desperate search for the Titan Cannon, Milton clings to the hope that his actions will protect his homeland.

 

In Escape #3, Milton inhabits a nightmare. He's done something he claimed he would never do if he were in the Narenians' shoes. But the soldier who once sought to find beauty in every moment can't focus on that. Instead, Milton focuses on killing everyone in his way until he can commit another act of violence that may secure peace.

 

Art

A Bat carrying a rifle appears in an opening in a wall. Instead of his captain's hat, a bloody bandage winds around Milton's head as he crouches behind the brickwork. While the Narenian's flashlight limits the Bat's vision, Milton sneaks up behind him. Out in the street, an officer’s head whirls when Milton and the soldier scuffle. Automatic gunfire illuminates a window in the darkened building.

 

Limited tones lend visibility to Daniel Acuña’s detailed penciling as Milton fights for his life. He scrambles and falls over piles of rubble. Bat ears poke through the helmets of Narenian soldiers clad in uniforms and capes. Officers wear long coats, carry larger rifles, and leave their heads uncovered. Blues, grays, and purples reveal characters amid the darkness, while guns blossom yellow, orange, and white. A trail of red alerts a guard, and later clouds the water, as Milton fights to reach his objective in Escape #3.

 

Rus Wooton fills ivory dialogue balloons with narrow black uppercase letters. Milton’s stream of consciousness appears in beige narrative boxes. As the Narenians’ dialogue appears within greater than and less than symbols, Milton discerns but one word amid the shouting. But when his enemy's utterances swell, turn crimson, and threaten to burst their balloons, Milton understands them perfectly. Sound effects accompany Milton’s desperate flight amid hand-to-hand fighting, and the volleys of bullets that are anything but 21-gun salutes. Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

A war film and newsreel footage of his president declaring war inspired Milton to join the military. But by then, he had already sacrificed the life he enjoyed for the woman he loved. Before he met Ruth, Milton was the king of the skies. Now, he’s a war criminal, hoping to toss his life away to achieve a military objective. Escape #3 is a fast-paced action thriller that reminds us of the power of rhetoric and the cost of war upon the Human soul. 

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For another cover option see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Escape #1 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist & Colorist: Daniel Acuña

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Daniel Acuña, Michael WM Kaluta, Steve Epting & Tradd Moore

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 20, 2025

 

War is hell. At least, that's how Lieutenant Flynn sees it. All the narrow escapes and the people he has killed weigh on his soul. As they approach the target for his crew’s twenty-eighth mission together, the copilot wonders how much longer he can continue. But Captain Milton feels only disdain for the enemy. The Narenians started this war. He’s going to end it. Will the crew of Ol' Sockeye fulfill their mission? And what will victory or failure cost them? Let’s put on our flight jackets, leap into Escape #1, and see!

 

Story

Captain Milton has a routine. During each mission, Milton reminds himself of the enemy's cruelties and how bombing the Narenian targets avenges their victims. He paints the enemy with a thick brush, and the bristles cover everyone in their armed forces. But as the bombing crew embarks on their latest mission, Lieutenant Flynn gripes about Milton's mantra. He points out that the Narenian leadership is responsible for the deaths and atrocities. Draftees lack the luxury of selectively obeying orders.

 

In Escape #1, Flynn's boldness prompts a discussion. The crew knows that with every bomb they drop, people die. Of the soldiers, most are just patriots supporting their country’s leadership. Magoo, who occupies the greenhouse-style gun turret, reminds them that conditions are dire back home. Then, ground-to-air missiles curtail the discussion. Milton and his crew must set aside their moral musings and focus on achieving their objective.

 

While Escape #1 starts with a discussion, Rick Remender's story quickly escalates. But as the characters fight for their lives, the ethical considerations hang in the air. For Milton, the lines are clear. The Narenians’ atrocities make success imperative at any cost. Milton's crew knows they are bucking the odds by succeeding and surviving so many missions. Still, it’s important to them how they win the war.

 

Art

While Flynn pilots their craft, Milton applies a red pen to black and white photos in a glossy magazine. His markings emphasize the Narenians’ ears and eyes. Regardless of species, Milton gives them all incisors and slanted eyebrows. Flynn's dispassionate expression, long snout, upturned ears, and peaked hat link him with the Narenian bats. With the pipe clenched in his canines, Milton's ursine features are more expressive than his cigarette-smoking colleague's. But as Milton studies the photos of a cheering assembly, Daniel Acuña suggests how reverence for the flag amplifies patriotism.

 

Touches of yellow, orange, red, and blue enliven the gray military aircraft. Yellow, red, and blue nose art adorns the bomber, as does the fanciful name. Beige, gray, and orange form blotchy patterns in the blue sky like paint in a water tank. Then red splashes the sky and the bomber's interior in Escape #1. Blue and purple adorn Milton's face as he faces decisions that will define his future.

 

Rus Wooton fills ivory dialogue balloons with narrow black uppercase letters. Words in closely spaced rows grow bold for intonation, enlarge for increased volume, and rarely shrink. Larger colored letters herald gunfire, shearing metal, and explosions, while gray words written on bombs clarify the crew’s feelings about their enemies. Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

When people attack you, it's easy to respond in kind. But in war, the choices become less clear, especially when your actions could prevent the death of millions. Escape #1 tackles the cost war takes on our souls, and how fighting for the people and causes we care about can turn us into the people we despise.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

The Seasons #5 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Paul Azaceta

Colorist: Matheus Lopes

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Paul Azaceta & Bengal

Designers: Harper Jaten & Erika Schnatz

Production Artist: Erika Schnatz

Editors: Gabe Dinger & Iván Brandon

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 25, 2025

 

Autumn sent Spring a letter, urging her youngest sister and Winter to flee New Gaulia. But Winter believes Spring is inventing stories about an evil carnival to amuse herself. Then she finds Spring cleaning up broken glass near the front door. All the letters and packages Spring should have delivered lay scattered across the floor. Winter worries that Spring’s fantasizing has taken a destructive turn. She appeals to the 14-year-old to stop inventing stories. But after securing Spring’s promise, Winter finds Spring with Autumn's broken hope chest. Her world-traveling sister's keepsakes are in disarray.

 

Winter decides Spring needs a firmer hand and resolves to send her to a boarding school. Besides, Winter needs to devote herself to her art. Will Winter carry out her threat? Or can Spring convince Winter to let her remain at home? Let's leap onto our scooters, ride into The Seasons #5, and find out!

 

Story

While Autumn traveled the world searching for their parents, Summer sailed to photo shoots and celebrity events on her yacht. Spring has every reason to be angry with Summer. The supermodel could have sent them money instead of forcing her younger sister to work to pay the mortgage and buy groceries. Yet when Spring hears on the radio that Summer is attending tonight's show, she leaps on her scooter and races down to the carnival. But Spring can't push through the crowd and can only watch as Winter enters the tent.

 

In The Seasons #5, one more pillar of Spring’s life crumbles when Summer leaves the tent holding a mirror before her eyes. Then Winter arrives on her motorcycle in one final attempt to convince Spring to see things from her perspective. Winter's unwillingness to embrace Spring's views forces the girl to a desperate act. Spring must brave the evil of the carnival alone. But then, as her parents once told her, “The only thing you can count on in this world is yourself.”

 

After Summer grabbed the spotlight in the last issue, Spring retakes command of Rick Remender’s story in The Seasons #5. Everyone in Spring’s life has let her down. No one in her family or New Gaulia wants her. The 14-year-old might have an easier journey if she acquiesced to Winter's decision and left to attend boarding school. But Spring braves the danger because, even if they don't care about her, she wants her family back. After seeing proof of how the carnival gains power by mesmerizing others, Spring wants to learn how to prevent this great evil from spreading across the world.

 

Art

Matheus Lopes shows yellow, green, purple, red, and blue streamers emerge from beneath the pink drapes hanging before the tent entrance. Spring raises her hands as they rise like levitating snakes. The 14-year-old girl leaps back, covering her face as they whirl around and snap at her. The pennants lining the entrance also shake. Searchlights surrounding the colorful tents project yellow beams into the green, blue, and black sky. 

 

In The Seasons #5, Paul Azeceta shows the sea surrounding New Gaulia. Boats rock in the bay and anchor by the pier. Shops and homes climb the steep hills facing the ocean. Summer may only have eyes for the cheering fans and the advertisements and theater marquee shouting her greatness. But when Winter roars up on her motorcycle, Spring grabs her fishbowl and stares down at Gilbert. Paul Azeceta hints at another reason for Winter's unhappiness as she rests a hand on Spring's shoulder. But Spring shrugs off her sister's gesture and runs into the darkness inside the tent.

 

Rus Wooton fills white and ivory balloons with uppercase black letters. The dialogue swells, grows bold, and rarely shrinks as Spring braves her beautiful nightmare in The Seasons #5. Sound effects help us hear Summer nearly get killed along the seawall and Spring have a great fall as the 14-year-old tries to put her family together again. Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

The Seasons are a successful and talented family. Yet, their ambitions drive them apart. In their parents' absence, the sisters drift away from each other. As Spring strives to reclaim her family, The Seasons #5 evokes Albus Dumbledore's words about the Mirror of Erised.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

The Seasons TP Vol 1 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Paul Azaceta

Colorist: Matheus Lopes

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $12.99

Release Date: June 18, 2025

 

As Spring Seasons speeds through the streets of New Gaulia, Gilbert sloshes in his fishbowl strapped to the back of her scooter. Today, the young postal carrier passes the shops and businesses she should stop at. Spring pursues Autumn's letter, which got lost in the mail. But each time the girl reaches for it, the wind whisks away the envelope covered in stamps.

 

Can Spring reclaim her sister's errant letter? And what news might it convey about her fractured family? Let’s leap on our scooters, race into The Seasons TP Vol 1, and find out!

 

Story

Spring’s parents are missing and presumed dead. While her sisters Summer and Autumn travel the world, Spring holds down a job and attends school. The girl makes her meals, cleans her parents' house, and pays the bills. She tries not to bother Winter, who locks herself away to paint her next masterpiece. But Autumn's letter changes everything for Spring and Winter. Or at least it should.

 

In The Seasons TP Vol 1, Autumn travels to Neocairo. The reporter finds people have abandoned their daily pursuits. The city slows to a standstill as people stare into mirrors. Autumn writes Spring that she believes she knows what happened to their parents. She also warns Spring about the magical carnival that recently left Neocairo. But when the carnival arrives in New Gaulia, Winter refuses to believe anything her younger sister says.

 

Rick Remender's story portrays how adults often overlook children's capabilities. It also highlights how we can lose touch with those around us. Spring Seasons has discussions with her goldfish. Still, the imaginative schoolgirl may be the most centered person in New Gaulia.

 

Art

Paul Azaceta jumpstarts The Seasons TP Vol 1 as Spring flies over the crest of a hill like a motocross star. The pigtailed girl hurtles down the cobblestone street on her scooter. She passes ladies burdened down with their shopping and a shop owner reading a book with his coffee. As Spring sends packages, coffee, cakes, and her goldfish flying, the breeze keeps her sister's letter just out of reach.

 

Matheus Lopes fills Spring’s adventures with a soft palette of soothing colors suited to this Old-World town. Like her sister Autumn, Spring has red hair that contrasts with her blue courier uniform. Her sister Winter has short black hair and blue lips, while a snowflake adorns her black choker. As for her blonde sister, Summer gazes down on roofs where a chimney sweep carries out his duties with a jetpack. But while her face adorns the billboard, Summer travels the world on a yacht. When the magical carnival arrives, the clowns and steam-powered machines fill the streets bordered by gray and green rowhouses with vibrant, eye-catching colors.

 

Rus Wooton begins The Seasons TP Vol 1 with small, tightly spaced lowercase black letters in ivory newspaper clippings. Autumn's writing appears as italicized lowercase letters in beige paper scraps. People, clowns, and other creatures speak larger uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons. The letters swell, shrink, and change colors. Sound effects enhance Spring’s struggle to provide for her family, Autumn’s search for her parents, and the excitement the magical carnival brings to Gaulia. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

In an alternative 1920s, Spring Seasons yearns to learn what happened to her mother and father. A traveling carnival could provide hints as to where they went. But before she also went missing, Autumn warned Spring against the entertainers who have left millions mesmerized.

 

Pursuing this mystery could cost the schoolgirl everything. Or it could free Spring to pursue her fondest desires. Filled with folklore, magic, and entrancing characters, The Seasons TP Vol 1 combines Pippi Longstocking, Tintin, and Indiana Jones in a fun, frantic, and fascinating adventure.

 

Rating: 9.8/10

 

For more covers see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

 

To look inside my preview for The Seasons #1. 

The Seasons #4 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Paul Azaceta

Colorist: Matheus Lopes

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Paul Azaceta; Max Fuimara & Dave McCaig

Editor/Designer: Harper Jaten

Designer/Production: Erika Schnatz

Assistant Editor: Gabe Dinger

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 30, 2025

 

Winter Seasons loves her younger sister. So when her parents disappear, and Summer and Autumn want to send Spring to boarding school, Winter agrees to be her sister’s guardian. But Spring continually interrupts her work. Her youngest sister craves attention and makes up fantasy diversions. When she hears Spring yelling and leaves her room to investigate, Winter finds the entry hall a mess. Mail lies scattered on the floor. Her youngest sister is cleaning up a broken window and blames it on the magical carnival.

 

Winter realizes that Spring needs an intervention. So she makes a nice dinner and asks her younger sister not to make up any more stories. That evening, she hears more shouting and crashing. Winter finds Spring amid more wreckage in Autumn’s room, and Spring blames it on the magical carnival. Will Winter carry out her threat? Or can Spring convince Winter to let her remain at home? Let's leap onto our scooters, ride into The Seasons #4, and find out!

 

Story

The same man who left Spring an invitation to the magical carnival tried to steal Autumn’s hope chest. But when the book spills out of the damaged wooden container, Spring believes what he wanted was Autumn’s diary. Her sister’s journal doesn’t just record Autumn’s thoughts and adventures. Autumn copied her parents’ research into its pages. Winter never believes anything Spring says, but Spring believes everything Autumn writes.

 

In The Seasons #4, Spring hopes that by reading her sister's book, she can find the proof to convince Winter the carnival is evil. Then perhaps Winter will follow Autumn's advice in the letter and flee New Gaulia. Or at least persuade Winter not to send her to boarding school. But as she reads, the radio announcer mentions that his sister Summer will attend the magical carnival tonight.

 

Her parents’ disappearance fractured Spring’s family. While Autumn searches the world to find them, Summer and Winter are miserable celebrities. Winter spends each day painting in her room. Summer graces photoshoots and gala events and cruises around on a yacht. As Winter exposes her misery in her paintings, Summer hides her misery behind a façade of glamour. Despite their differences, both sisters take out their misery on the people around them.

 

Art

Spring sits in a round chair stuffed with cushions while Gilbert swims in the fishbowl at her feet. As she reads Autumn's dairy and nibbles from a bag of Astro Knots, Spring envisions researchers exploring ancient burial sites. The young detective smiles as she gazes at Gilbert and announces she has discovered a clue. When Spring rises in The Seasons #4, her knees lock together as she hears the radio announcement.

 

Matheus Lopes adorns Paul Azeceta’s scenes of Spring's research and Summer's car ride in limited tones. But when Summer leaves the vehicle, pages explode with color. Red roses greet the beauty adorned in a pink dress, candy apple red nails, and blood orange shoes. Carnival workers surround the red-carpeted stairs while a costumed figure atop stilts expels a gout of yellow and orange. Inside the circus tent, cool tones embrace the enthusiastic audience. Yellow, orange, and red provoke rapturous applause. Yet Summer sits nonplussed, her arms hugging her chest, as orange and yellow confetti fall like leaves. 

 

Rus Wooton broadcasts this magical mystery using uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons. The letters swell, grow bold, change color for emphasis, and rarely shrink as Spring seeks answers to her family’s dilemma in The Seasons #4. Sound effects help us hear fireworks erupting and the magical carnival demanding a toll for captivity. Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As a celebrated model, Summer has spent her life gazing into mirrors. Yet mirrors hold their dangers. Far from exposing photographs, mirrors filter our perceptions through our fears, hopes, and expectations. The inhabitants of Neocairo found their reflections so fascinating that they gave up on the world around them. And they are not the only ones who let mirrors imprison them in The Seasons #4.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Seasons #3 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Paul Azaceta

Colorist: Matheus Lopes

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Paul Azaceta & Ben Caldwell

Editor/Designer: Harper Jaten

Designer/Production: Erika Schnatz

Assistant Editor: Gabe Dinger

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 26, 2025

 

Autumn Seasons sent her youngest sister a letter. The world-traveling investigative journalist claimed she knew what happened to their parents. Autumn warned Spring that the family was in danger, but Winter refused to leave town. Then someone broke into their home, rifled through Spring’s mailbag, and left an invitation to the Magical Carnival. Will Spring Seasons attend the circus that left Neocairo lifeless? Or will Winter have a change of heart? Let's leap onto our scooters, ride into The Seasons #3, and find out!

 

Story

Spring Seasons dreams of becoming a chef. Her job as a letter courier pays the mortgage in her parents and sisters' absence. While Winter toils over paintings in her studio each day, Spring rises early, cleans the house, delivers letters, attends school, delivers more letters, eats dinner alone, and (hopefully) does her homework before falling asleep. It's unfair, but the young girl does her best, even if no one else appreciates her hard work.

 

Winter upends a barrel of emotions on Spring in The Seasons #3. She claims the other sisters wanted to send Spring to boarding school, but she protected Spring's interests by keeping her at home. After reproving Spring for another interruption, Winter adopts kindness. Rick Remender portrays Winter as a woman who claims to be loving. Yet she manipulates Spring by constantly changing the rules and casts the blame for any problems in the relationship on her younger sister.

 

The residents of New Gaulia celebrate Winter’s painting, Autumn’s adventuring, and Summer’s modeling. Compared with her sisters’ glittering accomplishments, Spring seems like a disappointment. Their anger over Spring’s disregard for their safety while pursuing Winter’s letter is understandable. Yet they all treat Spring as chattel in The Seasons #3, readily disposed of when her irritations exceed the benefits she provides them.

 

Art

A hill separates the Seasons’ home from the circus tents in New Gaulia. When Spring parks her scooter outside the façade of Snail Mail, Mr Jelacker leans over his desk and points at her. Two finely dressed women surround Spring with bags of clothing when she returns to her scooter. Spring turns to regard a frowning Chimney King, clad in his cap and jetpack. He stands with hands on hips before toting up sums on his mechanical calculator. All the while, and after another member of the town turns his back on the "disrespectful ragamuffin," Gilbert gazes up at her with wide eyes from the bowl bungee-strapped onto her scooter.

 

Matheus Lopes adorns Paul Azeceta’s classic illustrations with a bright, cheery palette in The Seasons #3. When night falls, subdued yellow, green, and orange surround Spring in a darkened room. When she ventures out, the flickering candle projects a globe of yellow. Greens, blues, browns, and yellows enliven a brighter room that evokes a museum storeroom. An orange book and antics akin to Indiana Jones suggest which sister has most influenced Spring. 

 

Rus Wooton broadcasts this story from a parallel Earth in 1924 using uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons. The letters swell, grow bold, change color for emphasis, and rarely shrink. Spring's hero wages war on villains and schemers in starry balloons with lightning bolt arrows. Sound effects help us hear a slamming door, a shocking theft, a distant crash, and a magical transformation in The Seasons #3. Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

While Winter strives for perfection, she claims that nothing matters. Her sisters Autumn and Summer travel the world, performing prestigious jobs, but send no money home. Spring's vivid imagination may have helped her stave off loneliness after her parents’ death. But the girl’s enthusiasm for life and devotion to her family proves her undoing when the Magical Carnival comes to town in The Seasons #3.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Seasons #2 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Paul Azaceta

Colorist: Matheus Lopes

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Paul Azaceta & Ramón K Pérez

Editor/Designer: Harper Jaten

Designer/Production: Erika Schnatz

Assistant Editor: Gabe Dinger

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: February 26, 2025

 

Autumn Seasons sent her sister a letter. But Spring lost it. When she found it again, the letter led Spring on a not-so-merry chase through the streets of New Gaulia. Autumn warned her youngest sister about a magical carnival. She urged Spring to flee New Gaulia. But by the time Spring opened the letter, the carnival had arrived. Is it too late for Spring and her family to escape the dangers that prompted Autumn’s letter? Let's leap onto our scooters, ride into The Seasons #2, and find out!

 

Story

Autumn Seasons may be a senior correspondent for The Global Gazette. But she's also an explorer. The mystery she most wishes to solve involves her parents. Autumn told Spring she found her parents in her letter. Yet when we glimpse Autumn in The Seasons #2, the explorer rides a motorcycle through a desolate land. Perhaps her statement in the letter was premature. As Autumn rides toward a temple on a hill guarded by a giant ape, she follows notes from her father’s journal.

 

Back home in New Gaulia, Spring races home to deliver Autumn’s warning to Winter. But her older sister hates distractions. Like Summer, who rarely contacts them, Winter spends her days absorbed in her work. With her parents missing, Autumn and Summer away, and Winter dissatisfied with her paintings, Spring relies on Gilbert to keep her sane. Perhaps her goldfish doesn’t speak psychically to her. Still, Spring needs someone to have intelligent discussions with. At least the humorous interplay staves off her loneliness.

 

Rick Remender sets his whimsical mystery in an alternative 1924. Spring resides in her parents' quiet and empty mansion in New Gaulia. In their absence, each daughter goes her separate way. Winter believes she is raising Spring. Yet the fourteen-year-old letter carrier spends her days working to put food on the table. Perhaps Spring will realize her dream of becoming a famous chef if she doesn’t fall prey to the malaise that struck the population of Neocairo. Like the sisters in The Seasons #2, even the strongest families can fracture when loved ones leave or die.

 

Art

Nothing symbolizes the seasons like foliage and flowers. Matheus Lopes lavishes a lively, limited palette on Paul Azaceta’s cheery, sad, picturesque, and eerie art. Blue flowers rise in a purple desert as Autumn rides toward a plateau beneath a yellow sky and an enormous moon. Red leaves adorn the pouch strapped to her belt as Autumn climbs the steps toward the ape sitting in the temple portico. Dried stems arise from a bottle in Winter's room, and snowflake ornaments hang from a pole. A lamp illuminates yellow and coral flowers in a vase. But the flowers in Winter’s painting are blue.

 

No flowers surround Summer as she lounges in a metal and canvas chair beneath a pink umbrella. But the purple sunglasses protecting her eyes from the tropical glare evoke a flower with closed petals. The opposite is true for Spring in The Seasons #2. A vase in the entry hall greets her when she returns home with Autumn's letter. The flowers burst forth in a crowded bouquet. Their bluish-purple petals spread wide to echo Spring's uniform.

 

Parchment scraps of italicized lowercase letters narrate an adventure that evokes early 20th-century occult authors like HP Lovecraft. People speak small, uppercase white letters that grow bold, shrink and swell, change colors, and deform balloons. Rus Wooton helps us hear grating in a crypt, Gilbert's bubble speech, Winter's anger, and the applause that greets Summer's announcement before a clown appears when you least expect it. Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Autumn wanders a strange land. Winter struggles with her muse. Fame isolates Summer. Abandoned by her family and forced to grow up before her time, Spring must decide to leave one sister to find another or brave the dangers of the magical carnival alone in The Seasons #2.

 

Rating 9.4/10 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Seasons #1 Review

 

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Paul Azaceta

Colorist: Matheus Lopes

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Paul Azaceta, Jordi Lafebre, Kent Williams & Wes Craig

Editor/Designer: Harper Jaten

Designer/Production: Erika Schnatz

Assistant Editor: Gabe Dinger

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: January 29, 2025

 

Spring Seasons has three sisters. Summer and Winter live with her in New Gaulia. She hasn’t heard from Autumn in weeks. When she gets a letter from Autumn, Spring can’t wait to read it. But a gust of wind snatches the letter away. Can Spring recapture her sister’s letter? And how might Autumn’s message relate to other mysterious events occurring in her world? Let's leap onto our scooters, zoom into The Seasons #1, and find out!

 

Story

Autumn Seasons is a senior correspondent for The Global Gazette. She has written about the silence that has fallen on Neocairo. Air Traffic Control no longer communicates with arriving airplanes. No one responds to telegrams. People who travel there do not return.

 

Recently, Autumn has gone as silent as Neocairo. So when Spring gets a letter from Autumn, and the wind blows it out of her hands, Spring hops onto her scooter. She slips between pedestrians and forces them to move out of her way. Her antics provoke outrage and endanger her future as a letter carrier.

 

Spring speaks as readily to animals and birds as she does to Humans. Perhaps she understands their vocalizations. Spring lives in a world separated from us by time in The Seasons #1. Names like New Gualia, Neocairo, Lilve River, and the University of Rexandria suggest an alternative history. Spring's world resembles ours from a century ago. Yet modern plastic bins line New Gaulian streets on trash pickup days. Workers use jetpacks instead of cherry pickers and cranes.

 

Rick Remender ushers us into a world that has known war. Yet, people get on with their lives. They wear fine clothes and uniforms when they venture outside in New Gaulia. They purchase muffins, breads, and cakes from Pat's Bakery. Readers can procure the latest vampire novel and coffee in a disposable cup from Beans N Books. A billboard promotes perfume.

 

While no one complains when the circus hits town, perhaps they should. In The Seasons #1, Neocairo fell silent when the circus left town. No one there rides a scooter through the wreckage-strewn streets. Nor do they enjoy a muffin and coffee while reading the latest vampire novel.

 

Art

Spring races down the cobblestone street past stores and shoppers. Her scooter hits the crest of the road and hurtles into the air. Spring's braids and jacket catch the wind as she races downhill. Spring bumps onto the curb and knocks hats, purses, and boxes into the air. Gilbert splashes from the water-filled globe strapped to Spring's scooter in The Seasons #1. Then Spring demonstrates feats that evoke action in the big tent as she pursues an envelope covered in stamps.

 

Compared with Spring’s frantic actions in New Gaulia, the inhabitants of Neocairo are more sedate. They sprawl on the ground. People slump against walls. Most stare into a hand mirror and smile. While Matheus Lopes paints New Gaulia in lively pastels, Neocairo burns with yellow, orange, tan, and brown. Only the festive circus brings vibrancy to the desert town. Camels lie in rubble-strewn streets, fires burn, and smoke rises into the sky.

 

Like the mirrors that fascinate Neocairo's inhabitants, purple invades Autumn’s black and orange passenger car. But Paul Azaceta leaves the windows blank in The Seasons #1 as Autumn writes her letter. After writing Urgent in big red letters, the reporter affixes stamps to an envelope.

 

Autumn writes italicized lowercase letters onto scraps of beige parchment. People express their concerns with uppercase white letters. Rus Wooton enlivens Spring's racing, flying, and crashing with enlarged colored dialogue and vibrant sound effects. But the small, lowercase excerpts from Autumn's report squeeze into off-white boxes. Barking fills the air in Neocairo, expressing outrage at the departing circus. Thanks to Image Comics and Giant Generator for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

In The Seasons #1, a traveling circus infects spectators with a strange malaise. Spring Seasons yearns to learn what Autumn has discovered about her troubled family. But Autumn's letter arrives as a circus hits town, and a clown gives Spring a gift.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

For a look inside, more covers, and creator interviews see my preview for The Seasons #1.

 

This review was originally published on Comic Book Dispatch.