Wynd #1

Recap
In Pipetown (the last pure human stronghold in the world), magical heritage is liable to be punished by death. A young, pointy eared boy named Wynd must conceal his true identity to keep hold of his everyday life.
Review
This new series from James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas begins the first issue by jumping us straight into the action with an intriguing supernatural segment featuring our main protagonist metamorphosing into a creature which resembles a Griffin in the first six pages.
As I continued my read, I realized how clever this was of Tynion to commence with this as even though it immediately piqued my interest, I found it to be the best part of the issue. After that introduction I was enthused to read on to find out more. Smart placement.
The book then decelerates on the action as we start exploring Pieptown and the characters it had to showcase. We meet Oakley -Wynd’s best friend, Titus and Miss Molly his employers who I can envisage having a big role in this opening arc. In the latter half of the book we meet a gardener named Thorn (who seems to be a love interest of Wynd) and lastly the prince Yorick. I can see Tynion building a unique entourage here.
We also meet our potential villain here the Bandaged Man who is recalled by the King of Pipetown to eradicate any ‘Weirdbloods’ who are unwelcome within the town. Pipetown is portrayed as a stronghold which maintains strict decrees to keep gates shut and to keep out any magic inherited beings. From this we gain a sense that something extreme happened to put these laws in place.
The book draws a close with dialogue between Thorn and the prince that even though Yorick is next in line for the throne there is a threat of his uncle coming out of hiding with the knowledge of the king being sick which I’m sure will drive this plot for them throughout this opening act.
The artwork here comes across extremely cartoony for me personally, but I can admit come the end of the book works for the world they are constructing. Dialynas works it to his advantage to differentiate memorable appearances for main characters.
The book opened with some ghastly scenes but as it proceeded, I would not blame any reader to consider they may be reading a tale more suited for children with the somewhat cutesy artwork. This might make it difficult to more mature readers to get invested. The issue is a bit light on story to help more so build on the world and character introductions.
Final Thoughts
An impressive introduction to an intriguing new world with a compelling cast which will have the reader craving more!
Wynd #1: A Pipe-Dream World
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 7.5/107.5/10
- Art - 7.5/107.5/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 8.5/108.5/10