Wynd #1by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 5 Wynd is a boy of magical descent, who must hide it. Elsewhere in the city, royal conspiracy is brewing.Well, this is surprisingly heavy. It opens with a boy, Wynd, turning into a monster and being bludgeoned many times (suggested more in the line of beaten to death) by his mom (or adoptive mom? Or sister?), which thankfully turns out to be a dream, but it sets a dark tone for this series. Then there's racist talk against "pointy ears" (Wynd), and a lot of "us versus them" talk from humans about Weirdbloods (magic people?), and a brutal killing of a magical plant creature. It wraps with the crown prince, in quite a nervous funk, confiding something dangerous in the gardener's son. The upside is that the three main male characters we meet (Wynd, the gardener's son, and the prince) are all suggested to be gay, or at least not straight. Thanks to how this is shown, I can't help but ship two different relationships. Wynd literally spies on the gardener's son. It's completely a one-sided relationship, as they've never met and likely would never meet (but I'm sure this story will have otherwise). Wynd's crush is totally based how the other boy looks, but it's wholesome in its naivety. The gardener's son is the prince's confidant, friend, and possibly more. Again, it seems more one-sided with regards to the "more" feelings, and their different stations means this relationship, too, would likely never go anywhere, but the gardener's son is so smitten, it's cute. Plus, he actually tries to be supportive of the prince. I know there's not enough to go on to fully ship either relationship, but the feelings are so real, it's easy to get swept away by it. The prince is too wrapped up in his current problem for me to get a good read on, but how he pulls away has me questioning if he's more asexual than gay. So, color me curious to know more about these characters and how their relationships might grow. I'm just not sure I have the interest or mental strength to read the rest of it right now. This town is all anti-anything non-human or magical to the point of violence and murderous intent. There's mention of another town where all kinds of people live together, but from this perspective it's all presented as a negative and as a constant threat that must be at least guarded against but preferably wiped out. It strikes me as poor timing to release this comic, especially given the original release date for this series (November 2020) and our current situation (to be fair, this came out mid-May). What is so special about this series that warranted bumping it up that much? I do like the art. It's well colored, with a variety of character designs, including for skin-tone and body type. Also, there are amazing hair designs, including for facial hair and eyebrows! Written: June 14, 2020
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