''The Woods'' is a serialized

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

written by

James Tynion IV James Tynion IV (born December 14, 1987) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his work on the Batman franchise at DC Comics, his DC Black Label series ''The Nice House on the Lake'' and his independent series '' Department of ...

, with art by Michael Dialynas. In the story, more than 500 students, faculty, and staff from a

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

preparatory school vanish from Earth, and reappear on the forested moon of a planet in another

star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or '' galaxy'', although, broadly speak ...

. ''The Woods'' was published by

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in Holly ...

in 36 issues, from May 2014 to October 2017. Distributors bought every copy of the first issue the day it was made available for

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

purchase; Boom Studios! issued a second printing with a slightly different cover design. The entire series was later anthologized in nine volumes, which Boom! Studios published from September 2014 to March 2018. Honours for ''The Woods'' include "Best Graphic Novel for Young Adults" (, 2016) and the

GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book is an annual award that honors comic books for excellence in the depiction of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) characters and themes. It is one of several categories of the annual ...

(2017).

Plot

The story begins at a

college-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

in the suburbs of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, a city in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. From there, 513 people—including 437 students, 52 teachers, and 24 staff—disappear on the date October 16, 2013. They reappear on a forest-covered moon in an uncharted part of the universe. The story follows seven students in particular: Isaac Andrews, Karen Jacobs, Calder McCready, Sanami Ota, Maria Ramirez, Adrian Roth, and Benjamin Stone.

Illustration

After James Tynion wrote ''The Woods'', Boom Studios helped to find an artist to draw the comic. "We were looking at a bunch of people, but when I saw Michael ialynas character work, it made me see… the characters in my head, and they had come to life in a way that was wholly them, and in that moment, it was a no brainer," Tynion said. Among Dialynas' previous illustration credits are ''Amala's Blade'' (

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

, 2012), ''Trinkets: An Attic Full of Stories'' (Comicdom Press, 2011), and ''Swan Songs: Fleeting Feathers'' (Comicdom Press, 2010).

Collected editions

The series was originally published in nine volumes that cover the three years the characters are on the forested moon. The nine volumes were also collected into three "Yearbook" editions.

Reception

In 2016, the

Young Adult Library Services Association The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

named ''The Woods'' the "Best Graphic Novel for Young Adults" of the year. In 2017,

GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...

awarded Tynion the

for his work on ''The Woods''. ''The Woods'' was renominated in 2018; that year, it was one of three Tynion stories to be nominated.

Television adaptation

In December 2016, US television channel

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

was announced to have begun developing a series based on the comic, but the project stalled. The screen adaptation was written by Michael Armbruster, with episodes set to be produced and directed by

Brad Peyton Brad Peyton (born May 27, 1978) is a Canadian film director, writer, and producer, best known for directing the Dwayne Johnson star vehicles '' Journey 2: The Mysterious Island'' (2012), '' San Andreas'' (2015), and '' Rampage'' (2018) as well ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods Comic 2014 comics debuts American graphic novels Boom! Studios titles Comics about extraterrestrial life Comics set in the 2010s GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book winners Isekai comics Science fiction graphic novels Works set on fictional moons