Review: Wynd Book 1: Flight of the Prince
Wynd is James Tynion IV’s latest project for Boom, released under the Boom Box imprint. It is a fantasy story that follows a (presumably) teenage character by the name of Wynd, who works in a tavern in the city of Pipetown. Beings with magical blood are forbidden within the city, which is a problem for Wynd and his pointed ears. So he covers them up and attempts to live a normal life, despite the strange dreams they bring him. Of course, dramatic events are soon set in motion. Wynd ends up on an adventure with his best friend (a sewage worker) and his crush (the son of the royal groundskeeper).
The story takes a little time to get going, and for that reason this first volume probably benefits from trade reading. But at a chunky 40 pages each, future issues are likely to move along at a decent pace. By the end of issue #2 (this volume contains #1-5), I was fully invested in the lives of Wynd, Oakley (friend), and Thorn (crush). Wynd has all the hallmarks of an excellent fantasy story brewing; a good mix of character archetypes, enjoyable worldbuilding, and an intriguing plot. As fans expect from Boom Box, representation and inclusivity are strong points for this book, which was nominated for Outstanding Comic Book at the 2021 GLAAD Media Awards.
Tynion describes Wynd as his “dream project”, having worked on it since he was in high school. His love for the story’s characters and world is plain to see, and makes them all the more endearing. The narrative subtext of ‘people shouldn’t fear those who are different’ is not particularly subtle, but we’ll forgive him on this one. After all, it’s pretty much always relevant, and X-Men writers have been using it for 60 years. Plus, this book has something of a YA/all-ages vibe, so subtlety is not particularly necessary.
A fantasy comic would be nothing without a great artist, but Wynd fortunately has one. Michael Dialynas reunites with Tynion after their success on The Woods. Elements of his art and coloring on Wynd will be familiar to readers of The Woods, but the style here is rather more cartoony. The characters are incredibly expressive, which allows the comic to deliver some serious emotional punches. The villains are imposing, and the magical creatures are often wonderful (and sometimes fearful) to behold. Dialynas uses muted colors in the oppressive city of Pipetown, and the pallette brightens when we venture outside it. The showstopper comes when a character is explaining some myths about the origins of their world. Here, Dialynas seamlessly switches between a variety of styles, layouts, and colors. Every page in this sequence could be a poster.
I’m not sure how many issues Tynion has planned for Wynd, but I fully intend to read them all. It’s not quite yet at the level of Bone, my fantasy comics benchmark, but it definitely has potential to get there.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars
Overall: 4.5 Stars
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Michael Dialynas
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Author Profile
- Yavi Mohan is a comic writer (and more frequently, comic reader) based in London. He is frequently overwhelmed by the number of comics in his reading list, to the extent that it sometimes delays his reading. This list includes every issue ever published with Spider-Man as the main character.
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