Numbers 13-15- Family Tree- Jeff Lemire et all

This is a short series by Jeff Lemire (Gideon Falls, Descender, Sweet Tooth) who has rapidly become one of my go to names for graphic novels.I fully intended to only read volume 1 and leave it till next month, but once I started, I had to see it through to the end. It's that good. The story starts with Loretta Hayes, a harassed checkout worker at a small town supermarket, being called to her son Josh's school by the  principal.  Her 8 year old daughter Meg has a nasty looking rash on her arm. 

While Loretta is facing ritual humiliation from the principal, a mysterious old man with a wooden hand gives Meg something for her "rash" and leaves. 

That sentence accidentally works in both possible meanings. the old man has left, and at home in the evening, Loretta discovers Meg has leaves growing out of her back and is slowly turning into a tree.

The old man turns out to be her father in law who has news for her about the real reason her husband left two years earlier.

Lemire writes weirdness rather brilliantly and this is no exception. From this distinctly bizarre setup, the story spins into an apocalyptic fantasy centred on a strong family drama,

Lemire manages to juggle 3 or 4 different timelines in the narrative without ever putting a foot wrong.  The future segments are foreshadowing at its best for the present day narration. The past secments provide clarification of what's going on at just the right time.

The artwork by Phil Hester is top notch too. Lemire likes to play with layout to add extra depth and meaning to the story, or just to look cool, and, once again,  this is no exception.  This below is one of my favourites in the three volumes. 

It's a unique story, mixing genres and timelines and heartfelt family drama. The pacing is nigh on perfect. The villains are suitably nasty,  yet relatable. There are enough shades of grey to keep them multi-dimensional. 

It was compulsive reading and i was so glad I had all three volumes close at hand.  It would have been too frustrating to try to find the follow ups if I'd had to leave the story after either of those cliffhangers. collecting the 12 volumes of the original comic must have been a special type of purgatory with the wait between each issue.