The Creators – Jason Aaron – Writer, Mahmud Asrar – Artist, Matthew Wilson – Colours, Becca Carey – Letters

The Players – Slade Slaymaker, Sydney Slaymaker, their Mom, their Dad (deceased), Pac (a Rhino beetle)

The Story – The Slaymakers are currently going through bankruptcy and have been forced to move back to the old family home, abandoned for the past twelve years. Unkonwn to them, the yard and surrounding area is home to numerous clans, armies and Mytes – bugs who have a kingdom all their own.

The Take – Upon reading the first couple of pages, one will notice almost immediately that this is not a book for children, unlike many of the other works that Jason Aaron has worked on or created. That is not a bad thing, though this new world that he has fashioned based upon his own backyard growing up is rife with merchandising possibilities and already longs to be an animated series despite it being only the first issue, perfect for kids. That aside, the language and violence highlight life in The Yard which as one might guess is one of nearly endless conflict. Barbarians and Mytes among many other insects permeate this small corner of the universe and all of them look to carve out their own kingdom while coming into contact with each other. On the flipside, the Slaymaker family has ‘come home,’ and not really of their own accord as a lack of money has forced them to move back to the old family home where their father and husband previously died. Like any family, they have their problems, most especially Syd who saw his father die in the basement, eaten by bugs thereby giving him a lifelong phobia. This leads to a confrontation between the brothers and finally to a strange discovery by Slade who finds himself in The Yard, though he knows it not. Aaron does a spectacular job on this first issue, introducing readers to some of the main cast, at least the human side of things. It all opens in spectacular fashion with a lot of very fantastic characters yet readers are not meant to get attached to them as they are not long for the earth and their deaths do two things. The first lets the audience know that anything can happen in The Yard with death but an instant away and the second goes hand-in-hand as readers know not to get attached to anyone for very long. Aaron is not the only one deserving of praise though as Mahmud Asrar whom fans will remember from his run on Supergirl among many others, creates some of the best artwork on the stands right now in this very book. Watching the Mytes battle it out and all of the various insects come to life is simply incredible and one can see that Asrar is putting it all out on the page, each one a true work of art. If there is one book that should be on everyone’s list in 2025 at this moment in time, it is Bug Wars. With an epic feel about it, the seeds of many a plot line being planted which could last for years to come and a ton of action from the first page to the last, this first issue has it all. Great stuff from all involved!

Worth It? – Yes.