While most of this series has maintained the original The Twilight Zone’s retro aesthetic, The Twilight Zone #6 very much sets the story in modern times. This episode is a fun and emotional exploration of the cost being a parent takes on someone, even if the child in question is not at all human. The core concept centers on Piper, who is probably feeling the same melancholy and purposeless stagnation that many millennials are familiar with. Piper seeks solace in a pillar of our modern species: meal-kit services! Healthy Root is the name of the service, which could be considered an understatement because the root provided grows into a Groot-like child whom Piper names Sprout. The drama and motifs are not exactly brand new for the genre, even for a series that is mainly an homage.
IDW
Despite being part of an anthology series, it is hard not to compare it to previous issues. This issue is the largest departure from the aesthetic of Rod Serling’s original series up to this point, in no small part because of Nicole Goux’s cartoonish style and the setting. Goux effectively manages to convey the emotional beats, despite the path taken being a little long-winded at the beginning and peppered with familiar tropes. As a pet parent who recently lost my cat, I couldn’t help but become emotionally attached to the silent Sprout, despite most of our time with her being montage. Sprout’s cuteness might not have needed to carry as much emotional weight if more pages had been focused on the mother/daughter relationship instead of Piper’s pre-Sprout life. The Twilight Zone works best when it trusts the audience to understand the main character’s perspective and world in medias res, which I wish this issue had done more of.
IDW
Despite the brevity of our time with Sprout (or maybe because of it?), the art worked well in making me understand Piper’s arc. The ending lands effectively, if not a little rushed, due to the final, beautifully bittersweet image that the story leaves readers with. Piper’s ending is the latest example of this series taking full advantage of the comic medium’s limitless budget. Goux manages to, in a handful of images, capture the burden and beauty of caring for a living creature when your own life feels burdensome. The differences between the previous issues, and even the original series, unfortunately kept this issue’s strengths from outshining the roadblocks.
The Twilight Zone #6 is a fun and cute issue that experiments a little too much with the structure of not only this comic series but the source material as well. Goux’s writing grounds the core concept in a modern and more familiar emotional territory. Heartfelt art from Goux makes you care for the journey taken by Piper and Sprout.
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