"Paranoid Gardens," Was a Great Comic, as a New Review Reminded Me

Back in August of 2024, I reviewed the first issue of the five-issue mini-series, "Paranoid Gardens." I loved it and greatly enjoyed the whole thing when it was done. Teagan O'Neil has posted her review of the mini-series on The Comics Journal and she reminded me just how damn good a comic it was. Gerard Way of, "Umbrella Academy," and Young Animal imprint fame (he's also been in a band lots of folks like called My Chemical Romance, but I only know like one song) wrote it with Shaun Simon and the amazing Chris Weston provided art. Weston was the artist on one of my favorite comics/books/publications of all time, "The Filth," so anything they're involved in deserves attention--so combine that with how I love Gerard Way's comics and yeah, "Paranoid Gardens," is worth a read.

As I discussed and Teagan talks about too, the comic is very quirky with its strange medical facility that helps everyone from space aliens to superheroes and more. It is surreal and full of metaphors (a bit like, "The Filth," honestly) but at its heart is a story about healing from trauma. As Tegan notes, " It is definitely a good comic." Can't be more concise than that! I'd encourage folks to seek out, "Paranoid Gardens," for sure.

The First Issue of, "Paranoid Gardens," is Surreal and Eerie

Gerard Way is the writer behind a number of comics, the most famous probably being his wild, "The Umbrella Academy." Chris Weston has worked on a ton of comics too, having been part of my absolute favorite graphic novel tale, "The Filth." That's a winning combination if there ever were one, so I was eager to pick up the debut issue of their new Dark Horse series together, "Paranoid Gardens." I would be remiss if I didn't mention Shaun Simon is also involved in the scripting with everyone giving us a stellar debut!

Set in a nursing home/care center (or is it more of a prison) known as Paradise Gardens, it is full of odd creatures/aliens, it has helpful staff (or are they stuck there too?), and the strange building everyone lives in might be alive. Much of the series follows a young woman named Loo who seems normal but clearly has her own stuff going on as well. Between a cult dedicated to a theme park, a freaked-out superhero, strange aliens, and the most boring ventriloquist show in the common room possible, a lot is going on and much of it carries a weird foreboding vibe. 

This extraterrestrial ER/retirement home/whatever it is looks amazing thanks to Chris Weston, who honestly deserves to be on a metaphorical Mount Rushmore of best comic artists ever. Thanks to him, Paradise Gardens is astounding to witness. Gerard Way and Shaun Simon give us a plot that mixes humorous and freaky tones with ease and Weston excels as always. I loved this first issue of, "Paranoid Gardens," and can't wait to read more and see just how crazy everything gets.

5 out of 5 Stars.