Ahead of the release of Trees #2, by Warren Ellis and Jason Howard, Image Comics is offering the digital edition of the first issue for free across all platforms through Tuesday.

“It’s not every day that a writer as important and influential as Warren Ellis launches a major new series, so making sure Trees reaches as many readers as possible is an ongoing priority for us here at Image,” Publisher Eric Stephenson said in a statement.

Debuting May 28, the sci-fi miniseries is set a decade after enormous, sentient tree-like creatures arrived on Earth, putting down roots and standing silent vigil, without even acknowledging the planet's inhabitants.

"When we were developing the idea Warren asked me what kind of things I wanted to draw," Howard, who previously collaborated with Ellis on Scatterlands, told Comic Book Resources. "I sent him a folder of a bunch of images that inspired me. From there he sent me the basic idea of, what if aliens landed and didn't seem to do anything? What happens to society when these alien structures land but nothing comes out and after a while they become normal and they just stand there, like trees? I thought that sounded fascinating and could immediately visualize situations and story potential. I excitedly told him I loved it and we were off."

Trees #1 is available for free through Tuesday on ImageComics.com and the Image Comics iOS app, and across comiXology's platforms. Trees #2 arrives June 25.