Written by Mike Carey
Illustrated by Peter Gross and Vincent Locke“On to Genesis,” part 1 of 3. Armed with his father’s journals, Tom Taylor begins a journey across the United States that also takes him into the past — to the Golden Age of a new artistic medium and the birth of a new type of hero. But following in Wilson’s footsteps creates dangerous echoes.
I’ve been avoiding reviewing this title for a while. Why, you ask? Well, I can only say the same positive things so much! Thankfully, the book tends to take some pretty big shifts with each arc, so now I have enough new things to talk about. That is, of course, if this issue is as good as the rest. Follow the cut for more.
As Tom and his companions start to research the comics Wilson Taylor was interested in and involved with, things start to get a bit self aware. In a flashback, Wilson’s argues about the importance of the comic book with the devious Pullman. Savoy supports the legitimacy of The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, but looks down on everything else. And, of course, there’s my favorite scene, where Tom, Liz and Savoy find what they’re looking for by torrenting and out of print issue. I’ll be honest, this is something that I’ve been waiting for since the inclusion of the Jud Süß film in issues #10-11. What started about a comic about literature has become a book about stories – including comics – and I think that makes Carey’s work that much stronger. The possibilities that this opens up are endless, and while I’m sure that text-based books are still going to be of primary importance in this series, I’m also convinced that other mediums are going to have a much buffer effect than originally anticipated. Anyone else expecting an upcoming arc where a Tommy Taylor movie has adverse effects on Tom’s abilities?
While this issue is a solid one overall – no doubt about that – I think one of the most well-crafted bits is how Carey uses Wilson’s journal as a narrative transition. When Tom starts reading from it, we are brought into a flashback set in Wilson’s earlier years, but it’s more than just a change of setting. The text of Wilson’s journal serves as a way to give as a completely different narrative tone – bordering on the hardboiled inner monologue of film noir – that would otherwise completely disrupt the cohesive flow of the issue. Using a journal makes sense, really. People will often make fun of film noir for using a narrative style that doesn’t sound “realistic” – even though I would argue that’s part of the genre’s charm – but while it might not be believable for someone relaying a story orally, it works perfectly for the journal of a brooding man like Wilson Taylor. The journal even sounds like Taylor, at least from what we’ve heard from him so far. Just like the “choose your own adventure” issue, Carey handles the noir narrative style with a delicacy that keeps it from approaching the status of a gimmick.
You can’t talk about The Unwritten without talking about artist-turned-co-writer and co-creator Peter Gross. Gross has come up with a great style for this book – the softer lines that he uses work so well for the light fantasy of Tommy Taylor’s world, while making the gritty and the horrifying that much more disturbing. Throughout the series, Gross has done a majority of issues as the sole artist, but for certain ones he has brought in other artists to do the finishes, and it works really well. With this issue we have Vincent Locke, who also worked with Gross on the “Leviathan” arc. The collaboration between these two is slightly rougher – not in an unpolished way, but in a tonal way – and fits the direction the book is going quite well. A lot of books will switch artists to achieve a different tone, but this can sometimes hurt the book (see the jarring jumps between the various artists in Morrison’s Batman & Robin). By putting a different artist in charge of the finishes, though, allows Carey and Gross’s creation to maintain a consistent feel throughout while still giving a breath of fresh air with every arc. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that these guys are excellent artists to begin with.
The Unwritten #27 is yet another solid entry under Carey and Gross’s belt. It doesn’t reach the same highs as some other issues, but it sets us up for more great things to come. Plus, I can’t find a single thing about this issue that could be considered “wrong.” That’s saying something; normally, even with this series, I can find something minor that no one else would care about to nitpick on, but no such luck with this issue. Can’t say I mind.
Final Verdict: 8.7 – Buy it!
