Review: The Unwritten #35

Written by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
Illustrated by Peter Gross and M. K. Perker

The epic, extra-sized finale of “Tommy Taylor and the War of Words!” The trap within the trap is finally sprung. The War of Words ends in a no-holds-barred battle between Tom Taylor and his deadliest enemy, with horrendous consequences for every living human — and for the stories on which our lives depend. Nobody is walking away from this one unscathed, and someone very close to Tommy pays the ultimate price…

So far, the .5 issues of “The Unwritten” have been more notable than the whole numbered issues. If there was ever a time to pull out the big guns, though, it would be now, at the end of “The War of the Words.”

Follow the cut to see if Mike Carey and Peter Gross pull them out.

At a glance, it seems like Mike Carey has made a terrible, entry-level genre fiction writer’s mistake. The large portion of this issue is Pullman, the closest thing “The Unwritten” has to a “Big Bad,” monologuing about… well, everything. His past, Leviathan, and what Tommy is supposed to be, and more are all touched on in the villain’s diatribe. The nemesis giving away his master plan, exposing the secrets of the past, and so on and so forth when the hero seems incapacitated is usually a trapping of genre fiction that makes eyes roll. How, then, does Carey get away applause instead?

Of course it would be dull if Pullman just stood there and talked, and talked, and talked, but he doesn’t really do that. He may have hundreds of speech bubbles in this issue, but there is still always something going on within the pages and panels. He doesn’t just tell us his history; rather, we see it happens as he tells the story. Action accompanies his words. When Pullman does start to approach the boundary of talking too much, Carey makes the smart decision and cuts to what Lizzie and Savoy are up to. The monologuing villain might be looked down on these days, but cliches are in place for a reason. They might not be “done right” too frequently, but when they are, it is a sight to behold.

And what a master plan Pullman has. This issue is where everything, from the first arc to the recent .5 issues, comes together, and it all ties back to the Leviathan. This is the moment where we see just how tightly Carey and Gross have plotted their masterpiece, and how crucial nearly every plot thread has been to reach this very point. Issues like this are the ones that fans die for, the ones that make you want to go back and reread everything so far. And you should – because from here on everything changes. It’s a saying that gets tossed about a lot in the comic hype machine, but for “The Unwritten,” it’s true. This issue almost seems like a series finale, not because it functions as a satisfying conclusion, but because there seems to be no way for it to go on. But go on it will, and for quite a while if Carey and Gross’s schedule is still intact. This is the exciting part of serial narratives – that month-or-two-long wait where all one can think is “What is going to happen?” and the two creators of “The Unwritten” have done an incredible job with creating that suspense.

Since “Leviathan,” Peter Gross has provided only the layouts, while other artists have come in and provided the finishing touches. M. K. Perker, who has been working on the entire “War of the Words” arc, is my favorite so far, though it may be for a backhanded reason. To put it simply, Perker’s work looks the most like the most like Gross’s. It is always favorable when a series or run has the same artist on board from the first issue until the final one, barring a few issues illustrated by others for stylistic effect. This is a luxury, though. Some publishers might allow a comic to delay for a month or five, depending on the talent attached, but sometimes the best thing a book can do to avoid cancellation is to keep a steady monthly schedule. That’s where fill-in artists come in.

There is nothing wrong with fill-in artists at all, but it can be distracting when there is a notable difference between the primary artist and those who step in after him. None of the finishers of “The Unwritten” have failed in any way, but Perker almost seems to be a carbon copy of Gross (only within issues of “The Unwritten,” naturally), creating a sense of consistency that some other comics lack. And he’s great, too; everything is finely detailed, and just has a sense of vitality and vibrancy to it – the latter of which can also be attributed to the bold colors of Chris Chuckry. The only problem with the layout/finishes model is that it can sometimes it can be difficult to tell what to attribute to Perker and what to attribute to Gross, so let’s leave it at this: everyone who worked on this book played some part in making it look incredible.

Yuko Shimizu’s cover for this issue is, like always, incredible. For a portrait, the composition is interesting, as Lizzie’s face is centered in the upper left corner of the cover, rather than the actual – how boring would that be, anyway? The colors used produce a light, ethereal feel, but Lizzie’s face does not quite agree; she may not be grimacing, but she is not exactly at peace, either. And, of course, there is the brilliant effect of using words as texture. Even close up, it still looks natural, despite the font being more than large enough to read, and from far away it is almost impossible to tell. No, one should never judge a [comic] book by its cover, but Shimizu’s art deserves all the praise that it can get, especially since it often corresponds with what goes on inside the book’s pages so very well.

Until this issue, the main story of “The Unwritten” had been lagging a bit. Not that it was bad in any way; it just was not as great as it had been in the past, and was outclassed by other books on the shelves. The past year or so has been excellent for comics. There have been, and always will be, plenty of stinkers out there, but there are more well-known, widely-available great comics out there than ever before, and even more wonderful comics that pass under everyone’s radar. In such a market, where innovation is on the rise, a comic – even one from acclaimed creators such as Carey and Gross and published by Vertigo – cannot afford to be anything less than amazing. ‘Leviathan’ and ‘On to Genesis’ had their moments, but it was not until this issue that “The Unwritten” reached the heights is once found in the pages of ‘Dead Man’s Knock.’ Watch out, everyone else – “The Unwritten” is on its way back to being the best book on the shelves.

Final Verdict: 9.8 – Issue of the year contender.