Rob Williams and Michael Dowling’s “Unfollow” #1 is the start of a story that binds social media with human behavior. Read on, but be warned: there are some spoilers within this review.
Written by Rob Williams
Illustrated Michael Dowling
A dying social media mogul leaves his billions to be split evenly between 140 random people or however many of them are still alive at the moment of his death. Rob Williams (MARTIAN MANHUNTER, THE ROYALS: MASTERS OF WAR) and Michael Dowling (Death Sentence) assemble a cast that includes a young black man trying to get by in St. Louis, an Iranian reporter in need of hope, a retired special forces soldier with a strange sense of purpose, and a thrill-seeking heiress, in this thriller that shows were all still part of the food chain.
In the year 2015 it is very difficult to separate yourself from social media. Yes, there are people who don’t have a Facebook page, a Twitter page or an Instagram but almost everyone has some kind of online presence even if it’s just to comment on an article you have some opinion about. “Unfollow” takes this presence and adds an even more significant meaning to it.
“Unfollow” #1 begins the story of Larry Ferrell’s last days. Ferrell, a billionaire who created Chirper (essentially Twitter), is dying and in his last days he’s decided to give 140 of his followers an even split of his fortune. These people include David, a poor man in his 20s from St. Louis, Courtney, an heiress looking to unload her money onto someone more deserving and to get back at her father, and an Iranian woman named Ravan, who discovers beign chosen as she’s about to kill herself. The names have been seemingly picked by random but each of them will have to go to an island to discuss some last things with Ferrell.
The good and bad with “Unfollow” is that it focuses on the characters. Aside from a very small bit in the beginning, there isn’t a whole lot of forward movement. This is truly an issue that sets things up and, while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, there is something left to be desired. We get quick snapshots of our major characters and a very quick overview of what we should expect from the bigger plot. As far as that bigger plot, we get just a tease, what we got from the solicitation really, and it does leave you wanting a bit more. That’s not to say that this is a bad way to start things off but it does make you wish you had a couple more pages.
With that said, “Unfollow” has an excellent premise and I really like the different backgrounds of our lead characters. I also like that creators are starting to create stories that tie into what’s happening in the world around us. Rob Williams brings in some intriguing stuff about class differences and I hope that he can pick that up more as this series goes on. The use of social media is not overwhelming like in other books that are trying to use it (looking at you, “Batgirl”), but it still has enough of a presence. There’s this weird mix of “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory” with the way the money is given away (which is mentioned in the text) and “Lord of the Flies” that comes into play with the island in the early going of the book and I’m curious to see if any of that gets picked up down the road. If there’s one thing that “Unfollow” does very well is give you an urge to read the next issue immediately.
Michael Dowling’s art is very, very good. I appreciate the amount of detail in each panel. There’s a great level of detail on buildings, backgrounds, features like hair and wrinkles on skin. Larry, on his death bed, has a tinge of horror in his design which is a nice touch when dealing with death. The different settings all have a great deal of differentiation in them and much of that is thanks to the colorist Quinton Winter. He very nicely changes the mood in each setting and captures a true sense of light in each outdoor sequence. Dowling’s character designs are nothing too fancy, but that’s exactly why they work. “Unfollow” doesn’t try to exist in a world different from the real one, and even the smartphones come off pretty authentic. “Unfollow” #1 does a lot to pique your interest and it does more than enough, at least for me, to ensure that I’ll be here for the second issue.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – A debut that sets almost everything up. Lots here to get excited about and the art is very good. “Unfollow” is something you’ll want to follow.
