The Unwritten #31.5 – Review

By: Mike Carey (writer), Michael WM. Kaluta, Rick Geary, Bryan Talbot (artists), Chris Chuckry (colorist)

The Story: What a day, what a day for an auto-da-fé!

The Review: While some people would like to dismiss stories as just that—stories—they must have something more to them, otherwise why would people react to them with such passion and even violence?  Most of us understand that at the heart of every story is a message.  Sometimes that message is clear and harmless; other times it’s more subversive; and there are times when a story seems straightforward, but then reveals complex undertones when examined more deeply.

This series makes the premise that if you take control of storytelling, you can likewise control an entire society or culture’s consciousness.  History seems to support that theory, as this issue shows.  We begin with a rather dramatic example, the burning of books and burying of scholars during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang of ancient China, which results in the elimination of the Hundred Philosophies.  When you consider a philosophy as a mode or outlook on life, what the Qin Dynasty did during this time was eliminate entire ways of living.

And to what purpose?  We get hints from several lines of soon-to-be-burned books recited by soon-to-be-buried scholars: “Disorder is born when the untruth is received into the air” (the danger of straying from absolute virtue); “While some enjoy ease and rest, I am worn out in the service of the state” (the burdens of government); “Born to prosperity, he feared always its loss.  The man who has nothing fears nothing” (a rebuke against materialism).

These ideas clearly fly directly against legalism, a Chinese school of thought that advised how rulers could force citizens to act as they desired, even against their will, a school that endured the entire Qin dynasty and arguably still survives in the country today.  We can easily see how such a suspect philosophy would be a very attractive one to the similarly suspect cabal (whose name, we discover, is the Unwritten) that’s plagued Tommy Taylor all this time.

Unwritten #4 – Review

By Mike Carey (Writer), Peter Gross (Art), and Chris Chuckry & Jeanne McGee (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Each issue of Unwritten has been intelligent and thought-provoking in a way that few comics are. Here’s to hoping that the trend continues…

The Story: Tom Taylor gains access to his father’s room while Pullman goes on a relatively calm, collected killing spree…

What’s Good: If you like horror movies, then Unwritten #4 is going to be a real treat for you. From the gruesome Tommy Taylor opening to the slasher movie gore, it cleverly comments on (and plays into/with) genre conventions in so many ways that I couldn’t help but have a big stupid grin on my face the whole time I was reading it. But that’s not all that’s good about Unwritten #4. What really makes the issue something special is how all the gore and clever dialogue works in service of a mystery that keeps getting more compelling as the series gets older.

As far as the technical stuff goes, the latest Unwritten basically stays the course. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not! Peter Gross’ artwork effectively captures the horror flick vibe that runs through the entire issue. From the slick panel work to the lightning bolt framing that’s used, nearly everything looks great. As for the writing, Mike Carey’s work is as intelligent as ever. It’s clear that he “gets” horror and the line between a good genre convention and a bad one.

What’s Not So Good: This really isn’t a true problem, but I’m starting to miss the news clips, blogs, and commentaries that were sprinkled throughout the first few issues of Unwritten. Mike Carey handled them spectacularly and it made Unwritten really feel like nothing else on my pull list. One other thing worth mentioning is that a few panels just look a bit “off.” Either characters look a bit odd or the action comes across in a way that seems a bit unnatural (the scene with Pullman punching through glass comes to mind).

Conclusion: One of my favorite series having fun with my favorite genre?! Oh yeah, Unwritten #4 is good. Very Good.

Grade: A-

-Kyle Posluszny