Broken Frontier

In this day and age it is hard to create something that is wholly new or exciting.  Usually you can get away with somewhat clever and mildly entertaining.  The days of the next big thing seem to have fallen to the side.  Vertigo is a prime example of this.  Even though they still publish one of the most beloved books of our time in Fables and publish some of the more interesting titles on the stands (Scalped or Unknown Soldier), one thing that still plagues the publisher is what will be its next Sandman.  Yes, even the most daring of the big boys imprints must live up to - or down - its previous successes.

Enter The Unwritten.  A fiendishly clever story that would even be original if that Cornelia Funke hadn’t thought of it first and it is easy to point to creators before her who took the whole fiction becoming reality thing for a ride.  Mike Carey is no fool though.  He knows that to give his idea that extra oomph, that he must lock into the reader’s collective unconscious.  Thus is born Mr. Tom Taylor.  A character not unlike another glass wearing wizarding student whose best friends happen to be a boy and a girl. 

Tom is an enigma at best though. He is either the inspiration to his father’s best selling series or he is a marketing scheme gone wild.  Or... he is something even more amazing.  He could, just maybe, be the character from the books come alive.  It is hard to tell in this first issue.  It seems not even Mr. Taylor himself is aware of the posit, much less what the answer is.  When a possibly too inquisitive college student poses the question of his true identity to the beleaguered star, it sets into motion events that he could not possibly imagine.

Part Da Vinci Code, part Sandman, part Harry Potter, and part Moonlighting, Carey and Gross weave a powerful spell on the reader.  This is a fascinating story with two very interesting characters introduced, the child star grown up and Ms. Hexam, the enquiring student.  The way that their paths cross repeatedly is compelling and points to a tried and true relationship story that will blossom with time.  The underlying conspiracy that begins to unravel in this issue is also intriguing.

Beyond all the story devices are the details that Carey puts in the story.  We get to watch Tom live in a world of almost celebrity in a convention like setting.  This is a setting in which most comic readers will find some comfort.  The long lines, signing sessions, panels and costumed attendees are a kind of home away from home.  Again, he is playing on the reader’s existing knowledge base.  Like Willingham’s work in Fables, Carey is easing a new story out of pre-existing concepts.  The familiar allows the reader to engross themselves quicker, less exposition time is needed and the story can get some momentum early on.

Gross’s simple line work is highly effective.  By simply curving the lines a bit here or there, the artist can create different worlds while still using the same character designs.  Tommy in the books resembles Tom in the real world, but is changed just enough to allow the reader to easily distinguish the two.  The action is well defined and easily conveyed.  It is easy to tell that the writer and artist have worked on a lengthy series together, they know how to convey what the other wants.

A price point that is hard to beat, a generous page count, a dense and rich script.  These are the things that The Unwritten has to offer.  Hopefully, the readers will respond and maybe that bothersome question of “What’s the next big thing?” will have an answer for a bit.