[Peter]

February is DC month and we're going to Vertigo to take a look at UNWRITTEN VOL.1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity. Here's the blurb for the first trade:

Tom Taylor's life was screwed from the word go. His father created the mega-popular Tommy Taylor boy-wizard fantasy novels. But dad modeled the fictional epic so closely to Tom that fans constantly compare him to his counterpart, turning him into a lame, Z-level celebrity. When a scandal hints that Tom might really be the boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a mysterious, deadly group that's secretly kept tabs on him all his life. Now, to protect his life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, to all the places in world history where fictions have shaped reality.

Feel free to drop your thoughts in this thread or on a voicemail (215-279-8839).

The Instocktrades BOMC discount is up! Here's the link:
http://www.instocktrades.com/product.aspx?...f&pid=12393

You can download the first issue from Vertigo's site:
http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/?gn=13677

[Malpractice]

Alec has to return as a guest for this one lol.

[David D.]

Glad you guys picked this one. That first trade is a HELL of a book. More later...

[Agitprop]

Hey, what luck, I just started reading this this morning. I've been out of the BOMC game for too long, looking forward to it.

[Fables]

Hell of a fun story guys, great pick.

[Alec B]

YES!!! Bout time you guys read it.

[Mr_Roboto2.0]

From the first issue this series has become an instant favorite of mine. I'm so glad you guys are finally checking this out.

[Chris Murrin]

The preview got me interested, and the cheap first issue made me eager to read more. I just finished the first trade and really enjoyed it. I have to admit, though, that I found myself balking at the fifth issue until its ties to the main story became very clear. It's definitely a book I'll continue to get in trade form.

4/5 Frekking Sweers

[Peter]

IST/BOMC discount is up! 47% off for only $5.29!

[Phoney Bone]

I just picked this up yesterday. I had no idea you were doing this for Book of the Month. Cool beans.

[David D.]

The preview got me interested, and the cheap first issue made me eager to read more. I just finished the first trade and really enjoyed it. I have to admit, though, that I found myself balking at the fifth issue until its ties to the main story became very clear. It's definitely a book I'll continue to get in trade form.

4/5 Frekking Sweers

For me the 5th issue was my favorite, both because I loved Carey and Gross doing with literary figures what the standout Sandman stories did with fairytale or mythological figures, and I have always had a particular interest in Kipling. And the connection to the main story did become clear within the issue, so it really worked for me, and I loved the way that it broadened and deepened the possibility of what may have happened to Tommy's "father".

[Skaboss307]

For me it was good for the first four issues... lots of satire... lots of nifty little meta moments ... decent cliffhangers...

And then it was freakin' fantastic with issue #5! Holy crap that was something else.

I've been working my way through the Starman Omnibi(?) having forgotten how great the Oscar Wilde/Charles Dickens/Shade stories are. Issue #5 of Unwritten hit that exact same sweet spot only moreso.

I'm hopeful that Carey and Gross keep that sort of pacing -- a few more traditional issues and then BAM! Hammer home that mythos via similar stories to the Kipling issue.

[Alec B]

For me the 5th issue was my favorite, both because I loved Carey and Gross doing with literary figures what the standout Sandman stories did with fairytale or mythological figures, and I have always had a particular interest in Kipling. And the connection to the main story did become clear within the issue, so it really worked for me, and I loved the way that it broadened and deepened the possibility of what may have happened to Tommy's "father".

#5 quickly became a favorite single issue of mine. The exact same reasons that you said. Plus, Peter Gross is a good artist, but I felt like #1-4 were the "standard Vertigo style". With #5, that quickly left and he, in my eyes, became a force. I love how that issue looks like a story book.

[nweathington]

I love the concept of the series. Though the first few issues didn't live up to my hopes, the past three or four issues have gotten much more interesting. I'll be sticking with it.

[ctowner1]

Here's what I had to say about it in the TPB thread:

Pros: Kind of a What If Harry Potter were real? Carey seems to be examining the relationship between fiction and "reality." Reminds me a bit of what Alan Moore explored in Promethea, but we will see as it progresses. I particularly liked the last, stand-alone story, which examines how the stories overarching conspiracy interacted with Rudyard Kipling over the decades. The idea that this story will span the ages is appealing to me.

Peter Gross' art is OK, if not spectacular.

Cons: A little on the slow moving side - but it looks like Carey is letting out the info at a measured pace. This first volume appears in large part to be set up for what's coming down the pike.

Frekkin sweers out 5: 3.75

e
L nny

This post has been edited by ctowner1: 20 February 2010 - 06:14 AM

[Jason Aiken]

I seem to be of the dissenting opinion about this book...

I picked this up in singles and by the time #6 rolled around, I looked at my watch and waited to see how many issues were going to be in the first trade, so I could bail.

This series is a great concept no doubt about it, what if Harry Potter was Christopher Robin who is a master of fictional geography. Alas it's too decompressed for me to read on a monthly basis.

I will probably keep flipping through the issues at the shop when it comes out and if it looks like its picking up the pace a bit I may buy more floppies or just wait for the trade. It's blatantly being written for collections, so no sense fighting the format.

Overall I'd probably give this a solid 7/10. I don't love it and I don't hate it, but it really didn't hit me like I was hoping it would.

My favorite issue was the Kipling one, where Samuel Clemens made an appearance. Whatever story these guys are trying to tell, its awesome that they are involving literary legends of this level. I believe after that issue with the focus on Tommy in jail and the way it was drawn out over multiple issues I just couldn't keep up with this on a monthly basis. I don't have the patience for decompression, and while this isn't as bad as say Bendis, it's still being written for a trade in mind.

This post has been edited by Jason Aiken: 23 February 2010 - 06:22 AM

[spaceman88]

Its undoubtedly a great book but it reads better to me in trades rather than single issues. I'm thinking of switching over. but it really is just so much fun.

[Agitprop]

I will certainly concede that this series is a slow burner, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Suppose the story rushes forward, and by the end of the second trade, the mystery of Tommy's identity has been wrapped up. Then what? We get a story of the month featuring Tommy in fiction-land? To me, that's a lot less interesting than the slow-boiling, digression-heavy mystery that we've got.

That said, I do think the first trade is very much a beginning. I can say that I enjoyed the first trade, but it's hard for me at this point to say if Unwritten is a good series or not. I don't feel like I've seen enough of the story's trajectory so far to form any significant feelings about the direction it's taking. This "first trade syndrome" has popped up throughout Vertigo's past on titles like Preacher and 100 Bullets, so I hope that Unwritten can pull off that brilliant second trade that really got these other series moving in the right direction.

One note about the art - I was surprised at how much more I liked the art in the Kipling issue than any of the others. To me, Gross has always been a quality journeyman artist. Simple, clear storytelling, without pushing any envelopes. In that Kipling issue, though, there was an attention to detail that really set it apart as a superior work. The backgrounds were lush, the layouts were evocative of a literary mind, and much credit goes to the color artist for his choice of palette. I don't yet know the role that these digressive issues will play in the series - if we should expect a lot of them, or how they will play into the main storyline - but I certainly hope to see the art team delivering this A-game as often as possible.

[DAR]

Cool I just finished this last week. But like any Vertigo title it's one I'll only get in trades.


Though I have to admit and maybe because it was late when I finished it but I didn't quite understand the How the Whale became story at the end of the trade. Maybe the discussion can enlighten me a little.

[PeterWatson]

I loved it, special thanks to Alec for the suggestion. It was an awesome story and a great book for someone who is used to reading solely superhero books. It is a wonderful story with crazy twists and turns. Thats about all I can really say, but it is definitely a 9/10.

PS: In the TP there is a story about a whale at the end. What is that?