June Books 18-19) The Unwritten, vols 4-5, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
June Books 18) The Unwritten: Leviathan, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
This is the second of this year's Hugo nominees for graphic novel which I have read - a pleasing narrative of young Tommy Taylor, who gets separately from his girlfriend and his vampire side-kick to get sucked into crewing the Pequod and ending up in a confined space with Pinocchio and Gepetto, the Prophet Jonah, Sinbad the Sailor and Baron Munchausen (and a random Celt). The literary allusions are dense, the artwork generally good and the narrative coherent, though perhaps a little less adventurous than I had hoped for from previous volumes. The volume ends with a standalone story about a group of small scared animals attempting to escape up an apparently endless staircase, whose links with the main narrative aren't clear. I don't think I could recommend it to readers who haven't already tried the first two volumens.
June Books 19) The Unwritten: On To Genesis, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
I actually found this fourth volume a bit more satisfying - reunited with his colleagues, Tommy finds himself investigating and becoming entwined with the Tinker, a 1930s superhero who may or may not be his half-brother in either a literal or a literary sense. The two time lines are intertwined in ambiguous but fascinating detail, with some lovely homages to the 1930s art style. Will get my nomination for the Hugo next year.
This is the second of this year's Hugo nominees for graphic novel which I have read - a pleasing narrative of young Tommy Taylor, who gets separately from his girlfriend and his vampire side-kick to get sucked into crewing the Pequod and ending up in a confined space with Pinocchio and Gepetto, the Prophet Jonah, Sinbad the Sailor and Baron Munchausen (and a random Celt). The literary allusions are dense, the artwork generally good and the narrative coherent, though perhaps a little less adventurous than I had hoped for from previous volumes. The volume ends with a standalone story about a group of small scared animals attempting to escape up an apparently endless staircase, whose links with the main narrative aren't clear. I don't think I could recommend it to readers who haven't already tried the first two volumens.
June Books 19) The Unwritten: On To Genesis, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
I actually found this fourth volume a bit more satisfying - reunited with his colleagues, Tommy finds himself investigating and becoming entwined with the Tinker, a 1930s superhero who may or may not be his half-brother in either a literal or a literary sense. The two time lines are intertwined in ambiguous but fascinating detail, with some lovely homages to the 1930s art style. Will get my nomination for the Hugo next year.