Today's reviews: the letter U

Today's new comic releases number among them the debut of three titles starting with the letter "U", The Unwritten, The Unknown, and Unthinkable. The writers on these three titles also share the letter "M" on their first names. None of this really means anything, or does it!?

The Unwritten is a new Vertigo series by writer Mike Carey (Lucifer) and artist Peter Gross (artist on Lucifer and Millar's American Jesus). The first issue of The Unwritten is an extra-length comic for only one dollar. I really enjoyed the first issue, but I don't have a better description to sum this new title up than Carey's description, which is: "The Unwritten is the story behind all stories." Definitely a premise that opens up the series in regards to what kinds of stories can be told.
The Unknown by Mark Waid (who also writes the excellent Irredeemable for Boom Studios) was good, but not super strong out of the gate and it's not until the last page (actually the last panel) that we get the hook for what this series will b about. I think that that last panel will have readers coming back for the next issue, but I'm unclear as to how a whole series can be based on that (maybe it's just a mini series).





Unthinkable is also by Boom Studios and written by Mark Sable, who wrote a highly enjoyable superheroes in training mini series for Image a couple of years ago called Grounded. The art, by Julian Totino Tedesco, is the standout element of this new series and reminds me of Cliff Chiang (Human Target, Dr. Thirteen). This series is about a group of people brought together to think up terrorist scenarios which the government hopes to use to prepare for in the event that similar scenarios happen. That's a premise that wouldn't have sold me on picking up this series, but the execution is actually good and this is a title that I think will be one to watch as it unfolds in the next couple of issues.

Of the three "U" titles I've briefly talked about here, I'd say that The Unwritten has the biggest chance of being the break-through title and hopefully this will another Vertigo title that people actually look forward to month after month (and also reads well in collected form).