Graphic Novel Review: THE UNWRITTEN Vol. 1

I picked up this collection of the first 5 issues of Vertigo's The Unwritten series for two reasons - 1) because it's a Vertigo title and 2) because I heard very good things about the series. This first volume called "Tommy Taylor & the Bogus Identity" was not my idea of a very good series. Although I usually enjoy Vertigo's titles, The Unwritten, despite the great praise, is not my type of book.

The story follows Tommy Taylor whose adoptive father made him the fictional character of a hugely successful series of fantasy novels. When validity of his true background comes into question Tommy sets out trying to discover his true roots but soon realizes that his life parallels that of the fictional character in the novels. As Tommy gets closer to learning the truth his life is thrust into an eerie world of dark fantasy that will forever change his life.

The series plays like a darker version of the popular Harry Potter novels if they based in reality. Bad news for me as I'm not a big fan of fantasy nor Harry Potter so this series didn't hold my interests too well. The series is written by and art by Mike Carey & Peter Gross, who were behind Vertigo's other popular series Lucifer. Although I'm not a fan of this series there is no denying that it's extremely well written and researched and that Carey and Gross have a very huge story that they are telling. For fans of dark fantasy mixed with reality this is definitely the series for them. The story has a very rich history and plenty of supporting characters to support a very long run. Even though I wasn't a fan of the series there is no denying that readers who enjoy this type of fantasy will enjoy what Carey and Gross have in store for them. Vertigo is always stretching boundaries and this series is no different.