Well, What's Written Ain't So Bad...
I have to say, I've never read an issue of The Unwritten before, and I'm not sure why I started now. I think I vaguely remember hearing something good about it, and the retro-Golden Age cover made it seem interesting.
Now frankly, this probably wasn't such a good place to jump on. I'm thoroughly lost.
I've been on a bit of a metafiction kick lately, as you can tell by my recent reviews of Kabuki: The Alchemy. But unlike Kabuki, this metafiction doesn't break fourth wall - and rather than denigrating the past as Kabuki tends to do, this one seems to overly idealize it - I imagine, writing for the pulps and comics in the interwar period was hardly as glamorous as this makes it seem. The plots and stories tended to be a far cry from the great myths that this issue would have you believe - just go back and read some of my reviews on this site if you don't believe me.
Superpowers - or the supernatural do seem to play a role in this book - beyond the comic-book-within-the-comic-book, as one character seems to have the ability to create 3D holographic, clairaudient, projections in a space by reading something written about that space. Pretty neat if you're going to do a whole metafiction series.
I can't really say I found the comic all that great - it seems to be well written, and the art isn't too bad either, but the story didn't really grab me - it kind of reminded me of one of those episodes of the X-Files that had some gigantic global conspiracy that nobody cared about when everyone just wanted to see some aliens and gunfights.
So - maybe I'll be back - maybe not. But if you're thinking about wading in these waters - I think you'd be better off starting earlier in the series, or waiting until later. A recommended entry point this is not.
