Sneak Peek Reviews: 05/12/09

Unwritten #1

Written by: Mike Carey

Art by: Peter Gross

Get ready for a pretty lofty review. This is a seriously awesome comic. Vertigo has been scratching all the right itches for me lately. With Air, House of Mystery, Madame Xanadu, and now Unwritten. I devoured each and every issue of Lucifer while it was coming out and I think that it might well have been Mike Carey's best work to date and that it put Peter Gross in the limelight like he had always deserved. I think that everytime someone picks up a copy of the first Lucifer trade that I smile a mile wide. These are two guys with some serious talent and to have them come back together to work on another Vertigo book gives me the kind of happiness that I find difficult to describe. The story of Unwritten holds the kind of promise that a lot of Carey's work has, the kind of promise that makes me giddy. I find it a little hard to describe the story, but basically it is about Tom "Little Tommy" Taylor, who was the basis for his father's Harry-Potter-esque character that has become the most popular fictional character of all time. There are some questions about whether or not Tom is really his father's son, there are some questions about where his father has disappeared to, there are some questions as to whether he is human at all and not fiction come to life. The kind of questions that this series is bound to ask make my head spin in a good way. Peter Gross became one of my favorite artists when he worked on Books of Magic and then his work on Lucifer only further confirmed my love for his work, and now any time I read stuff he's drawn it's like putting on a favorite coat, like slipping into your favorite sneakers, like eating your favorite simple meal (grilled cheese, chicken noodle soup and jalapeno Crunchers). I am going to love the hell out of this book, but don't just take my word on why you should check it out, you can get it yourself when it comes out tomorrow ... for $1! That's right 32 pages of comic (48 if you count ads) for $1!

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1

Written by: Paul Cornell

Art by: Mark Brooks

This was a really fun book that also asks some serious questions about what a post H.A.M.M.E.R. world would look like, and how young heroes would develop in that kind of world. I'm pretty unfamiliar with all of these characters and if Cornell created them for this mini-series then he did a great job of making them feel like they already belonged in the Marvel U. Mark Brooks does an excellent job on the art chores for this mini-series as well. However I think that the unsung hero on art in this issue is Christina Strain, her colors bring an excellent level of depth and reality to this book. I think that a group of young super-powered individuals that comes together during the reign of Osborn would unquestionably look like this, would make these same mistakes, would dance around these same philisophical quandries. I think that fans of Avengers: Initiative, and the original Young Avengers would probably really dig this mini-series and I think that it certainly serves as a compliment to Cornell and crew that I think so highly of the direction after just one issue. Grats to all involved.