The Unwritten Volume 2: Inside Man by Mike Carey

So you may not remember me reviewing The Unwritten Volume 1....well that's because I didn't. But I'm going to review volume two because if you're not reading this series you absolutely HAVE to! This is one of the best comic book series to come along since Fables and I'm just absolutely loving it so far. And I can only see it getting better and better as it goes along.

The Unwritten centers on Tom Taylor, son of the now thought to be deceased author of the books of the famous Tommy Taylor children's books, a popular fictional series about a wizarding boy. Yes, if you're thinking Harry Potter, points for you. After events in book one go horribly wrong, Tom Taylor is accused of murder and finds himself in jail. He also finds himself with powers that he never knew he had...powers very similar to those in the books that his father wrote. Oh but there's so much more to this book. There comes the quest for his true identity. The escape from fame and the dragging through the mud of his name. The "dangers of children's books" that's addressed here. What Carey gives us throughout this whole story is constant engagement and something to constantly think about. This is truly an intelligent comic with literary and historical references constantly being intermingled throughout the storyline. There's a classic good vs. evil story to be told here, but there's also a point where those lines begin to blur. And isn't there really that point in every day life? Where good people make bad decisions and vice versa. There's a constant questioning here on who's who. I found myself facing characters that I couldn't stand doing things that made me smile. Like the mayor who locked up Tom and treated him with complete contempt sticking up to his wife for his children for enjoying the Tommy Taylor books. I think what makes me happier than anything about this series is that it's only on volume two! Which means we can probably expect much more to come. There was a little offshoot comic at the end of this comic that was very bizarre. It was more of a fable of sorts that featured very innocent looking animal art like and dialogue like "there once was a bunny named Mr. Bun"....and it's juxtaposed with Mr. Bun calling people "cunts" and saying "fuck" every other word. Just a fair warning to those offended by such thing. Needless to say, he ends up being a bad, bad bunny, but I actually found the story quite interesting. Anyway, can't wait to read more of this!