Tuesday, June 24, 2014

The Unwritten - Apocalypse #5 Review

Written by: Mike Carey
Art by: Peter Gross
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 21, 2014

Uncommonly Good


The Unwritten takes a brief detour this issue to give us a Mr. Bun one-shot.  At first, it appears this issue in more for longtime fans than those who started reading at Vol 2, but Mike Carey quickly gets everyone up to speed and twist and turns the story.  At the end it is obvious that this side tale is more important to the overall story than it first seemed and is a good yarn to boot.  Pretty much everything you'd expect from The Unwritten.


The issue opens before Apocalypse with Wilson, Pauly and crew exiting Hades without Tom.  Pauly is pretty ticked off and as he tells Wilson how much so, he turns human and is quickly whacked over the head and left unconscious.  That's when the fun begins, unless you're a Keebler Elf that is.

The world of The Unwritten is a disaster.  It's a place of death and destruction, but also a world in need of stories.  Luckily, Pauly Bruckner is a survivor and a storyteller.  That makes things better, but they aren't exactly easy.  Mike Carey gives the reader so much to digest in this issue.  Pauly does what he needs to do to survive and when the moment presents itself, he takes it.  It is brutal and vicious, but nails the point that creativity and storytelling is what drives this world and this book.

The issue then wraps it's way into the current goings on of the story by showing a scene from last issue from a different perspective. Carey only gives you a moment before guiding Pauly and his companion to a cliffhanger that is bound to have consequences before the series ends.

I am a Mr. Bun fan so maybe I'm a bit biased, but I really enjoyed this issue.  Maybe it's a little breather before a larger storm, but it's a disturbing and violent breather that also advanced the story while filling in a few empty spaces.  I don't expect to get quick resolution on everything that happened, but I can't wait until we do.

Before I praise Peter Gross' incredible artwork, I have to give kudos to Yuko Shimizu's cover.  It is so good and gets a huge plus for being relative to the story and setting the tone of the book inside.  Back to Peter Gross.  He gets better every issue of Apocalypse.  The emotions, the action and the gore are all so beautiful.  His art is as much a storyteller as the script and is so fitting in a book about the power of story.

Bits and Pieces: 

The Unwritten is a book about the power of storytelling so it's no surprise this issue is so strong on that front.  This issue is a backstory, a one-shot and a setup all rolled up into one.  Mr. Bun fans will be thrilled and everyone else will enjoy another great issue. Either way, this book is one of my favorites and highly recommended.


9.0/10

No comments:

Post a Comment