The Unwritten | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Vertigo |
Schedule | Monthly |
Genre | Contemporary fantasy |
Publication date | October 2009 – January 2015 |
No. of issues | 71 (#1–54, #31.5–35.5, Apocalypse #1–12) |
Main character(s) | Tom Taylor |
Creative team | |
Written by | Mike Carey |
Artist(s) | Peter Gross Yuko Shimizu (covers) |
Letterer(s) | Todd Klein |
Colorist(s) | Chris Chuckry Jeanne McGee |
Editor(s) | Pornsak Pichetshote |
Collected editions | |
Volume 1 | ISBN 1-4012-2565-9 |
Volume 2 | ISBN 1-4012-2873-9 |
Volume 3 | ISBN 1-4012-3046-6 |
Volume 4 | ISBN 1-4012-3292-2 |
Volume 5 | ISBN 1-7811-6050-3 |
Volume 6 | ISBN 1-4012-3560-3 |
Volume 7 | ISBN 1-4012-3806-8 |
Volume 8 | ISBN 1-4012-4301-0 |
Volume 9 | ISBN 1-4012-4694-X |
Volume 10 | ISBN 1-4012-5055-6 |
Volume 11 | ISBN 1-4012-5348-2 |
The Unwritten is an American comic book written by Mike Carey [1] with art by Peter Gross. [2] Published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, [3] [4] [5] [6] the book follows Tom Taylor, who was the inspiration for a series of hugely successful children's fantasy novels in the vein of Harry Potter. The series deals with themes related to fame, celebrity, and the relationship between fiction and human consciousness.
Mike Carey, in an interview with Nicholas Yanes from scifipulse.net, claimed that "the most important reference point is the autobiography of Christopher Milne – who is famous as the Christopher Robin of the Winnie the Pooh books. Milne grew up feeling that his father had stolen his childhood from him, turned a profit from it and then given it back to him in a form he couldn't use. Our Tom is very much in that situation when we first meet him, although we take his identity crisis a fair bit further than that". [7]
The series is collected into trade paperbacks:
Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material |
---|---|---|---|
Volume 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity | ISBN 1-4012-2565-9 | January 12, 2010 | The Unwritten #1–5 – 144 pages |
Volume 2: Inside Man | ISBN 1-4012-2873-9 | August 11, 2010 | The Unwritten #6–12 – 168 pages |
Volume 3: Dead Man's Knock | ISBN 1-4012-3046-6 | March 29, 2011 | The Unwritten #13–18 – 160 pages |
Volume 4: Leviathan | ISBN 1-4012-3292-2 | October 25, 2011 | The Unwritten #19–24 – 144 pages |
Volume 5: On to Genesis | ISBN 1-78116-050-3 | January 27, 2012 | The Unwritten #25–30 – 160 pages |
Volume 6: Tommy Taylor and the War of Words | ISBN 1-4012-3560-3 | October 17, 2012 | The Unwritten #31–35.5 – 240 pages |
Volume 7: The Wound | ISBN 1-4012-3806-8 | March 26, 2013 | The Unwritten #36–41 – 144 pages |
Volume 8: Orpheus in the Underworlds | ISBN 1-4012-4301-0 | February 4, 2014 | The Unwritten #42–49 – 176 pages |
Volume 9: The Unwritten Fables | ISBN 1-4012-4694-X | July 29, 2014 | The Unwritten #50–54, crossover with Fables – 144 pages |
Volume 10: War Stories | ISBN 1-4012-5055-6 | October 14, 2014 | The Unwritten: Apocalypse #1–5 – 128 pages |
Volume 11: Apocalypse | ISBN 1-4012-5348-2 | May 25, 2015 | The Unwritten: Apocalypse #6–12 – 176 pages |
Additionally, Vertigo released in September 2013 an original graphic novel called The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the Ship that Sank Twice (hardcover, ISBN 1-4012-2976-X), a standalone story about the origin of Tommy Taylor and his powers.
The story of Tommy Taylor continues in the 12 issue series (also titled Volume 2) of The Unwritten: Apocalypse, started in January 2014 (compiled in collected Volumes 10 and 11).
The Unwritten was partially released in deluxe hardcover editions. Compendium One was released in 2023 collecting half the series. Compendium Two has yet to be announced.
# | Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Unwritten: The Deluxe Edition Book One | ISBN 1-4012-6543-X | December 14, 2016 | #1–12 |
2 | The Unwritten: The Deluxe Edition Book Two | ISBN 1-4012-7506-0 | December 27, 2017 | #13–24 |
1 | The Unwritten: Compendium One | ISBN 978-1779521750 | June 20, 2023 | #1-30 & The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the Ship that Sank Twice |
IGN gave the first three issues 8.5, 9.0 and 9.0 out of 10 respectively. [8]
Vertigo Comics is an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, profanity, and graphic violence, that did not fit the restrictions of DC's main line, thus allowing more creative freedom. Its titles consisted of company-owned comics set in the DC Universe, such as The Sandman and Hellblazer, and creator-owned works, such as Preacher, Y: The Last Man and Fables.
John Constantine, Hellblazer is an American contemporary horror comic-book series published by DC Comics since January 1988, and subsequently by its Vertigo imprint since March 1993, when the imprint was introduced. Its central character is the streetwise English sorcerer and con man John Constantine, who was created by Alan Moore and Stephen R. Bissette, and first appeared as a supporting character in Swamp Thing #37, during that creative team's run on that title. Hellblazer had been published continuously since January 1988, and was Vertigo's longest-running title, the only remaining publication from the imprint's launch. In 2013, the series concluded with issue 300, and was replaced by Constantine, which returned the character to the mainstream DC Universe. The original series was revived in November 2019 for twelve issues as part of The Sandman Universe line of comics, under the DC Black Label brand. Well known for its extremely pessimistic tone and social/political commentary, the series has spawned a film adaptation, television show, novels, and multiple spin-offs and crossovers.
Mike Carey, also known by his pen name M. R. Carey, is a British writer of comic books, novels and films, whose credits include the long-running The Sandman spin-off series Lucifer, a three-year stint on Hellblazer, as well as his creator-owned titles Crossing Midnight and The Unwritten for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, a lengthy run on Marvel's X-Men, the 2014 novel The Girl with All the Gifts and its 2016 film adaptation.
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Peter Gross is an American comic book writer and artist known for such works as The Books of Magic, Lucifer and The Unwritten.
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