The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor & the Bogus Identity

by Mike Carey
art by Peter Gross
covers by Yukio Shimizu

If you like reading the classics, you'll love this intriguing graphic novel of fantasy and literary mysteries that will have you digging out that copy of Shelley's Frankenstein and Kipling's Jungle Tales. Mike Carey explores the power of story, and what some people will do to gain control of it. The protagonist of this tale is Tommy Taylor, the son of bestselling fantasy author who gone missing before finishing his beloved series. A series whose main character was inspired by Tommy Taylor himself, when he was a boy. As characters from the book and literature come alive and seek out Tommy, his very existence comes into question. Pursued by sinister characters, Tommy is helped by the mysterious Lizzie Hexam, as he follows clues his father left him that lead him to Villa Diodati and ... murder!

The last issue collected in this book appears to have nothing to do with Tommy Taylor and the events surrounding him, as it deals with a young, unpublished Rudyard Kipling accepting a Faustian deal with a gentleman named Mr. Locke who wants him to write a particular type of story. But it becomes clear that the group Mr. Locke represents is the same group that is causing trouble for Tommy over a century later. Carey takes advantage of the graphic novel's visual medium to expand the main plotline and move it along via pages that look like blogs, and forums, chat rooms and 'newscasts,' as well as maps and diaries and scenes from his father's book, Tommy Taylor and Golden Trumpet. All of which makes the Unwritten is an engaging treat for the eye and the mind.

The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor & the Bogus Identity reprints The Unwritten 1-5. Extras include unused cover sketches, the script and thumbnails for the book within a book, and an introduction by Bill Willingham, author of Fables.

Reserve your copy of The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor & the Bogus Identity here.