If you get that feeling that it’s just more of the same, and you want a bit of a change, I say this week is a good time for it. In a move that might make Donald Rumsfeld smile, there are 3 new series out that all coincidenally seem to start with “un”. I take that as a sign of some kind. No, I’m not sure what that is. But, try something new, and you just might be surprised.
Unwritten #1 by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo) – This is most of the team who brought us Lucifer, one of my favorite series of all time, minus Ryan Kelly. If you’ve read a Vertigo book in the last month or so, you’ve probably seen a preview of this title, which looks pretty good. The series focuses on Tom Taylor, the boyhood inspiration for a wildly popular series of books. But of course, as this is a Vertigo book, there’s something amiss. Honestly, that’s about all I know, but the track record for this team has me very excited to read a new story, and it’s a pretty neat premise.
Unthinkable #1 by Mark Sable and Julian Totino Tedesco (Boom! Studios) – This book seems to be about a thinktank. Now, I know that doesn’t sound like the most exciting thing in the world, but its mission is to think of nightmare scenarios the country needs to look out for. I find this interesting because thinktanks like this actually exist, and it also takes an extraordinary amount of imagination to keep thinking of scenarios like this, and see how it plays out in a story like this. Plus, it’s just a four 5 issue miniseries, so what have you got to lose?
Unknown #1 by Mark Waid and Minck Oosterveer (Boom! Studios) – For those of you who remember Ruse, which was sort of a Sherlock Holmes character in the Victorian age, this might be the book for you. It’s about a woman known as the smartest person in the world, and its best private investigator. I must say that if I were the smartest person in the world (and I’m not admitting I’m not), I don’t think I’d enter that specific game. But still, it allows Waid to do something he’s very good at, and I’m pleased to see him take the reigns on some new series.
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I’ll be checking out Unwritten for sure, it looks awesome. I’ll wait and see with the others, as the premises don’t interest me too much.
Great idea for an article!
Unthinkable sounds interesting, but will wait to see what the masses say.
I’m checking out Unwritten. The preview seems interesting, and you sure can’t beat a 40 page comic for $1. I’ve not heard of the other two, but Unthinkable seems interesting.
Unwritten is $1. Everybody should be picking that up.
I’ve actually wanted to try all 3 of these
You can’t pass up a 40 pager for a buck. ‘Nuff said. Based on this article I think I’ll probably pick up Unthinkable too. Sounds like a crazy concept and only a mini so, why not? No Unknown for me though, not my thing. Let’s hope that wednesday isn’t unimpressive. I apologize to my 9th grade english teacher for the double negative but i never did meet a bad joke I didn’t like.
I would love to try these books. Unfortunately, there is very little chance that my tiny shop will ever carry anything from Boom! Studios. There is some chance the Vertigo book will be there, but probably only 2-3 copies. Therefore, I will be waiting for the trades. Not due to preference, but simply out of necessity.
I’m definately excited for Unwritten, as for the other 2 titles it’s the first I’ve ever heard about them and since they’re from Boom and my LCS doesn’t carry any titles from that publisher… I’ll just have to wait for the reviews and then for the eventual TPB ’cause both premises sound interesting.
Unthinkable looks pretty neat, but a 4-issue mini is definitely the sort of thing I’ll be trying in trade.
@stulach – yowza, man! You need a new shop!
I’m pretty excited for Unwritten. Cool concept and Mike Carey is definitely a writer I’ve enjoyed more often than not. Unknown appeals to me as I wanted to like Ruse, but couldn’t get into the whole supernatural element included to keep with the Crossgen universe. So maybe I will give this one a shot. Unthinkable seems interesting. I might have to check out the first issue. But I have noticed that I tend to prefer a lot of the Boom! stuff in Trade (since they often focus on finite tales).
All three sound interesting, and all three I will be trying in trade. Out of preference, as that is how I enjoy these types of books more so than month to month.
I’m definitely scoping out Unwritten. Not only is it a steal for $1, but all the preview materials I’ve read in other Vertigo books make it sound really, really interesting. Can’t wait to read the whole thing on Wednesday.
I’m planning on checking out all three, unless my LCS sells out before I get there
Mark Waid is a safe bet, he’s been great.
Mike Carey’s Ultimate Fantastic Four, not so good.
@KickAss – Rather than a Marvel super-hero book, I think you’ve gotta go with a book like Lucifer or Crossing Midnight (underappreciated) as a glimpse into what Carey can do with Unwritten.
I was already gonna pick up Unwritten, since I’ve been loving the hell out of Lucifer (pun not intended) in trades over the past year or so, but you’ve convinced me to pick up the other two. I didn’t realize Waid was writing Unknown. Irredeemable has been great so far, and I’m getting more and more excited about his non Marvel/DC books. Unthinkable had a pretty interesting preview in that book actually, and since I’m dropping a few titles, I should have some room in my budget.
I was already planning on snagging Unwritten, but I didn’t even realize that Unthinkable was coming out wednesday. I read something about it months ago on CBR and thought it sounded like a genius idea. Might have to check that out too.
Picking up Unwritten. I like Mark Waid, but after reading the preview for Unknown I will not be picking it up.
I’ll be getting Unwritten as I love a new Vertigo, really like Carey’s work for that imprint and just thought it sounded interesting. I like the premise of Unknown too, but my LCS doesn’t tend to have Boom stuff on the shelf for such spontaneous purchases, so it could be a trade wait.
Unthinkable and Unknown sound like my cup of tea. I really liked Ruse and have the entire set bagged and boarded so I’m leaning to Unknown as a wild card pick.
All three of these sounds un.
Unwritten looks interesting; but the $1 price is really the reason I will try it…..If my LCS gets it.
The others, eh…
Unknown looks pretty good, mostly because I like the name Minck Oosterveer (I kid). I think I am intrigued by a Mark Waid detective story. Wish me luck trying to get it at the store….
yep, i’ve pull all three books. I think unthinkable looks fantastic, very excited by that title. i’m pretty lukewarm to the unwritten and will decide if i’m buying unknown at the store
@daccampo – I agree, but the next closest option is roughly 50 minutes away. Not really a valid option on a Wednesday afternoon. I don’t suppose you want to move to rural Georgia and open a comic shop?
You’ve convinced me to try Unknown! I had no ideait was coming out and it sounds great!
@stulach – ha! Sounds like I might have to! Wouldn’t be much competition! Man, I tend to forget how spoiled I am by the plethora of comics shops in Los Angeles.
This is a great feature! You guys should highlight new series once a month. I’ll be getting Unthinkable and would not have heard of it without this post. Thanks!
It’s quite obvious I need to write for iFanboy. You idea thief you!
@Gimpace, same, I had designs on Unwritten and Unknown already, but Unthinkable was under my radar. I haven’t REALLY loved a new series since Air, so I’ve got high hopes for Wednesday.
First, give me the names of the stores that are not carry our comics! It’s worth a shot me calling them personally to see what I can do!
Second, both these books rock. You should check them out!
Third, UNTHINKABLE is 5 issues.
Fourth, I love iFanboy!
Chip Mosher
BOOM! Studios
corrected the post to UNTHINKABLE being 5 issues
People – take this man up on his offer – if your store doesn’t carry BOOM books, give him their name and number – he will most definitely call them…and I’m curious to hear how that turns out…so please, take him up on his offer.
I must be buy-curious, because I will be trying all three.
Added Unwritten and Unthinkable months ago thanks to previews. Both look great.
@WadeWilson: I see what you did there.
I’m definitely getting Unwritten. It already sounds like exactly what I’ve been looking for in a monthly, and for a buck I’d be foolish not to. I’ll trade wait the others if they sound good. I don’t have much room in my budget for minis at the moment. Unthinkable does sound very interesting.
@ChipMosher – Middle Georgia Cards & Comics – 478-452-2631
The owner is a good guy. I generally believe he doesn’t carry books by BOOM! and other smaller publishers because he feels there isn’t enough demand locally. He may be right and it certainly isn’t in his best interest to carry books that he can’t sell. Milledgeville is a college town, so business really slows down in the summer. However, if you can convince him to carry some BOOM! books I will certainly check them out. Good luck.
I think I’ve been talked into ‘Unwritten’ and I appreciate the heads up about Unknown. I’ve never heard of Ruse, but I remember Waid talking about Unknown in an interview and wanting to check it out. Light week, hah!
@ChipMosher (and Ron) – I informed my LCS owner to expect a call. He said he looks forward to talking to you.
Watched Mark Sable on CBR TV with Mark Waid. It still feels like something I might want to wait for the trade on, but I’ve got to say — it sounds really compelling. Great high concept. If I don’t buy the first issue today, it’s entirely likely I will buy the TPB when it comes out.
Unwritten is pretty cool. My kind of book.
Read Unwritten, eh is was okay. Nothing mind blowing….which is a problem when you want to try and hook some readers in with a first issue.
I’ll say this, J.K Rowling should get a check from all the ‘homages’ to Harry Potter in this.
I’m with ya, Paul. Read Unwritten and Unknown at lunch. Unwritten was great. Allusions to Harry Potter by way of Christopher Robin, with a literary conspiracy theory at the center of it. It felt like a really solid set-up with lots of potential. Definitely lots of bang for the literal buck.
I enjoyed the concept of Unknown. And I liked the conceit of the first storyline (avoiding spoilers). Intriguing final page. However, some of the setup felt a little rushed. Waid really drops you into the middle of the scene, and he does a good job of zipping you along and then dropping down the hammer at little intervals, but some of it just zipped by too fast. I wanted to bask in a scene for a moment or two. He’s definitely trying to get to the plot quickly, but I wanted to "feel" the characters a bit more.
I was in a bit of a rush so I forgot about Unknown and Unthinkable. My shop probably had them, as they carry everything, and I just missed them. I’ll take a look next week (which will reportedly be a light week for me).
That would probably be smarter. I just decided to make this my massive week, and I bought all three of these #1s, the I Kill Giants TPB, plus the 1st issue of the Aftermath: Escape mini-series, which I decided to try. Plus a few regular ongoing comics. With a new TPB and four #1 issues, that’s lots of new stories. A week like that is fun sometimes. There is definitely something exciting about a new #1, a new concept, a new story.
We’ll say it was inadvertently smart. There’s some kind of magnetic strip in the doorway of my comic shop that wipes my memory, causing me to forget whatever I intended to pick up. Stepping up to the new release wall is a moment of discovery, regardless of my planning. If the guy at the counter didn’t greet me by name I’d probably leave the shop totally unaware of my own identity.
Thanks for the info. I will be calling and see what we can do!
Chip
Unwritten was AMAZING i couldnt find the other ones though but i asked my LCS owner to order them for me
I just picked up Unthinkable yesterday for the art alone. Will defintiely be reading that at work today. I mean after work today. Like I would even think about reading comics during work. Pfffttt!
Read Unthinkable. I really enjoyed it for the most part. The art was amazing. That guy is a serious find! The concept is great, and Sable does a good job of presenting it, but there were a few awkward bits here and there. Some of the dialogue needed an extra beat. It was serviceable but needed a little extra spark. I wanted more time in the Think Tank. I felt like we sped away from those scenes just when they were getting interesting. Actually, the pacing from that point whips along like a Michael Bay movie, which is cool, but… kinda like Unknown, I wanted them to settle into a few more scenes for a bit longer.I guess that’s the struggle with a good first issue. You have to get enough done to make it compelling, but that can make the pacing feel a bit rushed. I hope more publishers try the "40-page" first issue like Unwritten. The scenes in that book weren’t rushed, but we still got to an interesting spot in the plot by the end of the first issue.