The Unwritten



The Unwritten is published by DC Comics under the Vertigo imprint. Current price per issue is $2.99.

Last Issue

 * The Unwritten: Apocalypse #11: 19 Nov 2014

Current Issue

 * The Unwritten: Apocalypse #12: 28 Jan 2015

Next Issue

 * none

Status
Finished.

Main Characters

 * Tom "Tommy" Taylor - Tom Taylor is the son of acclaimed writer Wilson Taylor who is responsible for writing the much loved Tommy Taylor books(in all there have been 13 published.) Wilson Taylor has vanished, his whereabouts unknown to any and all, including Tom.  Tom makes a living off of his father's legacy, traveling from one convention to another(called TommyCon.)  In public, he makes his living by signing books or taking pictures with fans of his fathers work. In private, he dislikes the character and loathes any comparisons to Tommy. At the most recent TommyCon he is questioned by a student named Lizzie Hexam, where she asks him quite simply "Who are you?" She then presents contradictory evidence that he may not be who he says he is. Upon the presentation of the evidence, Tom's agent interrupts and takes him away using the moment to unveil the latest clip from the new Tommy Taylor movie (Tommy Taylor and the Rain of Salt.) The public reaction is harsh to put it lightly, with the news that he may not be the "real" Tom(my) Taylor, mobs of people yell to "KILL THE FRAUD" outside of the hotel he is staying at. It is here that he again meets Lizzie Hexam, who has snuck into the hotel in order to apologize for the public backlash. She informs him that his "enemies will pick up on this disaster" and that Tommy needs to go on the offensive, tell his side of the story, informing him that "Nothing matters more than the stories we tell ourselves to explain the world." Tom refuses to hear her out and slams the door in her face. The public backlash continues over the week and mobs of people show up wherever he is supposed to be in order to protest. It is during this time that Tom reflects that his father's legacy to him is his knowledge of "literary geography," which is the knowledge of the places where pieces of literature have taken place over the years. While the media continues to cover the story, police reopen the investigation to the disappearance of Wilson Taylor in light of the evidence against Tom. Even though the majority of the people feel he is a fraud, there is a small section of people who believe he IS Tommy Taylor come to life.

Allies

 * Wilson Taylor - Wilson Taylor is the famed author of novels chronicling the adventures of Tommy Taylor. In all there have been 13 books written and each have been met with resounding success. Not much is known about Wilson Taylor other than the fact that he has quizzed Tom during his life on the "literary geography" that was so important to him. His disappearance has left many asking what happened to him, whether he was killed, or if he just left everything behind. It has been mentioned by a convention rival of Tom's that Wilson Taylor simply "faded away."


 * Lizzie Hexam - Lizzie Hexam is a student who uncovered information that contradicts the past of Tom(my) Taylor and brought it to light at TommyCon. She later tries to apologize to Tom, but is met with no success. She resurfaces after Count Ambrosio has taken Tom hostage and helps him escape. Not much is known about Lizzie, as her past, like Tom's remains shrouded in mystery. It seems that she knows more than she is letting on, about Tom and about Ambrosio and those who are the "enemies" of Tom.

Enemies

 * Count Ambrosio - Count Ambrosio is a vampire and the arch-enemy of Tommy Taylor in the books written by Wilson Taylor. It is around the time where Tom Taylor's identity comes into question that Count Ambrosio surfaces, but as to whether he is the "real" Count is unclear. He gains power from his victims by sucking their blood and also gains the ability to see through his victims eyes(unknown to them.) Count knocks Tom unconscious and takes him hostage and broadcasts this across the internet. He sets a bomb in order to show the death of Tommy Taylor to the world. Tom pleads with him that the stories are "not worth dying for", to which the Count retorts, "Stories are the only thing worth dying for". Soon thereafter Lizzie Hexam shows up and helps Tom to escape. In a twist of fate, the bomb that the Count set for Tommy detonates and shreds him to pieces.
 * Pullman - Not much is known about Pullman except two things. One, he works for an organization whose interest and apparent benefit is in destroying Tommy Taylor and everything he stands for(including the legacy of Wilson Taylor.)  Two, he seemingly has the power to "liquidate" physical matter.  He is the main antagonist of Tom's thus far, tracking his every move, proving to be a burden on Tom on numerous occasions.

Other Characters/Places/Things
The setting of the story is often influenced by the "literary geography" of novels written in the past. Tom travels the globe in order to investigate further to answer the question of "who he is", and uncovers the settings of the stories which he has studied all his life.

Trade Paperbacks

 * The Unwritten, vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity - Collects vol. 1 #1-5. "Tom Taylor’s life was screwed from the word go. His father created the mega-popular Tommy Taylor boy-wizard fantasy novels. But dad modeled the fictional epic so closely to Tom that fans constantly compare him to his counterpart, turning him into a lame, Z-level celebrity. When a scandal hints that Tom might really be the boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a mysterious, deadly group that’s secretly kept tabs on him all his life. Now, to protect his life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, to all the places in world history where fictions have shaped reality." - -


 * The Unwritten, vol. 2: Inside Man - Collects vol. 1 #6-12. "Tom arrives at Donostia prison in southern France and falls into the orbit of another story: The Song of Roland. Unfortunately for Tom, it’s an epic that ends with a massacre..." - -


 * The Unwritten, vol. 3: Dead Man's Knock - Collects vol. 1 #13-18. "A scheme by the Unwritten cabal to bring its author out of hiding works with dramatic results, leading to a momentous confrontation between Tom and Wilson. Plus, learn the truth behind Lizzie Hexam, Tommy’s mysterious benefactor, in an amazing, interactive tale that lets the reader choose the story’s path." - -


 * The Unwritten, vol. 4: Leviathan - Collects vol. 1 #19-24. "After the shocking return of Tommy’s father, bestselling fantasy author Wilson Taylor, the mysterious Cabal audition a new assassin and Tom seeks out 'the source.' The source of what? He’s not really sure, but it looks like a whale, and apparently it can be found in the Nantucket farmhouse where Moby-Dick was written. What he finds is a path into a whole different ocean, with more trouble (and more whales) than he could possibly imagine." - -


 * The Unwritten, vol. 5: On to Genesis - Collects vol. 1 #24-30. "Tom heads to New York, where the worldly goods of Wilson Taylor are being auctioned off – and the only thing more dangerous than the other bidders is the auctioneer. Then, Tom goes to extreme measures to learn about his father’s activities in the Golden Age of comic books!" - -


 * The Unwritten, vol. 6: Tommy Taylor and the War of Words - Collects vol. 1 #31-35 & #31.5-35.5. "Tom Taylor goes to war against the cabal that has tormented, imprisoned and tried to destroy him." - -


 * The Unwritten, vol. 7: The Wound - Collects vol. 1 #36-41. "When a rash of mysterious disappearances catches the eye of young Australian detective Didge Patterson, it becomes apparent that the cult known as The Church of Tommy is involved. Can Tom Taylor heal 'The Wound' before the real and fictional worlds crumble?" - -


 * The Unwritten, vol. 8: Orpheus in the Underworld - Collects vol. 1 #42-49. "Tommy Taylor ventures into the land of the dead to find and rescue Lizzie. The journey through Hades pits Tommy against all kinds of enemies of undead, but none of these encounters prepare him for his meeting with the king—or for the responsibilities he has to take on for some very familiar damned souls." - -


 * The Unwritten, vol. 9: The Unwritten Fables - Collects vol. 1 #50-54. "A terrible foe has seized the fairytale homelands and our world. In desperation, the witches of Fabletown must summon the greatest mage the worlds have ever seen." - -


 * The Unwritten, vol. 10: War Stories - Collects vol. 2 #1-5. "Lost in the unwritten scenes of all the world's stories, Tom Taylor is headed back to reality — and all the gods and beasts and monsters ever imagined can't stop him. But there's a toll on the road that may be too high for him or anyone to pay…"-


 * The Unwritten, vol. 11: Apocalypse - Collects vol. 2 #6-12. "The three immortals – Wilson, Rausch and Pullman – are moving toward their respective endgames. But when was the last time they were all in the same room together? Answer: half a century ago, in Oxford, England. And the reasons for what they’re doing now can be found in what they said to each other back then…" -


 * The Unwritten Compendium One - Collects vol. 1 #1-30 & The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the Ship That Sank Twice -

Hardcovers

 * The Unwritten Deluxe Edition, Book One - Collects vol. 1 #1-12. - -

Creative Team
Writer: Mike Carey. Artist: Peter Gross. Covers: Yuko Shimizu.

Publishing History

 * Volume 1: #1-54, 2009-2013
 * Volume 2: #1-12, 2014-2015 (Apocalypse)

News & Features

 * 18 May 2009 - Peter Gross: The Art Side of The Unwritten
 * 31 Mar 2009 - Unwritten: Mike Carey & Peter Gross II
 * 30 Mar 2009 - Unwritten: Mike Carey & Peter Gross
 * 26 Mar 2009 - Life as Fiction? Mike Carey on Vertigo's The Unwritten
 * 09 Mar 2009 - CBR TV: Mike Carey (video)
 * 27 Feb 2009 - Mike Carey & Peter Gross on Vertigo's The Unwritten

Podcasts

 * In 2023 the Storied Arcs podcast did a book-club style discussion of the entire series in anticipation of the Black Label compendium publication in 2023.

Links

 * DC Comics - Publisher's Website