Everything Unseen Parts 4 & 5
There are two reasons for me to reread a book after reading it the first time. There’s the obvious reason of needing to get a better handle on the book, as maybe later bits helped clarify earlier bits. Then there’s a general sense of “what the fuck.” This book manages to take the best elements of both of those choices and it made the reread a significantly improved experience. I haven’t read the first issue of this series (which collects the first three parts of this series), and it’s always tricky to pick up any story in the middle, not to mention one that does so much to fuck with your head. I was able to figure out that our hero is trapped in a desert and was only able to leave through “cosmic intervention.” He fights a local god and wins, so he gets to basically steer that god for the rest of the issue (while also being influenced by that god). The sample page I used is the process of the two of them joining together, which admittedly isn’t the best representation of the series (there’s usually more talking), but it’s such a fantastic page that I couldn’t help myself. They get acquainted with one another, our hero eventually wants out (and deals this god a pretty much mortal blow in the process), and is able to escape with the help of the girl that got him free in the first place. Along the way there are several conversations that I couldn’t hope to encapsulate here, but I will say that this is set in a far future time and there are a few tantalizing references to current events and technology. This is all in part 4, by the way. The only trouble I had with this part is that he used pencils for the lettering, but that’s purely an aesthetic problem, as it’s not like he left unerased pencil lines over the place. It was as neat a use of a pencil for lettering as it could possibly be. And the writing carries you effortlessly along this world that should be a complete mess to the reader, so the minor quibbles about aesthetics end up going nowhere. So how about part 5? Our hero is on the run, with the chapter starting with a long bit of text about the history of running, why humans ever bothered with it (when they often just found themselves back where they started a run) and how our hero would have handled it if he was alive when it was popular. From there the chase is on with some “people” who want our hero back/want to punish him for his role in hurting that god from the last part. It also gets way crazier than the previous part, which is really saying something, but it’s best for you to find that out for yourself. And if you’re annoyed by the cliffhanger, there’s also a brief interlude that shows us what happens next after part 5. This one got off to a rocky start for me on my first read through, but after sticking with it for a bit the whole thing opened up for me and everything made perfect sense. Which, come to think of it, probably should have been more alarming than it was. So to sum up, as I rambled even more than usual this time (which, for new readers, is a good sign for the book itself): panel layouts that tweak any “rules” for such things whenever he feels it necessary, chunks of text and dialogues that scream out for multiple readings in the hopes of getting all the nuggets out of them, and an oddly compelling if sometimes mind-boggling story. Sounds like plenty to me. The website for Revival House Press (the publishers of this book, which is hefty in case I haven’t mentioned that yet) appears to be down, but check with Drew directly for a copy. $11
