Possibly-psychotic little girl kicks ass in "The Unwritten" #8

[mcbangle]

This is my first s_d 3.0 post, and I believe only my second s_d post overall, since I don't have regular access to a scanner. But, I've got a scanner now and I thought I'd share a little love for "The Unwritten".

"The Unwritten" is a Vertigo ongoing written by Mike Carey and Peter Gross that explores the intertwining of fiction and reality and the theme that words, once written, are powerful (whether high literature or banal tweets). I'm being intentionally vague about the plot for those who may be trade waiting, but it involves the impact of fiction on reality, fan culture and the 24-hour internet news cycle, a map of fictional places, a disappearing and reappearing tattoo, and a conspiracy to manipulate how stories are told. Oh, and Tom Taylor, son and only heir of the author of the worldwide phenomenon "Tommy Taylor" book series about a boy wizard attending wizarding school with his winged animal companion, two best friends and beloved headmaster while fighting an enemy who would destroy the world.

The latest issue is an interlude focusing on Cosi, the daughter of a peripheral character. Cosi is an obsessed fan of the Tommy Taylor books, spending much of her time playing an elaborate game with her younger brother, Leon, in which they play Tommy's best friends from the books, Sue Sparrow and Peter Price.


She looks a bit like Hermione, doesn't she?

Her obsession doesn't exactly make her popular at school but, well, let's just say that the books have taught her a thing or two.


Ouch.



I thought this issue was an interesting look further into the Tommy Taylor phenomenon, and gave me, for one, a better understanding for the first time of the fanatical Tommy Taylor fans that have so far been seen only in the periphery of this book. Given what we've seen so far of fiction crossing over into reality, I suspect there may be more to Cosi's obsession than simple fandom.

Oh yeah, and there's a little girl kicking ass, a favorite theme of mine. Of course, it's a possibly-psychotic little girl kicking little kid ass in a cringe-inducing way, but I'll take it.

Comments

[From: darkblade]

This has caught my attention and I shall be hunting this down when it comes to trade. I always do enjoy exploring how fiction effects reality and a little ass kicking girl is always entertaining even if her ass kicking is more Rorasach with Harry Potter curses than Princess Powerful...

[From: kainnived.livejournal.com]

I too am interested, though after this scan I hope that iction isn't incroaching on reality and litle girl just happens to be bug fucking nutty and blinded an innocent boy for no good reason.

[From: mcbangle]

(Un?)Fortunately, on a later page it says something along the lines of "We're lucky he didn't lose an eye". Still, bug fucking nutty little girl jamming her fingers into a little boy's eye for no good reason is still something, isn't it?

[From: kainnived.livejournal.com]

Indeed! Though it would also be amusing if he was blinded but everyone was more upset that she broke the other kid's iPhone.

[From: koschei]

More bullies should have their eye(s) gouged out.

[From: maramala]

Bullies are never innocent.

[From: kamino_neko]

I like Cosi, even if she kind of needs mental help.

But her father, who I had sympathy for, until the last page of the last issue - where he stopped seeming like someone in a bad position and started looking like a minor villain - is officially on my hate list. For how he deals both with Cosi and Tom - encouraging Cosi's apparent psychosis (that, yes, Tommy is, in a way, real, doesn't change that Cosi's cheese has slipped ever so slightly off her cracker), and his severe mistreatment of Tom, which seems to have more to do with his being Tom Taylor, and thus infringing on Cosi's (psychotic) fantasy world, than anything else.

I just hope Cosi and Leon survive the next issue...

[From: mcbangle]

I just hope Cosi and Leon survive the next issue... Me too! They both have the workings of interesting supporting characters, and it would be a shame to only use them for 2 issues.

As for their father (whose name I'm blanking on - gah!), I still see him as someone mired in a bad situation who only got himself in deeper trying to get out. His continuing to support Cosi's obsession and denial of his part in it are bad, definitely, but I think he's been unaware until recently of how serious it was, and is now taking it out on Tom rather than really dealing with it. Not right, for sure, but I can see how he would react that was without really supporting it.

[From: mcbangle]

"that way", not "that was".

[From: kamino_neko]

I would have maintained more sympathy for him if he'd just been especially hard on Tom. But...well, I don't want to spoil it for anyone who's not read the book, but the event from last pages of last issue and this one... But while he clearly didn't really understand the kind of people he was dealing with, I can't imagine he didn't realize they intend Tom's death, and that just knocks him out of 'bad situation == bad choices' into 'evil' - not actively evil, just standing back and watching evil that he's in a position to stop.

[From: filthysize]

Second best Vertigo series right now (after Unknown Soldier). This title gives me the same great joy Fables used to give me.

[From: scottyquick]

SOMEONE isn't reading Air. Or Madame Xanadu.

[From: scottyquick]

SOMEONE'S not reading Air or Madame Xanadu.

[From: filthysize]

Oh, I did.

[From: nevermore999]

This hit pretty close to home for me actually when I read it.

When I was ten, i had no friends, and my dad was generally an asshole to me because of his alcoholism. I felt really trapped at home and at school But I had Harry Potter, and it allowed me to escape. There was nothing I like better than to imagine, shit I could go to this magical world and have all these wonderful friends. This horrible isolation and cruelty at school and home wasn't all there was- I could escape into this magical world. It was really the ONE THING I had in my life.

So I was pretty obsessive and open about the whole thing, and of course, the kids at school picked on me for it. There was this one kid who mocked me constantly. One day, after a barrage of insults, he of course disses Harry Potter to annoy me. I can't remeber what he said, but I finally snapped and stabbed him with a pencil.

It was a dull pencil but it made a mark and I freaked out and was begging him not to tell anyone and apologizing. He was crying, but he wasn't going to tell, but of course one of the other kids who picked on me (who was actually a former friend who dumped me because "I was too ugly and needy") jumped at the chance to get me in trouble and I was suspended for three days.

So it was very weird seeing this scene, because I totally get what Cosi is going through. You can invest so much in a fictional world because you sincerely want to believe there's something more in life- and of course, when someone tries to break that, it's like your whole world crumbles- and of course, Tommy Taylor is a Harry Potter analogue, so it's ultra freaky.

Granted, at least I wasn't yelling spells and didn't attempt to claw Calem's eyes out, so I wasn't QUITE so psychotic.

(I'm really grateful that HP helped me get through my childhood- it may have worsened my problems in some ways, but the escapism and good lessons- girls can be geeks and be cool, love is all you need- it provided really helped me not go crazy)

[From: nevermore999]

Also, the Unwritten is awesome.

[From: ravenous_raven]

*raises virtual glass of virtual water in a toast* I wasn't in as much trouble to you, but still, here's to Harry Potter saving readers. (and people try to compare HP to Twilight...!)

[From: nevermore999]

*toasts back*

Argh, while HP encourages all kinds of cool,good stuff like choosing the right thing over the easy thing and that smart girl can have it good too- Twilight just teaches girls NEGATIVE things like that stalking is okay and guys are allowed to control you- and that actually scares me when I hear 12 year old girls talk about Twilight with the same entranced glee I talked about Harry Potter with. I worry that they'll think it's okay to go into depressive fits for three months and throw yourself into danger over boys!

HP actually deals with complex issues like grief and REAL love and morality-and Twilight just has some tedious bland one dimensional twisted concept of tru luv going for it. It makes me sad.

[From: ravenous_raven]

Ay-MEN. the good thing though is that some girls may like the fantasy/romance aspect of the books, they don't necessarily internalize it. one good friend of mine is a die-hard fan, but after I talked some relationship things out with her, I found out she has a /much/ steadier head on her shoulders than I had previously thought.

thing is, she's in highschool. I fear for the 5th graders, I really do...:(

[From: nevermore999]

I agree. It's not really the older girls I'm too concerned for- I sort of read the first two books without thinkin' much about em when I was 16- and sort of liked them okay because I didn't think about all the stupid stuff in them too much- and even then I realized there's no way Bella's behavior could be applied to real life.

It's definitely 12 year olds that I fear for as well. A lot of younger kids are pretty impressionable, I know I was, and while I don't believe kids don't know the difference between reality and fiction- I do believe it's entirely possible for a particularly impressionable youngling to think the relationships in Twilight are okay and intenalize that. And god forbid a fifth grader read Breaking Dawn...TRAUMA.

[From: ravenous_raven]

yeah, it's the girls who haven't actually dated or seen any peers in a real relationship that worries me...I'm just hoping there aren't any creeper boys taking notes after Edward....

[From: ian_karkull]

I've already ordered the trade and am really excited to see if the series holds up to all the good things I've heard. So, I'm just skimming over the post in order not to be spoiled, but I really need to say this:

I want to marry each and every one of Yuko Shimizu's covers for The Unwritten. They're utterly fantastic.

[From: darklorelei]

Totally. The covers are goooorgeous.

[From: mcbangle]

OMG, I love Yuko Shimizu's covers!

[From: suzene]

This was one of the few comics to survive on my monthly pull after the Great Tradewaiting Purge. It would probably have stayed anyway, just because Mike Carey and Peter Gross built up a ton of goodwill with me after Lucifer, but damn...this book just gets better and better every month. This is a title I definitely don't mind double-dipping on.

[From: thatnickguy]

I picked up the first two issues and was blown away. I did it to support the title's beginning but now I'll do the trade waiting (first one comes out in January!).

Maybe it's just me and maybe it's because I'm an English Major and a literary geek, but I feel this series could be right up there with Sandman. Yep, I said it and not afraid to say it again.

[From: geoffsebesta]

I like things that make me laugh out loud.

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