Another Spiral City team unearthed.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art: Tyler Crook
Letterer: Tyler Crook
What They Say:
After signing at a comic book convention, Unbelievable Unteens artist Jane Ito finds herself visited by one of the characters from her own creation–but was it her own creation? Were the Unteens an actual school of teenaged misfit superheroes who battled supervillains under the lead of the mysterious Dr. Miles Moniker? And if so, who wiped their memories and why? As Jane’s world is turned upside down and she learns the true nature of her identity she discovers a sinister plot leading her to assemble a team she had suspected was purely fictional.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
One of the things I enjoy about the Black Hammer universe is that Jeff Lemire is able to peel back the layers and introduce new things over time. The nature of how the original series worked and changed things makes it easy to have so many forget, for various reasons and whys, who they were, such as what this series does. Lemire’s script is solid and engaging but made all the more enjoyable by Tyler Crook’s artwork. I’ve really liked his stuff over the years, though some is far more intense than I’m usually game for, but the result is something with real passion, detail, and true artistry to it. I really like his illustrative approach on this one with the color design that gives it a really neat cohesive look and feel.
The premise here is that we’re introduced to Jane Ito, a young woman in her late twenties who works as a comic book writer/artist with her book the Unbelievable Unteens. We see her at the 1997 SpiralCon where she’s doing sketches and signing autographs for fans as the convention winds down, but that just means the start of more work for her with a week to finish deadlines and the like back home. We get the workaholic angle of her life, the dedication to the book that she’s passionate about putting out, and knowing that she has an ending in mind. So when she’s working in her simple if a bit drab work area at home, it’s no surprise when everything is upended by the arrival of one of the characters from her book, Jack Sabbath. And he’s super happy to have found her and to realize that it’s really her.
The problem for Jack is that he’s been dead for the past decade or so and the rest of the team is lost like her, no memories of who they were. She found a way to bring her past life out into her present through artwork and Jack’s intent on working with her to find their comrades. Of course, it takes time to truly convince her that what’s happening is happening, but once her powers start clicking on she can’t really deny it anymore. It’s a lot of fun watching her grapple with this situation as it plays out since Jack is so outgoing and earnest but he’s also been spending the past decade giving tours at a certain library while being dead. He desperately wants to find everyone else but he knows getting Jane on board first, since he’s actually found her, is key to it, and to her accepting and realizing what’s actually going on.
In Summary:
It’s no surprise that we have another strong opening issue to a Black Hammer universe book. The Unbelievable Unteens gives us plenty to work with both in who they are, their disappearance, and what they could possibly in this new incarnation when they’re all found and whatever secrets are out there are revealed. Lemire’s scripts work really well with the dialogue and you really end up liking Jack a whole lot from the start. Crook’s artwork is perfect for this kind of story and I can easily see reading about this group for some time to come based on the initial elements we get here and the potential for what they can be. Easily recommended.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: August 11th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
