The Unbelievable Unteens #4

The Unbelievable Unteens #4

Dark Horse Comics 2021

Written by Jeff Lemire

Illustrated & Lettered by Tyler Crook

Unbelievable Unteens comic book artist Jane Ito finds her world turned upside down after discovering her comic book creations were real and she was one of them. As she and the Unteens reunite and put the pieces together they take on the forces that disbanded them for one final fight.

Part of me is impressed that this is a finished story in four issues. There’s no what if or what can still be it is a complete story. Another part of me isn’t thrilled that this is complete because I want to see more of these kids. Sure we can see their adventures when they were first starting out and that would give us a decent fix for them in the future. As it stands right now I am content with what we see. This has been a breath of fresh air and in a weird way it adds some light into such a dark aspect of the Black Hammer universe. I also think this is one of the better books in expanding the Black Hammer world and by bringing in teenagers, who are now adults, you add something that has that youthful exuberance as well as unlimited potential with the characterisation.

I am very much enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as we see how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter and this does a magnificent job in spotlighting their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more we want to see of them.

I’m impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I also like how we see the layers open up new avenues to be explored, such as the Horseless Rider who I now need to see more of, and how this adds so much depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

The interiors here are fantastic! Tyler’s unique style in bringing this to life with his mix of watercolour and linework do wonders in really creating the right mood, tone and feel for every given moment. The attention to detail that we see throughout is a perfect combination of this and it’s amazing how much depth and dimension the two mediums are able to bring to the pages. We see a fair amount of backgrounds being utilised throughout and how they expand and enhance the moments while also working within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is utterly marvellous. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow works shows a master colourist at work.

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While yes this was just enough to wet the appetite for us wanting to see more it is also impressive that the story really does feel completely told. The crafting of the story from concept through execution is flawlessly executed, which is much more difficult to achieve than one might imagine. This is thanks to the extraordinary writing and amazing characterisation that’s wrapped up in the beautifully bespoke interiors creating the perfect addition to the Black Hammer world.