The Unwritten, volumes 1-3

The Unwritten by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
Volume 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity, 144 pages
Volume 2: Inside Man, 144 pages
Volume 3: Dead Man's Knock, 160 pages

The Unwritten follows Tom Taylor, who seems to be the inspiration for his father's Harry Potter-esque blockbuster series of Tommy Taylor novels. When the story opens, Wilson Taylor, the aforementioned author, has been missing for several years, and Tom Taylor is making his living by appearing at Tommy Taylor conventions. However, things quickly turn on their ear as a woman brings up questions about Tom's past. The trio of books takes Tom Taylor on quite a trip, through a prison and in contact with some fantastical elements that seem to be straight out of a novel. The questions throughout: are real guy Tom Taylor and fictional character Tommy Taylor one and the same, and who the heck are the guys hunting Tom?

This is my kind of graphic novel. I love the mix of realism and fantasy, the mix of real world and fictional. It reminded me of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, as well as Stephen Hall's The Raw Shark Texts, both of which allow their main characters to slide into books. I also quite enjoyed the choose-your-own-adventure section in Volume 3. I don't know how Tom/Tommy Taylor's story will resolve itself — or even how many volumes it will take — but I know that I'm really looking forward to Volume 4's release in October. Please tell me we're getting it, Cindy!