The Unwritten Vol. 9: The Unwritten Fables

While I enjoy Fables and the Unwritten series, this volume does not move the Unwritten series plot forward and seems like an awkward attempt at product placement by Vertigo. The authors did a decent job of blending both stories, but it was at the expense of the continuity of the Unwritten series. The Unwritten series seems to be making statements about the role of stories in everyday life and the power stories have; therefore, introducing the world of Fables where fictional characters live in New York City and then go back to their world to free their land did not quite work. Overall, the Unwritten series suffered most from this blending because the trajectory of the story got lost as did the larger points that the author seems to be making. And, the only way to explain the continuity problems for the Unwritten was to use the multiple worlds science fiction trophe, which is not consistent with the Unwritten's larger plot line. I would advise fans of the Unwritten series to avoid this volume - they won't even miss any significant plot developments. To Fables fans and all others, I would recommend giving it a read - it is well done and fun.

I love Mike Carey's work in general and The Unwritten in particular. I loved Fables, although it fell off my radar after volume 10--not because it got bad, but because that felt like such a logical end-point for the series that I sort of forgot that it kept going. Even so, I couldn't muster much excitement when I heard the two were crossing over. It just didn't make any sense.Well, I read all the reviews, and the consensus seemed to be, "Skip it. Nothing important happens." I almost did, but I figured I might as well read it; all those reviewers were probably exaggerating. Surely, something important must happen, something that would prevent some aspect of the next arc from making sense if I didn't read it.They were not exaggerating.First off, this story doesn't even take place in continuity with the Fables series. But how can I know that if I haven't read Fables in several years? I won't spoil anything, just trust me. It's obvious. No creative team would allow this to happen to their characters and their world in someone else's book, much less participate. Especially when you consider how inconsequential this story arc is. How inconsequential is this story arc? Nothing that happens here is mentioned or referenced in The Unwritten volume 10. When Tom is reunited with Lizzie and Richie, he mentions that stuff happened while he was away; he does not say anything specific about that stuff. You could just as easily make up your own story about where Tom went and what befell him and how he returned, and save yourself the ten-fifteen bucks.It isn't horrible or anything. For what it is, it's well written. It's just pointless.

The name gives it away: This is a crossover between two major Vertigo hits, the Unwritten and Fables. The issue here should be obvious, if you haven't read very much of the Fables series like me, most of this isn't going to make a lot of sense to you.Tom Taylor has been dragged into Fables by a spell from Fables most powerful magicians. The Fables cast is fighting a losing war against the Bogeyman, with no end in sight. It's up to Tommy to help turn the tide of battle.Now, I can definitely see the writing talent involved here. The artwork, dialogue, and what I understand from the character work is definitely up to par with what I've seen from Mike Carey but without knowing all the backround, I can't give this a great review.

This was the first volume in the "Unwritten" series anything but "wowed" by. I was incredibly happy when I saw that a Fables/Unwritten crossover was occurring, as Fables remains one of my favorite series as well. However, I can't help but feel like the author's were coasting smoothly and steadily along buoyed by fantastic writing and artwork, and yet abruptly came to an almost screeching halt as they ground gears trying change the pace and direction with this particular volume. Despite some decent but frustratingly obtuse/enigmatic dialogue from Frau Totenkinder and a decent sort of "what-if" rehash of the Mr. Dark storyline, nearly everything else just seemed to stall-out.

While I'm a big fan of The Unwritten, this volume can be safely skipped. The events contained within are of little to no consequence to the larger plot, and further, if you haven't read any Fables, this volume will spoil some plot details. These issues come off as nothing more than a forced attempt to combine Vertigo's biggest titles, at the expense of stealing the momentum of The Unwritten's plot.

great

It's okay.It's a Fables tie-in, but in an alternate Fables reality. Didn't seem too important to the story line so far, but maybe it will be.

There's a little more insight into how the mechanics of The Unwritten work in this volume. I got a little annoyed at Tom for not "getting it" again, but it was only to set up the next step in the storytelling.

This collection contains five issues, including the extra-sized fiftieth. They comprise a 'crossover' of sorts with the characters from that other Vertigo comicbook series, 'Fables'. As is the nature with most such crossovers, the result is not satisfactory for fans of either story.The Fables literally hijack Tom from the mission he embarked on at the end of the last volume, diverting him onto a tangential quest that carries no significance to him or the carefully nurtured plot of the previous eight volumes. And by the end, he's right back where he started, ready for Volume 10.This volume could be skipped without impacting the narrative of 'The Unwritten' in any way. If you like 'Fables', this may be worth it for the chance to see the characters at their darkest hour, but it also has little in the way of repercussions for the main story.

Loved the crossover with fables which I haven't read!

I love Unwritten. It's well constructed and different from most comics I find.I just wish that they would have stayed away from crossovers... I'm not a big fan of crossovers I must say, and I don't see why Mike Carey felt the need to incorporate Fables into his storyline... It didn't serve much purpose and can be confusing for people like me that are not up-to-date on Fables.The 8 previous volumes were much much better. Vol 9 was a little bit of a let down for me.With all that said; still not a bad read... hence the three stars.Cheers,

Gutes Crossover, hätte auch gerne länger sein dürfen, auch nach vielen Nummern immer noch stark

Having followed Mike's series' as I graduated my teenage years until the present day I know this; Mike's writing is not beautiful alone. The parables and wisdom he has shared through story telling I've no doubt will enrich the lives of any persons who come and go from these stories, I hope more people come before this world ends.