The Unbelievable Unteens #2
Unbelievable Unteens comic-book artist Jane Ito finds her world flipped upside down after discovering that the heroes from her comics were not so fictional and she herself was one of them and had powers. As she and the team of underdog heroes once known as the Unteens begin to come back together they slowly discover what happened to them, why their memories were wiped, and who was behind this evil plot.
Written By: Jeff Lemire
Art, Colors and Letters By: Tyler Crook
Tyler Crooks art is a masterclass. It’s deep and at times breathtaking. I was literally astounded by the work he put into this issue. The Unbelievable Unteens #2 from Crook and Lemire continues along with what I consider one of the best drawn and colored single issues of 2021.
I wanted to start by mentioning the art, because of just how amazing this issue was art-wise. We get meta, we get a look behind the vale of Jane Ito, and we get a comic issue that is interactive and fun for its readers. But behind it all, we get a simple and effective story of Jane Ito and Jack putting the team back together. We see the past and we see the present, and they are both presented in a way through the art and the writing, that is easy to read and follow, but like I said above make for a fun read.
Seeing the team coming back together through Jane and Jack, and their alter egos was great. Seeing how far along with their memories other members of the team are as well, was a nice wrinkle. Through the past, we see The Unteens in various states of unrest and heroism. Snapdragon, Strakka, Strobe, and Jack Sabbath used to be the team but now in the “real” world are fighting to get back their memories. Seeing the team on the meta page (the past) makes me want an actual Unteens book (ala X-Men). The team dynamic is always something that excites me about the superhero genre and seeing The Unteens in the past and now reforming their memories back again has my excitement level for this series at a high.
There is a mystery here that I assume will start to unfold over the next issues, but for right now getting to know the characters is enough to sell me on this book. Along with Crooks art and the World of Black Hammer behind it, The Unbelievable Unteens is another solid entry.