By: Rachel Freeman
The Unsound is published by BOOM! Studios. It is written by Cullen Bunn with art by Jack T. Cole.
What’s real and what isn’t? Are the patients actually crazy or are they on to something very real?And what is up with Xerxes?
So far, The Unsound has been able to take generic horror-story plots and twist them in a way that makes the story unpredictable and all-the-more intense. It’s hard to pinpoint who is bad and who is good. Who knows what’s really happening and who is just as clueless as Ashli. But someone knows. Someone is pulling the strings. The even bigger question is becoming, what are the strings leading to?
At the end of the first issue, Ashli was being attacked by 3 patients, one who had chewed the skin off all of her fingers. The chairman, or owner, or whoever he is in relation to the hospital, is skeptical of Ashli’s story and offers to give her something to “help take the edge off”, which Ashli (intelligently) refuses. Meanwhile, they’re having this chat and in the main area of the building, inmates being to riot. Out of nowhere. It’s like a switch was flipped and suddenly they all become violent. Not just towards the staff, but each other as well. Shortly after, the bells begin to toll, though it seems like only Ashli can hear them. Drawings of a man’s head with goat-features appear on the walls. In the ensuing chaos, the 3 men in suits are laughing and have not been touched at all. Nurse Jeffers bursts in to warn Ashli and Dr. Kearney, and the 3 of them meet up with remaining staff and try to get away from the zombie-like mob of crazy people. But no one knows why this is happening or how to get out of it. Or so they think…until they find Xerxes.
Xerxes is the creepiest and also coolest original character I have seen in a long time. If I were to meet him in real-life, I’d be terrified. But at the same time in this comic, he’s so creepily awesome. Like a Jack the Ripper vibe. Crazy but low key knows exactly what’s happening. Hopefully that makes sense. Then again, maybe it doesn’t make sense. Which is kind of the point of this comic. Things make sense but at the same time make no sense at all.
OVERALL SCORE: 9 / 10
I am enthralled by this story. I can’t wait to see what happens next. I just wish it was a little more clear on what the fuck is going on in this place. However, that’s the point. We are just as clueless as the poor characters stuck in this horrible place.
Make sure you pick up a copy of The Unsound #2 from your local comic store!
Happy reading!
