Review – Unfollow #12 (Vertigo Comics)

Publisher: Vertigo Comics
Writer: Rob Williams
Artist: Mike Dowling
Release Date: 12th October, 2016

With this issue, Unfollow reaches the end of its first year.

What a year it’s been too, with a concept that turns social media on its head, and characters that seem both relatable in today’s society yet weirdly unbelievable at the same time (I’m looking at you, Akira), Unfollow has been top of my read pile since the very first issue.

This latest chapter opens straight where we left off last time. Focusing on David/Deacon and Akira/Courtney, we see their stories tie up, not exactly nicely, but Rob Williams definitely has a larger plan going on here. Having the focus on only these two stories this time gives them both a chance to breathe, and allows the action to unfold steadily over the course of the issue. While there are still some plot points up in the air, this seems like a good finish to the first twelve issues.

The progression these characters have shown over the course of the series has been so incredibly organic, and serves as a testament to the strength of Williams’ writing. Not a single one is perfect, and while the situations are larger than life, the ways they react are so perfectly human it makes everything seem so much more realistic.

Mike Dowling proves once again with this issue why he is such an incredible talent. From the lush forests of Akira’s compound to the war zone that David and Deacon are in, his backgrounds are stunning. Every face is fraught with emotion, and the details that seem tiny help to make each page flat-out incredible to look at. I’m always a fan of irregular panel structure, and here it’s utilised perfectly to show the sense of pace throughout the issue, but sparingly enough that it doesn’t detract from the art.

I’ve fawned over the book enough now, right? It’s near damn perfect, and has been since issue one. If you’re not reading it by now, you need to go and rectify that immediately, because if the final few pages of this first year are anything to go by, the next twelve are going to be even better.

Rating: 5/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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