Review - The Unknown

The Unknown
written by Mark Waid
art by Minck Oosterveer
Boom Studios

The book for The Unknown collects the first 4 issues of the comic series. It is about a world famous detective named Catherine Allingham who uses Sherlock Holmes like hyper-logic to solve closed room murder cases. The story opens up where Catherine hires as an assistant a muscular bouncer who has an natural ability to read people named James Doyle. We learn early on the Catherine is dying of a brain tumor and suffers from hallucinations. One reoccurring vision she has is of a tall, pale man with a thin smile. Though disturbing, Catherine knows it's just a figment of her condition and ignores her fear. Ultimately, Catherine with her rational mind and terminal condition, is compelled to try and understand what happens to people after they die. Her investigations lead her to take cases that might shed some tangible scientific truths about an afterlife.

I really liked this book. I remember seeing it at the comic shop when it first came out, but it was a thick week and I couldn't justify picking up another book to myself. The characters are interesting. The really interesting character in the story is James Doyle. We really don't know his past. There are some flashbacks to tragedy, but we're not privy to what his background might have. Catherine is interesting in that she is focused on solving problems all the time. We don't get any real glimpses into her background. But we really don't need any. She is driven to find the Truth, no matter where it leads while James seems to question weather finding the Truth is a good or bad thing.

The artwork by Oosterveer is really good. The narrative is clear and the characters are expressive. Catherine almost always has a smug expression while James has more range from confused to concerned. Readers will be able to follow the action easily and should be really creeped out by his hallucination character of the pale man.

I'll catalog this book in the teen area. There is no bad language, nudity, sexual situations or gratuitous violence that would offend sensitive parents. This is a good mystery with a supernatural twist that people who don't want to read super hero stories should check out. I just hope that they make more so we can follow Catherine and James to see if they can find the answer to the ultimate question.