Unfinished Tales by Ed Brubaker; artwork by Sean Phillips
Many thanks to Image Comics and NetGalley for the advanced
copy of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ latest collaboration Unfinished Tales.
I haven’t read too much by Ed Brubaker and I’m still relatively new to non-horror
comics, but I was absolutely blown away by this tale of fame, fortune, and
severe writer’s block (or procrastination). Unfinished Tales might be
one of the best books I’ve read about the challenges of creativity and creating
art in a market that values commercial success. The story focuses on Finnegan
Blake, whose Knights of the Sun series is widely considered one of the
most popular and best-selling fantasy series of the 21st century. The
series, which generated a multi-season television show, has fans that follow
Blake to various conventions and talks, despite (or maybe in spite of) the fact
that Blake hasn’t completed the final book in the series. The last book was
published many years ago, leaving fans eagerly anticipating the final entry. While
many fans are hopefully anticipating Blake’s last entry, others are growing
restless, with one fan even confronting Blake at a talk, with his public rebuke
of Blake’s delay in completing the book going viral.
One of the great aspects of this book is how Brubaker’s writing
and Phillips’ excellent artwork allow for a slow reveal where we begin to see
how Finnegan Blake’s success and popularity are not exactly what they seem, and
have created a kind of prison or weight that he carries around with him,
continually reminded about the impending deadline that continuously pushed
further and further back. Anyone whose struggled with writer’s block or
procrastination should be able to relate to Blake’s struggles of just being
unable to produce. Even Blake’s longtime editor, who tries some different
approaches to get Blake to finish, never sees the book, as he passes away prior
to retirement and years after having a stroke that was probably hastened by
Blake’s failure to finish. On the way back from the funeral, Blake encounters a
friend (or possibly a writer rival) from college, and they catch up over
drinks. Although he experienced some success in college and after, Pierre never
had the same kind of success and acclaim that Finn experienced. Nevertheless, Pierre
ends up staying with Finn, offering him the possibility of finishing his series,
although it comes with a catch. Will Finn agree to Pierre’s plan? Or will his
ego get in the way? I won’t ruin the ending, but I really enjoyed this book. It’s
a fun and surprising ending, and despite being a book about writer’s block and
procrastination, the plot continually moves forward, occasionally revisiting
Blake’s past to better understand how he got stuck and was unable to move ahead
with his story. Furthermore, Phillips’ classic,
realistic artwork provide a sense of gravitas to the story, elevating it to
something more literary. I highly recommend this book, and I’ll be looking for
more great stories from Brubaker and Phillips.
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