The Unwritten

I’m always late to the party. Don’t ask me why, I just always am. It’s got nothing to do with waiting around for others’ approval, or a desire to know things are cool before jumping on the band wagon. Honestly, I think it has more to do with me being so damn curious and easily distracted by everything — and I mean EVERYTHING — on the path to wherever my destination leads me.

Case in point: when I was in Grade 2, my Mom threw a fit when I finally arrived home from school around dinner time. It was a 30 min walk home that had somehow taken me 2 1/2 hours to make. She was beside herself with worry. When she demanded to know where the heck I’d been all that time, I rather simply told her that I made a snow angel, climbed the the roof of the local 1- story parking garage to slide down the huge drift of snow many, many times, built a snowman and then came home because it was getting too dark to have fun any more.

Whenever I saw the Family Circus cartoon with a map of Billy running all over the place I could totally identify with it (actually, that was the only time I really identified with the cartoon; I was always a sweet kid, but never that gosh-darn apple pie — see? There I go a wandering again).

So. The Unwritten. I think it’s brilliant. It’s a graphic novel all about the power of stories and the evil that happens when we give up on caring about them, shaping them, being inspired by them and let “the pseudo powers that be” control the stories that are told to us. It reminds me WAY too much about the media blackout happening right now over at Occupy Wall Street.

The comic also speaks to taking control of your own story and how scary this can be, especially when it isn’t unfolding the way you expect it to. It’s been reminding me that if I already knew the way my own story was going to turn out, then it wouldn’t be a very interesting or exciting story, would it? I’ve never been the type to flip to the last page of a novel I’m reading to see how it ends. Stories shape us, and we are really just along for the ride. I find comfort in that thought after the year of plot twists I’ve been faced with this year. Given the choice, would I rather ride my story out to the final page, holding on as tight as I can to it as it unfolds, rather than give it over to be told by someone else. Absolutely! Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good edit. I’ve learned more from the editors I’ve worked with than any book or class I’ve taken. But see, for me, that’s the key: “… editors I’ve worked with…” It’s still my story, even though I’m always eager for guidance along the way. So, here’s to all the Lizzies out there who have kept me from stumbling too hard, while still allowing me to tell my story the way I envision it. And hopefully, I’ve been able to rescue them from any creative comas along the way.

Vertigo comics always tell powerful stories, so head to your local comic book store and check this gem out.