Comic Review: Unnatural #1 (Image)

Image brings us a steamy animal book with some timely messages, in Unnatural #1.

Unnatural, written, drawn and coloured by Mirka Andolfo ( with colour assists by Gianluca Papi) has been published in Italy and throughout France and Europe. It has a track record. It’s now making its English language debut with Image!

Unnatural is a mesmerizing read. Right from the start, our lead character, Leslie, is having an erotic dream. Which is all good, (especially for Leslie) but her society forbids romantic relations between different species. And her dream partner is not like her. Oh oh, that’s strictly a no-no! And don’t even start with same gender relationships, those are equally off-limits. In fact, the state runs the reproductive rights agenda for its citizens.

Poor Leslie is having recurring, ever more explicit dreams. How distracting for her!

The script is fun, flirtatious and futuristic. It’s a complex story of individual rights versus Big Brother, or the Big Bad Wolf, what have you… interspersed throughout this cautionary tale of ‘too much power’, is the complicated plight of Leslie and her colleagues. Andolfo’s artwork is beautifully, or should I say “stunningly and gorgeously” rendered. It is simply one of the best and most expressively illustrated comics I have read in a long time. The anthropomorphic animals are kind of cartoony, but break the usual cartoon boundaries of proportions and expressions. It’s not just cartoon channel animals that resemble humans or manga exaggeration; it’s much more. The colouring is atmospheric and amazingly delicate; Andolfo knows her colour palette and uses it wisely.

There’s no mistaking the adult nature of this title, which is central to its core message. If a story of this type appeals to you, I highly recommend that you check out Unnatural #1.

A variant cover is available with art by Milo Manara.

Image Comics Unnatural #1 of 12, $3.99 for 25 pages of content. Mature Readers.