Comic Book Review: Unnatural

Publisher: Image Comics

Writer: Mirka Andolfo

Artist: Mirka Andolfo

Issues: 12

Status: Complete

I’m a little surprised that Unnatural moved under my radar as long as it did, as I certainly don’t feel like I’ve seen it on any reading list online. But no matter, it makes finding this little gem all the more rewarding.

Unnatural is a fantasy drama set in an alternate universe where the inhabitants are all anthropomorphic animals. The said inhabitants live in a somewhat strict society where the government puts in place rigid and guided regulations for citizen interactions, specifically romantic interactions. Inhabitants are forbidden, by law, to engage in cross species romantic relations and/or marriages, the government going as far implementing a partnership program which matches suitable partners who are still single by and after the age of 25. Individuals, who are still single after this period, are heavily taxed, creating added incentive to get married. I guess this is how Tinder would work in a place like North Korea.

Our protagonist is a female pig named Leslie. Leslie is a somewhat introverted and uncertain young lady who doesn’t exactly know where she’s going in life. She lives with her best friend, works a job she hates and keeps having strange dreams involving activities of a sexual nature with a menacingly large wolf. By the time she turns 25, she gets enrolled in the partnership program, which seems to have far greater consequences for her than she can imagine. It seems there’s more to Leslie and her dreams than meets the eyes, and as the story continues, Leslie will piece together a rather complicated past while fighting for her life and the ones she cares about.

For starters, Mirka Andolfo has created an absolutely beautiful world, the first thing that struck me when I read the preview issue of Unnatural, was its artwork. Mirka has commented on a rich blend of artistic and cultural aspects influencing the work, from a little anime to European and American culture, to name a few. The story is intriguing and filled with mystery and wonderful cliffhangers, and left me wanting more at the end of each issue, which is what I have always taken to be the mark of any good piece of work, but this is quite obvious. The comic is also makes for great social commentary, from the role our governments play in regulating our lives, to the challenges that some couples face regarding societal standards, ignorance, bigotry etc.

Unnatural navigates these avenues wonderfully, blending together a mature tone with great mystery and action. The clichéd criticism would be that the comic is perhaps too short, but its meant in way that I feel that there were some characters that needed a little more attention to truly give a greater degree of closure to the ending, an ending that perhaps could have been a little more challenging. All in all, Unnatural is a great and beautiful ride that I would definitely recommend to fans looking for fresh ideas and maturity in their next comic. Happy reading ☺.