Unearthly (Unearthly (Graphic Novel)) [Paperback]

Ted Naifeh (Author), Elmer Damaso (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Unearthly (Graphic Novel) | Publication Date: September 15, 2005

From the Eisner-nominated creator of Courtney Crumrin comes a tale of star-crossed lovers and interstellar bad boys!

Ann was once shy and withdrawn until her crush on pretty boy Jem makes her take notice of the world around her. But her blossoming love life hits a snag when Jem attracts the attentions of Rae, the most beautiful girl in school.

Sure, it might seem like your average high school love triangle... until an identity-snatching alien from outer space jumps into the fray and things go helter-skelter!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ann is a wallflower; she hides in her high school behind glasses and a book, with only her best friend, Nikki, as a confidant. She falls for Jem, a pretty boy nerd in her English class. There's just one catch—he's dating Rae, the drop-dead gorgeous, ultra-popular volley ball star. And he might be an alien. Ann fumbles through the awkwardness of young love, making mistakes and running afoul of Shane, the local rebel. Nikki effervesces and offers incompetent advice. Rae hides her hurt feelings behind a vicious facade. And Jem transforms overnight from a shy and sensitive bookworm to a punk who thinks nothing of beating up Shane in the bathroom. This manga may masquerade as science fiction, but it is really an elegantly crafted portrait of a girl's journey through adolescence. Ann's social screwups are familiar to anyone who's lived through high school, and her struggle to do the right thing is all the more heroic because of her flaws. There are no two-dimensional characters in the story by Naifeh (Courtney Crumrin), and Unearthly doesn't sugarcoat the horrors of high school. Damaso's Ameri-manga art is clean and engaging. (Nov.)
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About the Author

Ted Naifeh is the Eisner award winning writer and artists behind such hit comics as Gloomcookie, Polly and the Pirates, and Courtney Crumrin.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Seven Seas; First Edition edition (September 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933164093
• ISBN-13: 978-1933164090
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,209,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A shoujo space odyssey, May 25, 2006

By 

Sai (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unearthly (Unearthly (Graphic Novel)) (Paperback)

High school is a time of change for many people. People you thought you knew one day become total jerks the next. Maybe it's just part of growing up. Or maybe their body's been swapped with that of a fugitive alien.

Ann is a quiet bookworm. Unlike most shoujo heroines, she's not an especially pretty or kind hearted. At the start of the book she seems to be content to go through life in an apathetic state, not taking much notice of the people around her (including her only and best friend Nikki). But then she notices Jem, a sweet guy who's a bit of a loner. Unfortunately, the most popular girl in school, Rae, also notices Jem around the same time as Ann, setting up an odd love triangle.

Most of the book is spent building up the characters and their relationships. A difference between this book and many other high school set shoujo is that this is an OEL manga written by an American. Well it retains many of the sensibilities found in shoujo romances (especially in the art, which I'll get to in a moment) instead of Japanese teenage love it reflects the trials and tribulations of American high school. The characters talk and act in ways normal for American teens, giving a slight twist on the usual high school manga.

And then there's the other twist on the genre, which is the sci-fi aspect thrown in 1/3 into the book. The sci-fi really throws everything for a loop (in a good way), and by the end of the book it's become impossible to figure out where the story will take us next (though it certainly isn't Earth).

The art is one of the best I've ever seen for an OEL book. Elmer Damaso has what I think of as a great sense of balance. He knows when to use chibis, splash pages, or shoujo tricks like twirling flower petals in the background. He also does a good job of moving the story along at a pace that reflects the slice of life aspect of the first part of the book, and then speeding things up once the focus shifts to sci-fi.

All in all, I think Unearthly is not only a great book, but an important OEL manga with its successful melding of genres. I have a few nit picks, like some over use of slang ('Twee'? Maybe I've been out of high school too long), but otherwise I think this is a great book for anyone who likes shoujo, sci-fi, or both.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of this world, October 31, 2005

By 

Bailie "fantasybookworm2" (MINNESOTA!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unearthly (Unearthly (Graphic Novel)) (Paperback)

First off I have to admit I havnt read all of this book, just what of it was on the gomanga website...

But of what I have read... this is a great story! The artwork is beutiful, and the story line draws you in, so that you want to kick a certain character, or hug another... I HIGHLY recomend this book!

4.0 out of 5 stars Snarkily Hilarious, March 10, 2008

By 

Judah (Terre Haute In USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unearthly (Unearthly (Graphic Novel)) (Paperback)

No second volume has been produced, which is a shame. Unearthly ended as the story was getting good, but great dialogue alone can't carry an incomplete story into five stars.

Basically, this is an Americanized version of shoujo manga with a science fiction back-drop. The characters start at a US high school, but setting gets strange quickly enough. Art style is high quality, story-boarding humorous, and characters feel distinct in their own identities. Characters are a quiet bookish girl, her snarky friend, the captain of the girl's volleyball team (popular), and mysterious yet sensitive guy both girls like.

I can't recommend the buy, because remember, no Volume Two. I'm breaking my 'no-manga reviews' rule to warn you. The cliffhangery disappointment of never knowing what happens in the 'Unearthly' universe hit me hard.