Advance Comics Review: Unthinkable #5

Unthinkable is a five-part terror/espionage comic miniseries written by Mark Sable, with artwork by Julian Totino Tedesco. Released though BOOM! Studios, this daring miniseries comes to its action-packed and awe-inspiring conclusion this Wednesday, September 16th 2009, with Unthinkable #5.

The story of Unthinkable revolves around novelist Alan Ripley, who, after his brother dies in the 9/11 attacks, is approached by a shadowy government agent and asked to join a secret ‘think tank.’ Alan is invited to join the think tank because several of his novels feature terrorist attacks on the United States, and in the novel ‘Y2K‘ he depicts a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center; a plot so ridiculous that it could only happen in fiction, that is until it actually happened. Due to this ability to conceive the inconceivable, the Government tasks Alan with thinking up ‘Unthinkable’ situations, before terrorists can, so that they can guard against them. His partners in the think tank include a hacker, a lawyer, a microbiologist, a theoretical physicist, an economist, and an evangelist preacher. Together they come up with many outrageous potential terror situations, until the government decides that the project is no longer a viable pursuit, and decides to shut it down…

Ten years later, the same nightmare situations that the think tank imagined all those years ago have now started to come to fruition. It all starts with the destruction of the world’s largest oil refinery, then there are bio-terrorism attacks using botulism toxin in malls across America, and then a terrorist bomb causes the destruction of the U.S. capitol. At the end of the first issue Ripley approached FBI counter-terrorism agent Daniel Patrick Skelly for help, but the government completely denies the existence of the think tank. Not discouraged, Ripley left to find his own answers…

Since that first issue, Ripley and the surviving members of the think tank have been traveling around the globe trying to prevent their other terror situations from being carried out, because what has happened so far is just the tip of the iceberg. Their adventures have seen the think tank botch an attempt to prevent a Middle East oil rig from being contaminated with oil degrading microorganisms; seen them tortured in a secret U.S. government black site [LOCATION CLASSIFIED]; seen them thwart a religiously fueled attempt to begin Armageddon, in the Well of Souls in Jerusalem; seen them bomb the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland; seen them incarcerated in a Chinese prison; then seen them come all the way back to the U.S. to attempt to prevent an attack that could bring down the entire U.S. financial system.

At the end of Unthinkable #4 the real mastermind behind these attacks was revealed, and it was…. I’m not telling. I’m going to assume that there are still many people out there that haven’t yet read this wonderful series, so I don’t want to spoil this major revelation for them. This is what makes a review of issue #5 of the series so difficult, because if you imagine the end of issue #4 as the part of a Scooby Doo story where the villain removes his rubber mask, then this is the part where the fiendish plot is fully explained… “I would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for that meddling think tank!”

Seriously though, this is an issue packed full of revelation upon revelation as every aspect of the mastermind’s attacks are explained, and the motivations are fully laid out. There are lots of *gasp* moments as you see how several parts of the story come together, and the big picture comes into focus. A good comparison would be one of the more revelatory episodes of Lost!

Tedesco’s artwork on this issue is a strong as has been throughout the series, without fail. His rich inking really gives the series a visually intense and dark atmosphere that perfectly matches Sable’s script. Tedesco’s work reminds me a little of Paul Azaceta (who actually provides covers for the series), which isn’t a bad comparison at all!

Issue #5 of Unthinkable was a wonderfully crafted piece of work, and is the perfect ending to this bold and unique series. Mark Sable has poured his heart and soul into this project, both in terms of the massive amount of research that he has had to perform, and in terms of his incredibly intricate plotting, which as you will see in issue #5 is almost water proof. In my humble opinion, Unthinkable is a shoe in for winning the ‘Best Limited Series’ category in next year’s industry awards, or at least a nomination!

It goes without saying that if you haven’t read Unthinkable #1 – #4, do not touch this issue. Instead, wait for BOOM! Studios to put out a TPB, out on October 28th – those guys at BOOM! are amazing on their trade release schedule! Alternatively, you can hunt down the back-issues if you want a glimpse of this masterpieces sooner! Those who are up to date on Unthinkable… you’re in for a real treat!

For a five page preview, click here! [WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS!]