Malcolm Streitfeld
Anchor Staff Writer
Answer me this, what happens when you take the brattish heir to a notorious crime family and pair her up with a grumpy undead bodyguard for a hike through a landscape of political savagery and indescribable horror? Well, you get “Unsounded” of course, a currently ongoing webcomic by Ashley Cope that I had the pleasure of reading a few years back. It is certainly stunning in more than a few ways. This is one story that I am not fully caught up with. I’d love to get back to reading it at some point. But for now, let me explain why “Unsounded” took me by storm in a stupendous way.
“Unsounded” stars Sette Frummagem and Duane Adelier. Sette is the daughter of the patriarch of a notorious gang of thieves. She is not afraid of declaring this at every single given opportunity and using it as justification for the mockery and chaotic antics she subjects both Duane and the rest of the world to. She’s on a mission for her beloved “Da” to demand tribute from her cousin Stockyard, who hasn’t been paying his due. Accompanying her is Duane, a deceased scribe and “wright,” or sorcerer, turned “galit,” commonly known as a zombie. The two frequently get on each other’s nerves and torment one another as they journey by foot towards their destination. Despite this, a bond begins to develop between Duane and Sette, as Duane starts to see in Sette what he’s lost and Sette in Duane what she’s never had. That's all I can say without spoiling the rest of the plot, so let’s move onwards.
This is an absolutely gorgeous webcomic that really makes clever use of its formatting and layout to stupefy and amaze the reader. At one point in the story, Sette is falling and keeps on falling until she falls past the bottom border of the page itself. In addition to this, later on in the narrative, a devious figure can be seen at the bottom left corner of a page, smiling and reaching their hand towards the corner with malicious glee in their eyes. “Unsounded” definitely takes advantage of the fact that it's a webcomic to play games with its audience, and I am all for it.
Everything about the low fantasy world of “Unsounded” is fascinating: its metallic creatures created from the ancient art of “pymary” to its ruthless cutthroat squabbles between noblemen and noblewomen. There is some stellar worldbuilding within its pages. Over time, as I read through the story, I fell in love with both Sette and Duane. Sette, despite her irritating nature, slowly grew on me over time. I came to enjoy her rascally antics and boisterous attitude. Her ingenuity when it comes to solving problems is also a plus. Duane’s suave yet sharp demeanor makes him a great foil for Sette. However, him constantly being the straight man makes the moments when his impassive demeanor is broken even better, as it usually results in a lot of colorful magical fireworks and witty dialogue. But most of all, I enjoy the tender moments between the two when they try to look out for each other in a completely unhinged mess of a world.
“Unsounded” has its fair share of plot twists that constantly kept me on my toes. Beneath all the darkness and misery and melancholy, there is a happily beating heart to this story, its world and its characters. Sette, Duane and everyone else find comfort in each other whenever they can and that warms my soul. This is a special webcomic that, despite the dire narrative that unfolds within its pages, manages to provide both the audience and the characters with hope and love.
What are you waiting for? Go see what’s lurking behind the next bend in the forest path. When all seems strangest, things can get stranger still.
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