Comic Review: Unnatural #1

Unnatural #1

Image Comics

Writer/Artist: Mirka Andolfo

Welcome to Mirka Andolfo’s world of Unnatural, whose citizens are animals with jobs and plenty of political opinions. Nope, it’s not Animal Farm, but our protagonist Leslie is a pig, and it does seem to be a metaphor for an overbearing government. Unnatural’s ultra-conservative government is specifically against same-sex couples and interspecies marriage, which in our society today would likely be gay marriage and interracial relationships.

Unlike George Orwell’s pigs, Leslie is not at the top of the food chain and does not have much sway with her peers. She is single and working a job that she not only dislikes but one that also makes her compromise her character. With her birthday looming and legal pressure rising, Leslie is in a tough position. She is even tempted to act out illegally to avoid repercussions. In our world, Leslie would be a normal 25-year-old girl, busy thinking about music, food, and dating. She is expressive, bold, sensual, and a little unsure of herself at times, which is totally relatable. Although she seems insecure about where her life is going, the first few pages of the issue foreshadow big changes on her horizon. Much of this foreshadowing comes in the form of a mysterious recurring dream she’s been having. It’s clear just in this first issue that relationships and sex will be a central theme to the ongoing series while the totalitarian government acts as the primary antagonist.

Like many dystopian governments, the one in Unnatural is one that is overbearing. They care more about their own agenda rather than the happiness of their citizens. Their government offers incentives and tax breaks for those who marry within their species by age 25 and choose to procreate while issuing propaganda to convince its unwilling citizens that their choices are “unnatural” or morally reprehensible. The dialogue refreshingly feels natural and unforced. Leslie’s character is nicely fleshed out, with a wide range of emotions and issues, which gives the reader plenty of reason to root for and relate to her.

Andolfo’s art is impressive, and her plentiful use of color is brilliant for the world she’s created. She tends to stick to lots of pinks and blues, which flows nicely from panel to panel, making the entire work cohesive. Her anthropomorphic characters are a perfect human/animal hybrid in that their bodies look believably human while their species is still clear. Merging these two qualities is seamless, allowing the reader to find beauty in characters that could have otherwise been awkward. Her art is simple but not crude and leaves nothing to the imagination. While Unnatural’s art may seem light-hearted, its subject matter promises to be complicated and heavy in the best way possible.