Being a literature-embracing nerd myself, it was no wonder that Mike Carey and Peter Gross hooked me into their latest Vertigo series, The Unwritten, in a whole of two issues. With that said, I can assure that you’ll love these books just as much as I do, even if you absolutely detest the English language. I am that confident in the series. This is the team that gave us Lucifer, after all.

While issues #1 and #2 brazenly hook you into Tom Taylor’s world (mind you, something this epic needs the two-issue start), The Unwritten #3 is the true beginning of his tale.

Tom travels to the legendary Villa Diodati, birthplace of both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and “Tommy Taylor.” Interspersed through the issue, Carey and Gross provide us with Tom’s childhood flashbacks from when he and his father spent time at the notorious manor. The connection between Pullman and his father becomes increasingly apparent as Pullman’s lackey appears at the Villa with a penchant for havoc.

Carey’s affinity for literature (astoundingly exemplified with Tom’s geo-lit knowledge) heightens. The beautiful parallel between Frankenstein and Tom—not subtle per se, as they chose to embody this theme in the cover—proves that Carey has an eye for that which he admires. He does this all while maintaining the alarming critique of our society’s fixation with celebrity figures. Moreover, he concurrently blurs the lines between fiction and reality in a way that said critique is made probable without coming off as overbearing.

Get to your local comic book store and pick up The Unwritten—there are only three issues, so it’ll be quite easy to catch up.