Unsounded

Unsounded is an ongoing epic fantasy adventure graphic novel written and illustrated by Ashley Cope, published online since 2010.

[1] Unsounded describes itself as covering "fall[ing] into the Epic Fantasy Adventure genre, with occasional forays into the horrific, the profane, and the goofy".

Unsounded takes place in the fictional continent of Kasslyne, which is dominated by the two superpowers Cresce and Alderode, who exist in a state of perpetual war with one another.

The author deliberately eschews pinning the technology and costume design to a specific time period, stating "Unsounded cannot contain anachronisms; it doesn't take place in our world nor anywhere along its timeline.

[2] Sette Frummagem, a Sharteshanian girl, is tasked by her father, the crime lord Nary-a-Care, to extort tribute from her cousin Stockyard, a black sheep of the family who has started his own business in the country of Cresce.

Upon reaching Stockyard, he reveals Sette's father lied to her about the true nature of her mission, which involves using Duane and the Red Berry Boys to craft a superweapon that will upset the delicate balance of power between Cresce and Alderode.

Sette and Duane team up with the Crescian Peaceguard and Mathis Quigley, a former employee of the Red Berry Boys, to uncover the truth behind the conspiracy and stop it before it unleashes terrible destruction upon Kasslyne.

Characters sometimes break the fourth wall through the use of these infinite canvas techniques, such as stealing objects depicted in the website's header to use in the comic.

"[13] The Star-Ledger, which selected Unsounded as one of the best new and most-dynamic webcomics of 2013,[14] approved of the comic as having "grown to be the richest comic on the Internet, and, when Cope feels like demonstrating her chops, the most artfully drawn, too", which "[w]ith its bright colors, spell effects, action sequences, and descents into dreamscapes and dens of thieves, Unsounded often feels like a Fritz Leiber story illustrated by Hergé.

Weaver noting to The Austin Chronicle its "incredibl[e] intrica[cy]" and The Beat complimenting how Cope "uses the comic’s digital nature to great advantage.

It can feel conventional, until it suddenly doesn’t," before concluding that "Unsounded isn’t a fantasy story about good and evil, but about different people with different goals.

It has a huge supporting cast, and watching characters with competing world views bounce off each other is incredibly rewarding, especially as the plot thickens and the story increases in scale.

"[16][17] ComicsAlliance likewise concluding "Cope [to be] fantastic at drawing action scenes, making them easier to follow visually than some superhero comics.

Unsounded page 01-21. The top panel depicts a dramatic explosion and casts a shadow against the rest of the page, giving a sense of depth.
The top panel is drawn as if it is a physical object stacked on top of the page, and debris from the explosion spill out of the panel and into the website background. Similar techniques are used throughout the comic.
Unsounded page 02-42. Sette clings to Duane's cape against a pitch-black background, imagining a monster just behind her.
Sette imagines a nonexistent boogeyman stalking her through a dark corridor, giving readers insight into her emotional state without the use of thought bubbles .