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Unended
What prevents you from finishing your life's work? Josh Bayer finds a manuscript of an unfinished play inside his deceased father's desk. The play tells the story of Josh's mother's early death (age 37) and his father's struggle with single parenthood. When he attempts to adapt the play into comics, it triggers a series of personal crises. Bayer's limitations and futile ambitions are brought into sharp relief as he grapples with an estranged, unknowable parent and the play's frustrating lack of resolution. Humans worship lore, myth, and fables, but many people's creative dreams become abandoned. Why? Bayer's inky line, tangled textures, and kaleidoscopic color boldly fuse on the page into comic book semiotics, flights of grandeur, and tangents inside tangents. Josh Bayer stitches scattered memories into surrealistic episodes permeated with dream logic. Unended is a Promethean quest to excavate the creative fire hidden inside us.
272 pages, Paperback
First published November 7, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 20, 2024
I just love the flow of it. It’s quite a read, but I just couldn’t stop. It is deeply personal, and making something like that so relatable is quite a challenge in my opinion.
April 6, 2025
I guarantee this is unlike any graphic novel you've read (and I've read thousands). I've always liked Bayer's work, but he's achieved a next level with this one!
December 3, 2023
Josh Bayer confronts old traumas as he struggles to adapt and complete his father's unfinished play. Following a "story within a story" premise, Bayer comes to terms with his relationship with his estranged father and the rest of his family while unpacking the artistic process behind his cartooning. The story progresses with more of his father's manuscript being fleshed out which highlights critical moments in Bayer's life like the untimely death of his mother and the difficulty his father had in providing as a single parent in the following years. The play becomes more fraught as Bayer continues to adapt it as he strains with his own deceptively biased memories which paint a very complicated relationship within his family.
As a memoir, there are definite moments of clarity and poignancy that work fairly well, but it is a bit of a grueling read with its lengthy page count. I'll admit I wasn't completely bought into the premise for much of the time reading this on a first pass, which might paint some of my rather lukewarm feelings towards the story itself. Though I can't say I feel the same about Bayer's wildly expressionistic and vibrant artwork. It's just as visceral as Bayer's many other comics with a bit of a raw quality to it that works for this more vulnerable type of story. There are many intriguing design elements throughout Unended like the shadowy depiction of his own father wearing an executioner's hood. The theme of memory plays heavily into the artwork as well, with much of the compositions having a surreal bend to them to emphasize the lack of clarity. The packed in details might make this a better reading on a second pass, but for now I can't say I really connected with much of Unended outside of Bayer's brilliant cartooning.
As a memoir, there are definite moments of clarity and poignancy that work fairly well, but it is a bit of a grueling read with its lengthy page count. I'll admit I wasn't completely bought into the premise for much of the time reading this on a first pass, which might paint some of my rather lukewarm feelings towards the story itself. Though I can't say I feel the same about Bayer's wildly expressionistic and vibrant artwork. It's just as visceral as Bayer's many other comics with a bit of a raw quality to it that works for this more vulnerable type of story. There are many intriguing design elements throughout Unended like the shadowy depiction of his own father wearing an executioner's hood. The theme of memory plays heavily into the artwork as well, with much of the compositions having a surreal bend to them to emphasize the lack of clarity. The packed in details might make this a better reading on a second pass, but for now I can't say I really connected with much of Unended outside of Bayer's brilliant cartooning.
January 27, 2024
Before reading “Unended”, Josh Bayer was already one of my favourite comic artists, thanks primarily to his two awesome “Theth” comics, but this latest release sees his artwork reach a whole new level. It's astounding to behold, absolutely wild, bursting with energy, and gorgeously coloured. His style has always been very punk, but here it transcends that into a sort of post-punk avant-garde experimentation. Sometimes storytelling clarity is lost in the dense mass of lines and colours, but the overall effect is so awesome that I don't care – indeed, the visual confusion is perfectly in line with the comic’s general emotional and conceptual maelstrom.
As far as content is concerned, this comic sees Bayer trade the autobiographically informed fiction of his “Theth” comics for full-on memoir. I couldn't have been less excited about him going in this direction, and frankly he indulges in my least favourite aspects of the genre, with copious rambling, introspective narration. However, he takes navel gazing to such an extreme as to actually make it feel interesting – even vital – drawing me not just into his life story but also into his inner turmoil. Some synopses I've read give the impression that this comic's primarily an adaptation of a play written by Bayer's father, but really the adaptation itself is only a small part, with much more of the page count spent on Bayer grappling with the task of adaptation – and of writing about his father – in a metatextual way that has obvious parallels with Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”. Essential to the comic’s power is that Bayer’s childhood was very troubled; although he doesn't milk the tragedy and hardship in an exploitative way, there are some very upsetting moments. The other key ingredient is the intriguing figure of Bayer's father, who's simultaneously portrayed as tyrannical and tragic.
The narration-heavy storytelling style makes “Unended” a fairly dense read, but I think it's entirely worth the effort. Definitely one of the better autobiographical comics I've read.
As far as content is concerned, this comic sees Bayer trade the autobiographically informed fiction of his “Theth” comics for full-on memoir. I couldn't have been less excited about him going in this direction, and frankly he indulges in my least favourite aspects of the genre, with copious rambling, introspective narration. However, he takes navel gazing to such an extreme as to actually make it feel interesting – even vital – drawing me not just into his life story but also into his inner turmoil. Some synopses I've read give the impression that this comic's primarily an adaptation of a play written by Bayer's father, but really the adaptation itself is only a small part, with much more of the page count spent on Bayer grappling with the task of adaptation – and of writing about his father – in a metatextual way that has obvious parallels with Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”. Essential to the comic’s power is that Bayer’s childhood was very troubled; although he doesn't milk the tragedy and hardship in an exploitative way, there are some very upsetting moments. The other key ingredient is the intriguing figure of Bayer's father, who's simultaneously portrayed as tyrannical and tragic.
The narration-heavy storytelling style makes “Unended” a fairly dense read, but I think it's entirely worth the effort. Definitely one of the better autobiographical comics I've read.
September 14, 2025
This book was so ambitious. I wanted a better resolution, but feelings are messy. The artwork is wonderful. Bayer owes a lot to R. Crumb, Lynda Barry, and especially Emil Ferris for pioneering this format, but he makes it his own. The palette he uses is especially striking. The story is all over the place, but I get the feeling that Bayer is as well. It's also raw, emotional, and honest.
January 12, 2024
Oh my god! One of my favourite cartoonists comes through with a mid-career, semi-autobiographical masterpiece!
September 15, 2025
A masterful work of art. Originally I DNF’d this book due to the chaotic panels and often difficult to read handwritten text, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Each page demands to be studied and is gestural. Great semi-bio about generational trauma and growing up with a verbally abusive parent that would occasionally show their humanity.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews