Undiscovered Country, Vol. 4: Disunity

Undiscovered Country #19-24

by Scott Snyder, Charles Soule, Giuseppe Camuncoli (Cover Art)

The hit series by New York Times-bestselling writers SCOTT SNYDER (NOCTERRA) and CHARLES SOULE (EIGHT BILLION GENIES), artist GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI (The Amazing Spider-Man), newcomer LEONARDO MARCELLO GRASSI, and Eisner Award-winning colorist MATT WILSON (PAPER GIRLS) continues!

The intrepid explorers have been torn asunder by the machinations of the American overmind, Aurora. Some have landed in a strange Zone obsessed with milestones in U.S. history, others are in a Zone focused on a future where America rules globally…and the rest have whereabouts unknown.

As UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY passes the halfway mark of its epic story, huge new revelations about where the series has been—and the wild ride yet to come—are on the way.

Collects UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY #19-24 and UNDISCOVERED DESTINY MAN SPECIAL!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fiction, Post Apocalyptic

174 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 19, 2023

About the author

Scott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.

Reviews

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This series has gotten so frustrating. A lot of characters from these different zones talking a lot but not saying anything. What started out as believable sci-fi has moved on to ridiculousness. Time travel, dying over and over again. Different versions of reality. It’s gotten too far fetched for me.

[Estibaliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a little while since I read the previous volume of this awesome series (about ten moths), and, therefore, I was slightly confused when I started this one... just because I had forgotten the big plot twist at the end of volume three. Duh, me.

In any case, this new arc is so rich and fascinating, with our heroes trapped now in History, a new 'country' in the spiral, where past and alternative futures keep being reenacted once and again... with fun and exciting consequences... at least for the reader.

Not a dull moment, my only complaint would be that we don't get enough of the Destiny Man and Daniel, past the first pages. But, still, the story keeps progressing at a good pace, and being so promising as entertaining as ever.

More, please.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Undiscovered Country was never exactly good, but in previous volumes, at least it was interesting. Now it's dull and repetitive as our heroes travel to yet more worlds within worlds that show them "fun" twists on history and the future. I'm truly not sure where this story is going anymore and I'm really not interested in getting there.

[Brylliams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A-/90 (Very Good) 4 Stars

[Antonio · Rating 2 out of 5]

El más confuso argumentalmente de todos. ¿Quizás porque ahora viene lo bueno?

[Aj Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many possible histories and futures but with limits. Some good character development.

[Alex Sarll]

I still feel this series is a couple of drafts away from being a brilliant statement on whatever the fuck is happening to the USA at present, but normally it's at least a solid dystopian romp in the meantime. Here, it gets itself tangled in fashionable time loops and divergent futures so as frequently to be quite knotty going, though it may not help that by this point Camuncoli is only doing layouts. At least the blurb says we're now past halfway, confirming that the series won't feel obliged doggedly to devote a volume to every single zone of its sealed and splintered America.

[Michael Bertrand · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is for volumes 1-4.

The plot setup for Undiscovered Country caught my attention. In the distant future, the United States walls itself off from the rest of the world behind an indestructible high tech barrier. Something like fifty years later, a team of specialists is invited to enter the US to negotiate for the cure to the plague that is killing the world.

The trip through the barrier does not go according to plan. The team finds themselves stranded and struggling to survive in an extremely hostile environment.

This sounds like the setup for an awesome series that I would love to read. Unfortunately, it's not this series- because when Undiscovered Country gets going, all that potential awesomeness gets wasted.

Imagine if you took a collection of one-sided stereotypes of American culture, personified them, and made them interact with each other. That's what this series actually is. The plot is confusing. Characters come and go at random. And there's gore and violence mixed in at odd intervals.

I think what really annoys me is that the plot structure borrows heavily from one of my favorite books (Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers) and films (Tarvovsky's Stalker) and yet does so little with it.

I'm really glad I got this through the library, because I would have been angry if I'd spent any money on it.

The art is pretty, although the quality is inconsistent at times.

I can't recommend this at all. Read something else.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really good (though not quite great) volume of this series. This time out, the party gets broken up and sent to different (?) zones. I'm not entirely sure they're in completely different zones, since the story largely revolves around time travel and revisiting key points in American history (the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, etc.) while some of the other members wind up in a future where America rules the world and another where America is the loser to the other great countries (the Pan-Asian Prosperity Zone and the other whatchamacallit). And then the Destiny Man, who turns out to have crucial tie to some of the team members, finds himself on a great river, along with Daniel Graves. Really liking this storyline and the artwork is just perfect for this high concept story. Bring on Volume 5!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disunity splits the party which, as any good D&D player knows, never ends well. With some team members being thrown through the past and others thrown through alternate histories, there's a lot to be said about the nature of the United States in a short space of time. Some of this is probably going over my head, since I'm not from the US, but that's been a thing since the beginning of the series, and it's never detracted from the overall success of the story.

We also get some backstory for the Destiny Man in a special issue which is neat, and sets him up to be a continuing threat as the series goes on.

Art's still great, because Camuncoli hardly ever missteps, and the premise shows no sign of losing steam even after four arcs. Next zone, please.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume feels more straightforward than the last few, which is weird because it has two separate plotlines that only briefly merge at the end, and lots of time-travel-adjacent activity The Zone they are in is exploring the 'what-if's of American History, both past and future, and the variations uncover a fair bit about many of our protagonists, leading to some high-stakes showdowns and interesting colleagues (not necessarily enemies, but also not allies). All told, I really enjoyed the exercise, and it helped me to differentiate some of the characters who I previously confused (although part of that is the multiple-month breaks between reading volumes). This series is still doing interesting things, and I'll be here for it as long as it does.

[Travis Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

same as vol. 3, the series is just getting drawn out. Each volume should not be a whole colony, its boring. Anyways once I was caught up with the story, I remembered most of it. brother and sister and their small team went into the isolated America to get the cure for the sky. Anyways at this point it is just a wild goose chase hopping around these colonies trying to decipher what Aurora wants, or how to conquer the spiral. In a wierd way this is starting to feel like a more campy East vs. west. This was the history colony and they bounced around different american wars trying to get out... meh

[Dave Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the volume of this series I've enjoyed the most so far. With our heroes entering Zone History, the authors begin playing with time and understanding of America's past in ways that are truly compelling. There are also visions of futures in which America either conquers the rest of the world or is wiped out by an alliance of all other nations. I'm genuinely looking forward to the next installment.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this book is just careening off a cliff with little to no help in sight. The crew is split up, possibly in different zones, and its bonkers. The book makes little sense and not in way that is a mystery to solve but more in a way that I want it to end before I lose my mind. Camuncoli's art has been a delight so far but even that was lacking this volume. Overall, the once strong premise has been drug into the mud.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good but very hard to follow. But after finding out what was actually going on, I think that was the authors intention. Looking forward to what will happen in the next volume. It seems like we'll either wrap up soon or will maybe make it out to an even 8 volumes. Either way, I'm excited to read more.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another strange turn through this bizarre futuristic America has the characters separated through what looks like time travel. What does history have to do with this future America, closed off from the rest of the world? And how much can the others trust the two ambassadors that have been nothing but sniping the whole time? With one group in the past and another in a possible future, it’s more ofa look at what America is.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

My experience with the series seems to be counter to many of the reviewers here. I have enjoyed it more as it has gone along. At first I was a bit dubious about this whole story, but I am enjoying it more and more as the characters get more fleshed out.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume committed the cardinal sin of splitting up its cast of characters. The constant jumping back and forth between different characters and their adventures in and out of time just felt clunky and reductive. I may give this one more volume but this was a major bummer.

[SassieMolassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I'm done with this series. I initially found it so interesting, but now having finished vol. 4 a whole bunch of nothing happens, everyone is split up into different times, and I'm just bored and frustrated.

[Imogene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly my #1 ongoing comic book series. Absolutely full of imagination and a firm grasp of storytelling

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is getting more and more slippery. This zone didn’t intrigue me.

[M.i. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate how it tries to dissect what makes America the country it is, both by interrogating it’s past and of course various alternate reality timelines.

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m still enjoying this but don’t have anything specific to say about one in particular. (Great review!)

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating story but it’s a mess.

[Ferenc · Rating 4 out of 5]

3/5 - Graphic Novels
4/5 - Dystopia
3/5 - Characters
5/5 - Story

3.75/5 - Rating

[Matthew DeLeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better volumes so far.

[Ziyad Baksh · Rating 3 out of 5]

making history

the gang gets separated and forced to travel through America's past and possible futures.

it's a bonkers trip that was kinda poignant.

[Shane Windsnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best arc since the first.

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well here we are at volume 4, and the story still sounds like a conversation with fairly intelligent crackhead who smells as bad as they look.
In all fairness i cannot recommend this series to anyone, unless they enjoy stories with a plethora of endless nonsense that will likely never be explained.