Unsounded describes itself as covering "fall into the Epic FantasyAdventure genre, with occasional forays into the horrific, the profane, and the goofy". It follows the lion-tailed daughter of the Lord of Thieves, Sette Frummagem, as accompanied by the resurrected soldier Duane Adelier, she travels through the continent of Kasslyne, divided by a war between Alderode and Cresce, who fight over land, politics, religious beliefs, and simple bad blood. However, both agree that power lies in the Khert, the invisible spectral plane that holds all life and laws together. Using pymary, a spellcaster can bend the world around them.
Publication
The comic was collected in a book independentally published by Cope in November 2012, after a Kickstarter campaign intended to raise $9,000 raised over $40,000 instead, with further Kickstarter campaigns was made for a second and third book respectively in 2014 and 2017 each raising over $70,000 against goals of $25,000 and $50,000.
Reception
The Star-Ledger, which selected Unsounded as one of the best new and most-dynamic webcomics of 2013, 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 "ith its bright colors, spell effects, action sequences, and descents into dreamscapes and dens of thieves, Unsounded often feels like a Fritz Lieber story illustrated by Herge." The Daily Dot complimented how "Cope takes particular advantage of the web medium through her use of animation during impactful scenes", with E.K. Weaver noting to The Austin Chronicle its "incredibl intrica" and The Beat complimenting how Cope "uses the comic’s digital nature to great advantage. Dramatic moments will sometimes pop out of the borders, magical forces will infiltrate the website design, or a joke will be animated for full effect. These tricks are used sparingly but to great effect. In many ways, this speaks to Unsounded as a whole. 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. All of these elements come together to make the comic a meaty meal that I recommend for people who really want to delve into their reading." ComicsAlliance likewise concluding "Cope fantastic at drawing action scenes, making them easier to follow visually than some superhero comics."
