[Trade Winds] The Foundation TPB

Posted by Adam on August 31, 2008

(BOOM! Studios)

Ever since mankind has been telling stories, we’ve relied on the trope of mystical guidance to move the plot along. From oracles to prophecies to psychics, the idea of characters being guided by supernatural exposition is almost indispensable to genre stories; in fact, it’s more or less the point at which storytelling overlaps with religion. You could even argue that it’s a crucial part of why we tell stories in the first place: to show how human lives are linked to the divine, and to reinforce the idea that there’s some grander plan out there.

All very powerful stuff, but there are a lot of potential downsides to using mystical guidance in a story, too. When exposition is delivered by a mere human, it’s to be expected that there will be gaps in their understanding, hence their inability to give the protagonists (and the audience) everything they want to know. But when you’ve got an all-knowing entity predicting the future or revealing hidden truths, the temptation becomes too great to ask, “Why not just be straight with us?” Why reveal the truth in riddles, or remain vague on crucial details? The answer, of course, is that it’s usually necessary for the plot–but that just makes the supernatural entities in question seem kinda dickish. And since the author of any given story is effectively God, he or she has to be held accountable for this kind of behaviour as well.

The Foundation, written by John Rozum with art by “Chee” (seriously, that’s how he or she is billed) and colors by Pablo Quiligotti, actually attempts to grapple, to some extent, with these issues. It’s not always completely successful, but it’s nice to see someone making the effort, at least. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

[Raided] The Foundation #5 (of 5)

Posted by Graig on May 8, 2008

(Boom! Studios)

The five-issue mini-series is Boom’s stock-in-trade these days and it’s a solid format for getting a tight, self-contained story together which will also fit comfortably in trade paperback form and the page-a-minute standard for Hollywood screenplays. Given the number of Boom titles of late that have been optioned for cinematic treatment, of which this title is one, it’s obviously working well for them. But the format is the only failing for The Foundation in that if it suffers at all it’s in the confinement of having only one storyline to explore the concepts within. Created by Kody Chamberlain and expanded by writer John Rozum, The Foundation is about a covert, non-governmental organization which for generations has strived to interpret secret scrawls of Nostradamus and thus prevent major calamities. The series weaves a highly intriguing tale exploring both the theological and the logical questions of fate versus free will all while threading into a story of betrayal full of high tension and action. This issue closes it out in a surprisingly natural manner, opting for the anti-Hollywood ending and instead staying true to the characters and the pacing. Artist Chee does a great job with both the emotional and action/suspense aspects of the series, his composition always sound. His visuals are shadow-heavy and far from glamorous but that works incredibly well for the series featuring shadowy events and far-from-glamorous characters. Again, my only disappointment is that there isn’t more, as it seems like it should be less a cinematic one-off and more serialized in nature. If you’re an espionage fan and not reading the series in floppy, definitely keep an eye out for the trade which follows closely behind in two months.

4 and a half out of 5 Vikings

[Raided] The Foundation #2

Posted by Graig on February 24, 2008

(Boom Studios)

When I reviewed the first issue of this mini-series I was certainly intrigued but was left wondering about the direction it was taking… was the titular Foundation going to remain a mystery or was all going to be revealed? And if the clandestine agency was brought to light, if only for the reader, would it still retain its interest? Well, the second issue provides answers and they’re doozies. The very first panel of the second issue kicks in with a portrait of notorious prognosticator, Nostradamus. His history is told in a scaled-down fashion, but the man and his abilities are woven into the fabric of the Foundation and are, in fact, responsible directly for its existence. The organization deciphers the prophecies, having access to even lost and fragmented texts the public hasn’t seen, and is dedicated to ensuring that they don’t (or perhaps, in some cases, do) come about. Stephen, the narrator of the previous issue, is having conflicting feelings about the work he’s doing, and much of this book deals with discussions about the morality and logic of what the Foundation actually does. Are the prophecies for real? Is there such thing as free will, or has fate already dictated the movements of the Earth? Can fate be changed or cheated? Stephen’s ready to leave but must train his replacement before he can go. Will his latest mission change his mind about the Foundation or just confirm his doubts? Created by Kody Chamberlain and written by John Rozum, this book’s ideas and it’s execution are fascinating, even more so with the revelation of the Foundation’s background. Whether it’s the whole story or not remains to be told, and whether they can continue to operate so silently with global security constricting more and more should prove interesting. Fantastic reading for espionage fans.

4 out of 5 Vikings

The Foundation #1 (of 5)

Posted by Graig on January 13, 2008

(Boom)

It’s been a while since I last saw writer John Rozum’s name on a comic. If you know his name at all, you probably know him from his work on the X-Files comic in the 1990s or his paranormal investigation series for Vertigo, Midnight Mass. But to me, and the reason why I remember his name is because of his brilliantly bizarre work on Xombi from the defunct Milestone line. He’s done fill-in and one-off work with mainstream superheroes like Batman, Flash and Daredevil, but it’s really his work on the paranormal, the oddball (even evidnt with his kid’s comics work on Dexter’s Lab and Scooby-Doo) that Rozum excels.

The Foundation is Rozum’s return to more mature comics, and a return to what he does so well. This first issue, a done-in-one introduction, is mysterious, intriguing and a little weird. Through a first-person narrative we’re let in on the fact that someone, somehow, knows something about the future. Set in an airport, we find out that a flight is destined to crash, but the objective is not to stop the flight, but to save one man from certain death. Methodically, the story breaks down the process through which the narrator and his accomplices stop the man from making his flight.

We’re not yet let in on how these people know the future, or why one man must be saved. Whether either mystery is explained, only picking up subsequent issues will tell, and either way it works. If it’s all left mysterious, it keeps the reader intrigued, and the procedural aspect of these agents’ work is interesting enough to keep following along. However, if the mysteries are revealed, there’s also greater depths to explore beyond just character procedural, and Rozum hints at that through the narrative. Philosophical ponderings must be commonplace for these people who are instructed to save one person rather than one hundred. Why only that one, why not someone else? Is the future really told or is there some flexibility? What if they didn’t do their job, then what? So many questions, no answers, and for every agent, how they mentally resolve these issues is key to their sanity.

Rozum is accompanied by artist Chee, best known from Keith Giffen’s Tag series. Chee’s work isn’t something that will be putting him any hot artists lists in the near future, his tendency towards heavy ink lines leave his characters looking quite unattractive, while his overall page looks muddy and bland. His design sense leans heavily towards simplistic and clutter free, but his brush strokes weigh everything down. That said, his storytelling sensibility broaches impeccable. He understands movement and pacing, and is able to effectively manage numerous scene jumps even on the same page while maintaining a natural sense of flow. Whatever shortcoming he may have in aesthetic appeal, he more than makes up for it with story structure.

The second issue will be the real test of how exciting this series, is, as it should provide more direction and characterization, but on a conceptual and execution basis, this has me more than interested already.

4 out of 5 Vikings