Broken Frontier

Armed with Nostradamus’ prophecies, an army of psychics and agents, The Foundation faces an unknown adversary with activity on the rise. Their last hope is a reluctant agent tasked with training a new field agent.

The Foundation is a book that lets its complexity grow with each issue. The first issue saw a field operation in action. The second gave us a low down of The Foundation’s goal of preventing the prophecies of the 16th century apothecary and developed agent Valentine as our hero. This issue, the proverbial stuff hits the fan as we learn that there is an unknown adversary and that the thousands of agents are really just a stop gap as the leaders of the group are really grasping at straws. Valentine and Thomas come in right where they left off with enemy agents on their heels. The tension mounts as they must escape and get the intel to their superiors before the terrorists poison the water supply in New York.

The complexity of John Rozum’s script is breathtaking. This issue starts out with relatively common spy thriller action, but quickly moves into a densely informative direction. The pacing is tight and Rozum’s eye for dialogue is becoming clear. He keeps the wording minimal with the information at a maximum making for a taut and realistic thriller. He also keeps the readers in the dark by having the characters in the dark. It is clear in this script that the hardened veteran Valentino has no clue how far reaching the current operation really is. The cliffhanger is serial gold. I want the next issue as soon as possible.

Chee’s line work grows on me each issue. He is like a more angular Romita, Jr. It reminds me of the old Demon in a Bottle stuff. The details are less, but the style the same. There is crisp action that accentuates the script. A nice pairing is found between the writer and artist as they both utilize a minimalist style.

Quiligotti’s coloring has to be noted. Much of the detail that is on display comes from his keen eye for shading. He knows how to use darkness to his advantage and can add vibrancy to a static scene with spaces in the colors. The kineticism that is felt on the page has as much to do with his palette as it does Chee’s pencil and pen.

The Foundation is one of the best politically charged intrigue yarns in a while. With it and Left on Mission in Boom!’s stable, they are making a case for being the premiere reality based thriller comic publisher in the business.