Broken Frontier

A story intended for the big screen and delayed too many years first sees publication as a graphic novel, truly making the most of the medium.

First, a little back story about The Fountain: Originally, it was intended by Darren Aronofsky to be the follow up to his award winning independent directorial debut. However, after three years of delays and financing issues, the plug was pulled. Luckily for Aronofsky, he had secured the graphic novel rights to the film, and decided that this was a story that needed to be told. Luckily for readers, he has told it. And even better, it looks like it will eventually become a movie after all.

So what is the story all about? Quite simply, it is a story of Thomas and his attempt to earn, save, and then understand his love. It is a story that is cannot be defined by a single setting. For when we first meet Thomas, he is a Spanish Conquistador fighting for his Queen and Country in the Mayan jungle searching for the truth behind an ancient legend. In modern times, Thomas is a doctor searching for a cure, not just for the world, but mostly for his dying wife. And in the future, Thomas is an explorer, traveling through the cosmos to once again keep life and hope alive by trying to understand one of life’s great mysteries.

It’s amazing that in the search to pull outside talent into the realm of comics, someone like Darren Aronofsky came in on his own. A truly gifted storyteller in film, he is no less gifted here. Whereas most writers from other media tend to overwrite since they are freed from the confines of film and television, Aronofsky keeps his dialogue to an absolute minimum. It is short and sweet, succinctly telling an incredibly imaginative and impressive story in as few words as possible. He doesn’t force any exposition to his readers, instead going right to the heart of each character and situation. He interweaves each storyline perfectly, telling the entire tale with bits and pieces of each individual conflict from the tale that is fragmented in time. His pacing never once falters through any of the changes in setting, and like all Aronofsky stories, he gives the reader enough information to figure it out, but in the end it’s up to the reader to come to their own conclusion.

It must be noted that all of these decisions must have been easy for Aronofsky once he saw the artwork of Kent Williams. To say that Williams is an exceptional artist may be the understatement of the year. His work here is brilliant. His incredibly stylized brushstrokes bring out every emotion to the reader. His character designs work to their intended effect, as each incarnation of Thomas serves to highlight a different portion of his psyche and to show how he grows and changes over time. His backgrounds are brilliant and he moves smoothly from the bloody war in the Mayan Empire to the home life of a brilliant scientist to the vast openness of the cosmos. This book is what they meant when they came up with the term "a sight to behold." It would be impossible to find enough superlatives to do his work justice.

Many people will be scared away from the $39.99 price tag this oversized hardcover comes with. But it’s totally worth it. For the price of two superhero trades, you get a book that is infinitely superior in story and art to anything superhero books have produced in years and it gets deeper and deeper with each successive reading. Rich and heartfelt, this is a book that is not to be missed.