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Fringe #1
Fringe
FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, brilliant scientist Walter Bishop and his estranged son Peter investigate the world of "fringe science"(telepathy, time travel etc) following a series of unexplained events, which begin to raise suspicions that a large scientific research company Massive Dynamic is experimenting on the general public.
The secret history of Walter Bishop and his onetime scientific partner William Bell continues in this exclusive tie-in to the hit Fox show Fringe! Witness their first attempts at pushing the boundaries of science and reality!
The secret history of Walter Bishop and his onetime scientific partner William Bell continues in this exclusive tie-in to the hit Fox show Fringe! Witness their first attempts at pushing the boundaries of science and reality!
143 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 2009
5 people are currently reading
371 people want to read
About the author
Tom Mandrake
464 books9 followersAmerican comics artist, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer John Ostrander on several series, including Grimjack (from First Comics) and Firestorm, The Spectre, and Martian Manhunter from DC Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
October 8, 2011
This really has little to do with the Fringe universe, and contributes almost nothing to my enjoyment of the show itself (which I love, a full three seasons in).
The first half of the book spends time on young versions of Bishop & Bell, one of whose characters couldn't be more off the TV writing/portrayal that I've come to know. Worse, the youthful stories don't in any meaningful way *add* to the Fringe universe, because this storyline doesn't connect with canon. In fact, in the "weird" aspects of these adventures, it often contradicts what we know of what Bell & Bishop accomplished.
It really takes away from the enjoyment of these stories as I'm jarred by such mismatches of character and canon. In the end though, these stories are inconsequential to the Fringe universe - they give no real background on events we heard hinted at, and show us nothing that makes me go "aha, that's why". Tie-ins with only a loose connection to the primary property tend to be like that, but with the intro by Fringe's creators I'd hoped different with this book.
The first half of the book spends time on young versions of Bishop & Bell, one of whose characters couldn't be more off the TV writing/portrayal that I've come to know. Worse, the youthful stories don't in any meaningful way *add* to the Fringe universe, because this storyline doesn't connect with canon. In fact, in the "weird" aspects of these adventures, it often contradicts what we know of what Bell & Bishop accomplished.
It really takes away from the enjoyment of these stories as I'm jarred by such mismatches of character and canon. In the end though, these stories are inconsequential to the Fringe universe - they give no real background on events we heard hinted at, and show us nothing that makes me go "aha, that's why". Tie-ins with only a loose connection to the primary property tend to be like that, but with the intro by Fringe's creators I'd hoped different with this book.
June 11, 2011
Recomendable para todo fan de la serie. Combina la historia de cuando Bell y Walter se conocieron y trabajaron juntos por primera vez con historias individuales fringeras. Muy entretenido.
July 8, 2023
3.5 Stars
The book is anchored by stories of Walter and Bell when they were younger and working together. The other stories were really just Twilight Zone type stories that for the most part weren't directly related to Fringe but were still interesting reads. I do enjoy Tom Mandrake's art, as I remember it from the Spectre series he did in the 1990s.
Not a bad read for fans of the Fringe TV series, but not really essential reading either.
The book is anchored by stories of Walter and Bell when they were younger and working together. The other stories were really just Twilight Zone type stories that for the most part weren't directly related to Fringe but were still interesting reads. I do enjoy Tom Mandrake's art, as I remember it from the Spectre series he did in the 1990s.
Not a bad read for fans of the Fringe TV series, but not really essential reading either.
December 1, 2019
At least anchored by the Bishop/Bell origins story.
December 26, 2009
No worse than most media tie-in books, but also no better. It's almost all backstory, with very little of Olivia and Peter; half the book is Bishop & Bell, and I have some trouble believing that Bell becomes Leonard Nimoy. Also, though the forward (and delayed schedule of the original series) claims that the series writers had close oversight and the comic reflects the show (and vice versa), it doesn't seem quite so tightly integrated.
On the plus side, it does have Hitler being eaten by a T. Rex, so it's got that going for it.
On the plus side, it does have Hitler being eaten by a T. Rex, so it's got that going for it.
June 19, 2021
It's been awhile since I watched Fringe, but it was definitely one of my favorite shows on TV while it was running. This comic series doesn't tie in too tightly to the series, but it's still a good read for some short sci-fi stories.
I think when the series was originally released in single issues, there was a main story starring a young Walter Bishop and William Bell that ran throughout each issue followed by a back-up unrelated story that doesn't have much to do with Fringe and is mostly just a self-contained sci-fi story. In this trade paperback, you get all of the main story combined together up front and then the short stories at the end -- probably a better way to read them.
The main story is opened with a disclaimer from co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci that basically says elements of what we're about to read might be non-canon/just Walter's crazy brain coming up with stuff. That's a little disheartening, but it allows the story to have some fun and go to some places that it probably wouldn't otherwise be able to. However, while I don't claim to perfectly remember what Walter and Bell were supposed to be like at that point in their lives, their characterizations didn't really strongly resonate with the characters I remembered from the series at all. It felt more like "two generic people doing things" rather than a real Fringe story.
The five back-up stories were much stronger -- they each felt like a little Twilight Zone/Black Mirror-esque adventure that kept me hooked throughout their short durations. But they had almost nothing to do with Fringe, which is the main weakness of this series as a whole. While it was an entertaining read, it had absolutely no impact on my understanding or enjoyment of the television series, and didn't really feel like it was very related at all.
So I guess I'm not sure who the target audience is supposed to be. The pull quote on the front of the volume says "makes me want to watch the show" so I don't know if this was intended to bring in new readers to the show rather than be an added bit of the universe for show-watchers to read, but this comic just sort of seems to exist in limbo between those two states and, while I enjoyed it, never fully fulfills the promise of what it could be.
I think when the series was originally released in single issues, there was a main story starring a young Walter Bishop and William Bell that ran throughout each issue followed by a back-up unrelated story that doesn't have much to do with Fringe and is mostly just a self-contained sci-fi story. In this trade paperback, you get all of the main story combined together up front and then the short stories at the end -- probably a better way to read them.
The main story is opened with a disclaimer from co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci that basically says elements of what we're about to read might be non-canon/just Walter's crazy brain coming up with stuff. That's a little disheartening, but it allows the story to have some fun and go to some places that it probably wouldn't otherwise be able to. However, while I don't claim to perfectly remember what Walter and Bell were supposed to be like at that point in their lives, their characterizations didn't really strongly resonate with the characters I remembered from the series at all. It felt more like "two generic people doing things" rather than a real Fringe story.
The five back-up stories were much stronger -- they each felt like a little Twilight Zone/Black Mirror-esque adventure that kept me hooked throughout their short durations. But they had almost nothing to do with Fringe, which is the main weakness of this series as a whole. While it was an entertaining read, it had absolutely no impact on my understanding or enjoyment of the television series, and didn't really feel like it was very related at all.
So I guess I'm not sure who the target audience is supposed to be. The pull quote on the front of the volume says "makes me want to watch the show" so I don't know if this was intended to bring in new readers to the show rather than be an added bit of the universe for show-watchers to read, but this comic just sort of seems to exist in limbo between those two states and, while I enjoyed it, never fully fulfills the promise of what it could be.
January 25, 2019
This was Fringe related, so I had to have it to complete my collection. However, it is definitely not my favorite side story of the franchise. It came out while season 2 was airing, and due to the secrecy of certain key plots of the show at that time, they were limited in what stories they could pursue without giving those twists away.
Half of the book is a story about Walter c. 1974, in the early days of his work with William Bell. The second half of the book are really short comics about Fringe cases that were part of "the Pattern" that were not reported to or investigated by the Fringe Division. The problem with the latter part of the book is...I didn't care. Most of them were so short that I either couldn't figure out exactly what was happening or I was genuinely left apathetic; they were just short science fiction stories with no context to them. It didn't really feel like Fringe without the Fringe Investigative team.
The first half of the book was really interesting. Certain things about it don't 100% fit in with backstory given in the show's visual canon, but that could be the whole LSD thing (or it could be that the writers hadn't decided yet on what became the canon backstory of Walter on the show.) I loved how they worked in realism, noir elements, espionage elements, time travel, and even what I felt were nods to Marathon Man. Also, Dr. Sumner wasn't such a huge jerk as the show painted him to be (the part of me that loves William Sadler enjoyed the slight redemption of the character he portrayed in The Equation.) The only downside is that Olivia is only in one panel, and there's no Peter, Astrid, Charlie, Broyles, or Nina in the entire comic book.
It's Fringe, but in name only for the most part. Read it for Walter, but read it with a grain of salt.
Half of the book is a story about Walter c. 1974, in the early days of his work with William Bell. The second half of the book are really short comics about Fringe cases that were part of "the Pattern" that were not reported to or investigated by the Fringe Division. The problem with the latter part of the book is...I didn't care. Most of them were so short that I either couldn't figure out exactly what was happening or I was genuinely left apathetic; they were just short science fiction stories with no context to them. It didn't really feel like Fringe without the Fringe Investigative team.
The first half of the book was really interesting. Certain things about it don't 100% fit in with backstory given in the show's visual canon, but that could be the whole LSD thing (or it could be that the writers hadn't decided yet on what became the canon backstory of Walter on the show.) I loved how they worked in realism, noir elements, espionage elements, time travel, and even what I felt were nods to Marathon Man. Also, Dr. Sumner wasn't such a huge jerk as the show painted him to be (the part of me that loves William Sadler enjoyed the slight redemption of the character he portrayed in The Equation.) The only downside is that Olivia is only in one panel, and there's no Peter, Astrid, Charlie, Broyles, or Nina in the entire comic book.
It's Fringe, but in name only for the most part. Read it for Walter, but read it with a grain of salt.
July 1, 2019
This was a disjointed series of 'stories' where there's some weird stuff that goes down. The first and longest story is a longer tale featuring time-travel and a real laugh-out-loud moment, but was told is a disjointed way making it difficult to follow. The subsequent stories seem to have nothing to do with one another or to do with the story-telling process. They just feature a thing that happens and that's it. There's no explanation, follow-up or reason to care. Having not seen the show I didn't know if any of the characters or scenarios set up here fitted into the show. The introduction at the front seems to have suggested this but other reviews I have read, written by fans of the show indicated this book has nothing to do with anything excepting some passing moments.
So, stories with no follow-through and nothing that has any real point. Well drawn, though.
So, stories with no follow-through and nothing that has any real point. Well drawn, though.
February 19, 2020
It's Fringe, and having not seen the old series in a long time, I enjoyed the travel back to this universe. If you life Fringe, I think you would like this, but it's not something that will pull you in.
September 27, 2022
I didn't know what was going on most of the time, and not in a good "fringe" way. I didn't like the art or the storyline. But somehow I think this still don't deserve only one star. My advice? Stick to the tv show.
May 28, 2021
That's a funny handcuff key you've got there sir. Are you telling me your cuff's lock has got tumblers?
August 18, 2021
Tons of fun! If you love the television series, you'll love the books.
May 30, 2024
The first half is an excellent prequel detailing Dr. Bishop and Dr. Bell’s past, the second half is random stories that don’t connect to anything. Just read the first half
February 27, 2013
Fringe has been one of my absolute favorite shows for years now, and it recently ended. While the ending was everything I would have hoped for, I wanted more. Which is why I picked up this comic when I found it at the library last week.
Unfortunately, if you aren't into the show, you won't find much to appeal to you here. The characters here really rely on your knowledge of the show for their life. The flip side of this is that longtime fans of the TV show will find familiar faces here.
The first half of the book details the early relationship between Walter Bishop, portrayed brilliantly in the show by John Noble, and William Bell, played on the screen by Leonard Nimoy. In the seventies they share a lab at Harvard and together are able to bend the very laws of the universe out of shape before Bishop is committed and Bell goes on to found the megacorporation Massive Dynamic. Their adventures here are very fun, and occasionally the writers hit their stride and you can hear John Noble deliver the lines on the page. Other times, it falls flat. Unfortunately, I think this was published before we had actually met Bell in the show (He was missing for a long time) and thus knew he was Leonard Nimoy--the Bell in the book doesn't really look a thing like him.
The second half of the book details several "Fringe events" occuring within the world of Fringe. Unfortunately, we don't get to see how things turn out either here or on the show--a number of them are just kind of left unresolved. There's a segment involving mind-swapping, a man trying to reclaim his stolen briefcase with unexpected results, a child who kills whatever he touches, an astronaut on an experimental drug, and a reporter who gets more than she bargained for when she begins investigating Massive Dynamic.....
Tom Mandrake's art throughout the book is consistant, if lackluster. Its not bad, its just not particularly outstanding. The writing, on the other hand, is spotty--either its good or its bad. This inconsistancy is understandable, given the fact that its written by a committee. The Bell And Bishop segment is apparently broken up into chapters with a different production team (these breaks are only apparent on the credits page--the chapter breaks don't appear in the book itself). Writers include Zack Whedon on one segment, Julia Cho, Mike Johnson, Alex Katsnelson, Danielle DiSpaltro, Justin Doble, Matthew Pitts, and Kim Cavyan.
Unfortunately, if you aren't into the show, you won't find much to appeal to you here. The characters here really rely on your knowledge of the show for their life. The flip side of this is that longtime fans of the TV show will find familiar faces here.
The first half of the book details the early relationship between Walter Bishop, portrayed brilliantly in the show by John Noble, and William Bell, played on the screen by Leonard Nimoy. In the seventies they share a lab at Harvard and together are able to bend the very laws of the universe out of shape before Bishop is committed and Bell goes on to found the megacorporation Massive Dynamic. Their adventures here are very fun, and occasionally the writers hit their stride and you can hear John Noble deliver the lines on the page. Other times, it falls flat. Unfortunately, I think this was published before we had actually met Bell in the show (He was missing for a long time) and thus knew he was Leonard Nimoy--the Bell in the book doesn't really look a thing like him.
The second half of the book details several "Fringe events" occuring within the world of Fringe. Unfortunately, we don't get to see how things turn out either here or on the show--a number of them are just kind of left unresolved. There's a segment involving mind-swapping, a man trying to reclaim his stolen briefcase with unexpected results, a child who kills whatever he touches, an astronaut on an experimental drug, and a reporter who gets more than she bargained for when she begins investigating Massive Dynamic.....
Tom Mandrake's art throughout the book is consistant, if lackluster. Its not bad, its just not particularly outstanding. The writing, on the other hand, is spotty--either its good or its bad. This inconsistancy is understandable, given the fact that its written by a committee. The Bell And Bishop segment is apparently broken up into chapters with a different production team (these breaks are only apparent on the credits page--the chapter breaks don't appear in the book itself). Writers include Zack Whedon on one segment, Julia Cho, Mike Johnson, Alex Katsnelson, Danielle DiSpaltro, Justin Doble, Matthew Pitts, and Kim Cavyan.
December 5, 2012
I love the show and I also love comic books. So, I mean, yeah, right? Perfect, right? The show in comic book form?! Happy Time Explosion!
No.
This collection of comics is bad. It's bad for a number of reasons:
1. It essentially has nothing to do with the show. So let's get that out the way. Don't think you'll automatically like this if you like the show.
2. It's poorly written. The show is much better written. These stories don't really go anywhere, they have holes in them, and they're dumb.
3. The show has a certain formula. Most of the time there is a "case per episode" and the stories center around the "family" of main characters which you grow to love over the series. These stories don't have the characters from the show in them (except for the first story about Walt Bishop's early days).
And we are essentially just witnessing the beginnings of or the circumstances surrounding cases/events.
***((quick SPOILER ALERT *** and nothing is solved; we just see weird stuff happen and are supposed to be awed and amazed, but no. dey be dumb. *** END SPOILER))***
4. The art is subpar (and/or the coloring is). What I mean is, in the first story, it's actually pretty hard to tell anyone apart, especially Bishop and Bell. It's so bad, that at one point the colorist actually mixes up the coloring on the two characters. Bishop has blond hair and a purple shirt, Bell has brown hair and a green shirt. And half way through their conversation, all these colors switch and Bell has blonde hair and a purple shirt and Bishop has brown hair and a green shirt. Dat jus dumb!
Anyway. You may like this book, but just because you're a fan of the show does not mean that you are guaranteed to like it. It essentially has nothing to do with the show whatsoever. And the story about Bishop's past isn't worth it either.
I hope no one reads this collection of comics and judges the show for it!
This just stinks! "But you don't have to take my word for it!"
No.
This collection of comics is bad. It's bad for a number of reasons:
1. It essentially has nothing to do with the show. So let's get that out the way. Don't think you'll automatically like this if you like the show.
2. It's poorly written. The show is much better written. These stories don't really go anywhere, they have holes in them, and they're dumb.
3. The show has a certain formula. Most of the time there is a "case per episode" and the stories center around the "family" of main characters which you grow to love over the series. These stories don't have the characters from the show in them (except for the first story about Walt Bishop's early days).
And we are essentially just witnessing the beginnings of or the circumstances surrounding cases/events.
***((quick SPOILER ALERT *** and nothing is solved; we just see weird stuff happen and are supposed to be awed and amazed, but no. dey be dumb. *** END SPOILER))***
4. The art is subpar (and/or the coloring is). What I mean is, in the first story, it's actually pretty hard to tell anyone apart, especially Bishop and Bell. It's so bad, that at one point the colorist actually mixes up the coloring on the two characters. Bishop has blond hair and a purple shirt, Bell has brown hair and a green shirt. And half way through their conversation, all these colors switch and Bell has blonde hair and a purple shirt and Bishop has brown hair and a green shirt. Dat jus dumb!
Anyway. You may like this book, but just because you're a fan of the show does not mean that you are guaranteed to like it. It essentially has nothing to do with the show whatsoever. And the story about Bishop's past isn't worth it either.
I hope no one reads this collection of comics and judges the show for it!
This just stinks! "But you don't have to take my word for it!"
March 31, 2014
En este volumen (que resulta ser el primero de los 3 recopilatorios existentes) se recogen pequeñas historias sobre el universo Fringe. Encontramos dos partes diferenciadas: en primer lugar tenemos una serie de historias sobre la juventud de Walter Bishop y William Bell en la que se nos presentan diferentes investigaciones y experimentos de los científicos; en segundo lugar, una serie de sucesos inexplicables a lo largo del mundo.
El resultado es un conjunto de historias fáciles de leer sin grandes pretensiones que amplían los horizontes de la serie de televisión. Personalmente, la primera mitad de la colección en la que acompañamos a Bishop y Bell me ha resultado más interesante.
En definitiva, al igual que otros productos de este tipo, solo recomendable para seguidores se la serie creada por Kurtzamn, Abrams y compañía.
El resultado es un conjunto de historias fáciles de leer sin grandes pretensiones que amplían los horizontes de la serie de televisión. Personalmente, la primera mitad de la colección en la que acompañamos a Bishop y Bell me ha resultado más interesante.
En definitiva, al igual que otros productos de este tipo, solo recomendable para seguidores se la serie creada por Kurtzamn, Abrams y compañía.
July 15, 2016
Based on the TV series, obviously, this is an uneven book. It is an anthology of stories, although that wasn't clear to me at first. At first it seemed to be only the backstory of Walter Bishop and William Bell. And that backstory contradicted the storyline that appears on the TV series. Then without much warning, it goes into several short pieces that are all pieces of The Pattern. If you don't follow the show, don't bother with the graphic novel. If you are a fan, then you might like this.
September 22, 2013
I enjoyed this addition to the Fringe universe. We are always left wondering about Walter & William's youthful friendship was like, so the first story was an entertaining glimpse. The other stories were much in the same vein as most of season one: episode-in-a-box-ish, unrelated to each other, only one mention of (The Pattern)/Massive Dynamic. None of the mysterious cases are solved (or even investigated), but are more like little teasers: these are cases the team might have worked on when we weren't looking, or were cases that never got reported.
Looking forward to the next comic book.
Looking forward to the next comic book.
March 27, 2010
Fun, fast-paced companion to the tv series that made for great airplane reading!
It raises more questions about Dr. Bishop than it answers, I think, but also builds layers onto the overall mythology. There are several short segments collected here, some follow Bishop, while others are like mini standalone Twilight-zone episodes. One is focused on Massive Dynamic, the sinister corporation which lurks in the shadows of the show.
It raises more questions about Dr. Bishop than it answers, I think, but also builds layers onto the overall mythology. There are several short segments collected here, some follow Bishop, while others are like mini standalone Twilight-zone episodes. One is focused on Massive Dynamic, the sinister corporation which lurks in the shadows of the show.
December 8, 2011
It was an interesting comic on its own but it doesn't really tell me anything that the TV show didn't. On that note though I am not sure if I would recomend it to readers who had not already seen episodes of Fringe on TV.
Comic book reafers who are used to jumping in and out of universes with little or no detail into what is happening might enjoy this graphic novel but everyone else should stick to the show.
Comic book reafers who are used to jumping in and out of universes with little or no detail into what is happening might enjoy this graphic novel but everyone else should stick to the show.
December 22, 2016
I expected this to be a collection of short anecdotes from the Fringe Universe, but to my surprise only the second half of the collection was short stories, while the first half is a continuous story that, for me at least, made this entire collection worth reading.
That being said, none of the stories here are tightly connected nor add too much to the TV Show.
The art is pretty standard for tie-in comics, meaning it is good enough, but nothing memorable.
That being said, none of the stories here are tightly connected nor add too much to the TV Show.
The art is pretty standard for tie-in comics, meaning it is good enough, but nothing memorable.
August 28, 2013
Anything related to Fringe is something I enjoy, but I really wish this one had more of the characters from the show; namely Peter and Olivia. However, I truly enjoyed the twist on Hitler's fate, courtesy of Walter's crazy brain, and the final tale involving cloning. You have to love a twist at the end.
March 10, 2012
Liked the TV show. This is some interesting gap-filling story that gives me some insight into the characters (mostly Walter) plus some plays on the concepts related to the show. Not bad. I liked the one where Walter and Dr. Bell go back in time and space to Nazi Germany. Always like time travel stories.
September 22, 2013
Here William Bell and Walter Bishop bear very little resemblance to their characters on Fringe. When they appear, that is, which is only in the first few stories. Some of the stories, with Bishop and Belly, but also without, are interesting enough, but they don't have much to do with the themes of the show.
April 29, 2010
I loved the X-Files and was sad when it Jumped the Shark, but now I have Fringe which I thought was corny at first, but it grew on me. The graphic novel version wasn't too bad so I hope to see more in the future.
April 15, 2015
It's good but much less than what I expected.
As for a common reader it may be OK but for a Fringe Fan this comic isn't up to the level of the series.
I hope it'll get better in the up coming volumes or I'll be very disappointed.
As for a common reader it may be OK but for a Fringe Fan this comic isn't up to the level of the series.
I hope it'll get better in the up coming volumes or I'll be very disappointed.
April 5, 2015
The stories were interesting, featuring that great Fringe science, but lacking any thread to your then together or any form of conclusion. Also, half the draw of the series was the wonderful Walter, and he is sadly lacking in the second half of this GN.
December 28, 2015
Really enjoyed the early Bishop and Bell stories, but you've had to have seen the show to appreciate them. Solid fan service and backstory if you have. Rest of the book is rather average. Went with three instead of four stars because of that.
April 17, 2016
This Graphic Novel contains the same persons as in the TV series. I liked the TV series a lot, but this Graphic Novel contains a lot of mysteries and no explanations. It's more like a teaser for the TV series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews