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THE FORGOTTEN: SHATTERED LIVES, VOL. 1
Recommended (8/10)
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Fintan Studios
Writers: Jareth Grealish & Evan Young
Pencils: John Forcucci, Jason Cheeseman-Meyer & Jonathan Luna
Inks: Mostafa Moussa, James Taylor, C.A. Aabo, Jason Cheeseman-Meyer
Letters: Jack Nolan
Price: $11.95 US |
Note: A few months back, the guys at Fintan Studios asked me to write the foreword to the collected edition of The Forgotten. I enjoyed the four-issue series and am happy to support small-press and independent creators, so I agreed. It was released to comic shops within the past month, and rather than a traditional review, I'm reproducing the foreword here.
Memory Lanes
a Forgotten foreword
Everyone loves super-heroes... until they grow up.
Let's face it. Outside of a fairly limited mainstream comics-reading audience, most people leave the medium and the super-heroes that dominate it behind them, along with their Lite-Brites, Barbies and G.I.Joes. Entertainment companies with obscene marketing budgets beckon them over to flickering images on screens of various sizes.
But there's something powerful about super-heroes. Maybe they remind us of simpler times, simpler joys. Of easier answers, clearer distinctions between right and wrong. In any case, the nostalgia factor is undeniable, especially today. Seeing Tobey Maguire swinging through cinemas re-ignited the general public's fascination with the spandex set, and Marvel's mutants' second live-action outing proved there's still life left in the fad. (By the time this sees print, Ang Lee's Hulk may prove so once again.)
Still, box-office success doesn't seem to have translated into major sales at comic-book shops. I'm guessing most folks figure they're too grown-up for comics and flashy, costumed heroes. What they don't realize, though, is that some of those caped crusaders have grown up along with them.
For example, there's Mr. Mystery.
Jareth Grealish and Evan Young's story has the super-hero genre as its foundation, but it's much more than that. The costumed-hero schtick is the bait, designed to lure readers into a genre that's not nearly as prominent as it could or should be in comics: crime fiction. Superhuman powers and feats are secondary concerns here. Instead, we meet a man who essentially becomes a reluctant private eye.
Ultimately, it's the man, not his mission, that draws the reader into his world, the world of a hero who longs to be forgotten. Clarence Flynn's pain, his yearning for the happiness that slipped through his fingers, shines through in the script. Flynn is haunted by the mistakes and promises from his past. In an odd way, his decency, his drive to be good, has robbed him of a good life.
Not bad for a couple of self-publishing rookie writers.
Usually, up-and-comers like Young and Grealish are joined by a single artist or art team in their efforts to turn heads all on their own, so I was surprised to find that a variety of artists ended up involved in this project, changing from issue to issue. I was even more surprised to find a consistent visual tone in throughout the series. The shifts are fairly seamless. Perhaps that speaks to the writers' script and layout directions, or perhaps it's more of an indication for their eye for new talent. Either way, it's another plus in the Forgotten column.
For those reasons and more, I was delighted when they approached me to write the foreword for this book. Again, the simple fact that this trade paperback is being published speaks to the strength of The Forgotten. It's one thing to develop an audience for a self-published comic-book series. It's another matter altogether to develop a market for a reprinted, collected edition of the early efforts of tyro talent.
Funny thing about this foreword, though. Jareth e-mailed me about writing it, and I was honored to be asked. I mulled over what I might write, and thumbed through the original issues again to get some ideas. Unfortunately, new reviews, paycheck priorities and real life got in the way, and it slipped my mind for a time.
That's right... appropriately enough, I forgot to write a foreword for The Forgotten.
Oh, quit rolling your eyes and start reading.
Note: This trade paperback was not among this week's new releases.
Email Don MacPherson with your comments about this review.
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