Customer Reviews

The Fountain

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a big fan of Aronofsky's films and have been following the production of "The Fountain" since the beginning. I'm sure the endless delays will have been forth it after reading Kent Williams' comic adaptation of the script though.

I don't want to give anything away, because that would take away the joy of discovery. I'll simply say that it's a powerfully written, and exceedingly psychedelic story about love, death, and eternal life.

The art is wonderful. Broad water color looking strokes over sketches combined with at least two other styles of illustration. Very fitting for the story. Each section has its own visual continuity that can suddenly shift to reflect the mood. It's really quite an achievement. I paid well over what amazon is charging and I don't feel ripped off at all. It really is great.

If you have any love of good, powerful, character/idea driven science fiction I suggest you give this a shot. Yes, it's a graphic novel. Even if you're not versed in the particular vernacular of reading comics you'll still find much to love here. Something about the panel layout makes it feel more like a movie than any book I've read before. Go forth! Buy!

With the upcoming film version of The Fountain coming out soon, which is written and directed by Aronofsky, I decided to check out the graphic novel version, which has received enormous praise. Boasting a story by acclaimed writer/director Darren Aronofsky and artwork by Kent Williams, The Fountain tells the story of a man whose love knows no bounds, not even time.
Taking place across three different time periods (Spain and the New World in the 1500s, America in the present, and in a space-worthy pod in the distant future), Thomas Verde will do anything to save the love of his life Izzy. Drawing on ideas from the book of Genesis, Tom searches for the mythic Tree of Life in order to grant immortality to himself and Izzy, but when the tree begins to die, he must travel to a dying star in order to rejuvenate it.
While the story is simple to explain, it is a little confusing to read in the book. I should probably read it over again, just in case, though. A second reading is probably required.
The artwork is very distinctive, and, for the most part, very beautiful. The art from the past and the future is breathtaking, however, in my opinion, the stuff used for the story in the present is a little bland. It is fairly colorless compared to the brilliance of the 1500 storyline.
While the book wasn't everything I was expecting, it was still very good, and, now more than ever, I am eagerly awaiting the movie.

Before buying this, I took the risk of finding out whether I would receive the photo book or the actual graphic novel. It turns out, thank God, that I received the graphic novel. (For those who are interested, it is pretty much perfect and just as intriguing and multi faceted as the movie.)

I just wanted to point something out. Some reviews have said that when they bought this item, they received the coffee table photography book (which I plan on buying due to the overwhelmingly good reviews). Be careful when buying this. Make sure this is the cover you see in the cart and not the one of the photography book.

As for a formal review of the graphic novel itself, that will come this weekend when I read it over for the second time.

I hope this was a little useful to all future buyers.

I watched the movie about 8 months ago and by the end of it I had no idea what happened. I gave it another couple months and I watched it again. It all clicked! The movie definitely ranks on my top ten movie list for its genre. What an awesome surprise it was that it was a graphic novel. After reading through it, it makes a lot of the movie make more sense. A must read if you like the movie.

This is a beautiful companion to the stunning movie. It is a quick enjoyable read, and helps to explain some of the things that are left up in the air in the film. I still prefer the film version, but this is very cool too, and I definately recommend it for any Aronofsky fan.

Truly an awesome story and quite simply amazing artwork. I am very happy to have bought it. Its philosophical and the author leaves some things up to the reader to interpret. Very nice indeed

I first read through the story, and simply scratched my head and said "Well, that was a good read." There was no more to it than that- I simply enjoyed the time I had just spent with the story, which spans centuries as though they were minutes, and nothing more. I was done with the story.

But the story wasn't done with me.

The ancient New World. . . the modern day, swathed in blues and oranges and other colors. . . the future, abstract and an amazing sight, with ghosts and dying stars abound; all these images stuck with me, haunting my waking eyes. Kent Williams has painted a dream, and the story sticks with you like a pleasant dream with echoes of pain in it as well. And in many instances, the images are works of art- the splash pages near the end, or the cover art are what proves it for me.

As far as the story goes, Aronofsky has written a beautiful and revelatory story about life and love and death itself. Many of these facets are not immediately apparent on the first reading, but with subsequent readings it becomes more and more apparent; there are so many levels working here that it takes time to process them all.

While the price of the book may discourage some, and the mere fact that this is a "graphic novel" by definition, if you are considering buying this then please give it a chance. After the first go around, you may not be immediately impressed. But give it a night or two, and I promise you that the story will resonate within you, thus justifying you purchase.

Deserves the 5 stars easily.

The delays & setbacks for "The Fountain" were pure serendipity in the end: not only was the film better for its revised casting & smaller budget, but this gorgeous graphic novel also saw the light of day. The story itself needs no further praise, except to say that like the film, it works wonderfully as a tone poem, with a simple (but never simplistic) plotline woven into an intricate design. And here it's complemented by Kent Williams' distinctive art, which has both an austere & lush beauty, perfectly conveying the emotional tones of this intense journey. Every line, every brushstroke, embodies passion, yearning, grief, joy. The graphic novel stands on its own as a work of art -- highly recommended!

Darren Aronofsky, The Fountain (Vertigo, 2005)

The long and somewhat tortouous story of the making of The Fountain is about as interesting as the movie itself. Rather than a straight novelization, Aronofsky wanted to do the print version as a graphic novel (and one that, Aronofsky says, is a quite different beast than the finished film, by design), and worked with artist Kent Williams. The finished product is short, sweet, and exceptional.

In case you haven't seen the movie, well, you're pretty much out of luck; it's impossible to give a synopsis of this without spoilers. It deals with Tom Creo and the love of his many lives, Izzy, and shows the two of them in three different stories-- in the 1500s, during the Spanish conquest of Mexico; in the present day; and far in the future. Williams' artwork is captivating, if reminiscent of Dave McKean at times. Aronofsky's story isn't quite up to the level of the artwork; telling tales in the impressionist manner he approaches this story with is a risky business, and when it's not perfectly executed, the end result often feels unfinished. Such is the case. You'll get a lot more out of this if you've seen the movie, I think. ***

I have to admit that after reading The Fountain I am glad that they cancelled the movie...because now one will be able to enjoy two stories by Darren Aronofsky - first the original script made into a really beautiful and well-told graphic novel and somewhen later another movie about the same subject.
But now some more about the comic itself: The story is told in a rather unusual way - with lots of the boxed texts reminding of a movie script. As a frequent reader of comics I had to get used to that first but after a while found that it actually serves the storytelling very well. The story itself is very nice although one very quickly gets what the point is going to be in the end (but since it's a good story well told one anyway wants to continue). The pictures are very good indeed - there is not much else to tell about them except - they are worth indulging in for a good while.
All in all a very good book that can only be recomended further to everybody!