Hard Choices
This is a print version of three digital comics, Beyond the Fringe 1a, 2a, 3a written by Joshua Jackson who plays Peter Bishop on the TV show Fringe. This story takes place in between the events of season 3 and 4.
The Story
It follows Peter on his journey to find a way to save both universes. Walter sends Peter and the Machine back through time. The Machine is broken up and scatter throughout history and Peter must find each piece a place them on the appropriate markers. We also learn that Peter and Walter most likely have does this an almost infinate number of time already. Each time Peter seems to make the same choice that leads to the destruction of one of the universes. He is determined to make a different choice this time. We seems him interact with different characters during his travels. Some we know from the show and some are just people who help discovers things about himself. In the end he completes his quest and ultimately makes the choice that we see in the end of season 3.
The Good
Jackson does a great job of making this story feel like its part of the Fringe universe. He stays very true to Peter's character. We see him alone and wondering at times, but he keeps his focus on why he is doing all of this. To save the people he loves. It's really nice to get a little deeper of an explanation of what Walter and Peter we doing at the end of season three. The show moved through it a little quickly. I love that we get some kind of back story for the men that are Sam Weiss. The are just a bunch of little details that help shed some light to different mysteries of the Fringe story. The art of this book is also great. Jimenez gets to draw quite the variety of scenes during Peter's time traveling and he does a good job of making his drawings look like the actual actors.
The Bad
I don't have any real problems with this book itself. I do feel like it is better appreciated by those who watch the show. It would be a little confusing to someone who doesn't understand why he is doing what he is doing.
The Verdict
If you are fan of the show (and everyone should be) this is an absolute must buy. If you have never seen the show, I feel like you may get a little lost or confused. It is still a decent book without knowing more back story, but it's much better having followed the show. I would really be interested in seeing more work from Joshua Jackson. He seems to be a fan of the genre and has good grip on important things like character development and keeping the story paced well.