Which comic series can be considered canon?
At amazon.com, there is Tales From the Fringe, Beyond the Fringe, and Fringe #1-6. Fringe #1 has JJ Abrams listed as the author, but the other Fringe #'s have different authors.
Thanks for any replies.
Only Beyond The Fringe issues 1A, 2A, and 3A (written by Joshua Jackson) are considered fully canon. All other Fringe comics, including the first run (#1-6), second run (Tale From the Fringe), and Beyond the Fringe 4A-6A and all B issues are not canon.
Hope this helps.
Where does it say that? I've been under the impression, since the first batch of comics, that they were directly timed to coincide with themes in the show, and are 100% canon. I might not LIKE all aspects of that, but I don't believe there is any reason to disavow any of the existing comics as non-canon, and i believe I have seen quotes that confirm this from TPTB.
The 1A-3A are definitively canon, at the least. Joshua Jackson affirms as much, saying that the writers offered him a chance to pen a story. It also seems that no other Fringe comics have ever done material that directly supplements in-show canon. The link to this article (which is a semi-interview with Jackson) can be found here. I'd also like to note that the method of Elizabeth Bishop's suicide as was described in S4 (I forget which, but it's somewhere in 4.01-4.09) was lifted straight from issue 3A.Originally Posted by phx219
According to the official DC page synopsis, all of the A issues are tied into canon by some means. The description of 4A seems like a out-there X.19 episode, so that one doesn't seem too relevant, yet 5A-6A apparently revolve around Nina's arm; I have not read these last three, I cannot confirm or deny that any material therein might be congruent with existing canon or even answer some ongoing mysteries. So perhaps there is some valid info to be gained from the 4A-6A issues, but it would be semi or unofficial canon, since they were not confirmed to be full canon unlike 1A-3A. And of course, all of the B-issues are "what if" tangents (I recall reading "What if Astrid was a Spy?", which was pretty entertaining).
The second run (Tales From The Fringe) are issues that have two stories, one revolving around a Fringe character, and another with a random story. I have found no mention of them to be canon.
As for the first run - of which the only stories I can recall had to do with Walter in Saint-Claire's and some sort of Walter/Bell time travel to WWII - I neither found mention of canonicity on them. But if the first link I provided is valid, then neither the first nor second run are 100% canon; only the 1A-3A Jackson-penned arc (which consist a three-part story titled "Peter and the Machine") is 100% canon, aiming to fill in the gap of what the 2026ers did with the Machine, how they sent it back, etc.
So this is my basis for my assertions. You note in your post that there may be TPTB quotes in some sources that also confirm the first six-issue run of Fringe comics to be canon. If you could provide these, it would be greatly appreciated, as I have not heard of anything on that front.
i've found a few quotes like this, although not the exact one I was thinking of; i distinctly remember a quote about how the release date of certain comics was being delayed to match up more clearly with the first Season. Some of the early comics were referred to directly as "prequels" to the series as well.“There are definitely hidden (and not-so-hidden) elements that will feed into the Fringe[tv] series that you can only find in the comic,” said Athena Wickham, co-story consultant for the Fringecomic and TV executive for Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot. While Wickham said reading the comic isn’t necessary for viewers to understand what’s happening in the show, “it will give them a greater appreciation of what’s to come and help them uncover some of the integrated plot points.”
“The writers have created such a rich and complex series that we are looking to the comic to further illuminate the Fringe universe,” said David Baronoff, creative executive for Bad Robot, who is also a co-story consultant on the Fringe comic.
As the comic series opens, Wickham said the first issue “begins when the yin and yang of fringe science first meet face to face.”
“The issues will consist of two parts. Part A will tell the back-story story of two of our key characters: Walter Bishop and William Bell. Part B will consist of stand-alone stories,” Wickham said. “Readers will be introduced to a range of characters — from those at the epicenter of the pilot to others who might not live to make a series appearance.”
http://www.fringebloggers.com/catego...-comic/page/3/
I see. Funny that the first run got a negative review in the Fringebloggers link.
As for the excerpt you provided, it's surely interesting. Has any element from these six issues gotten to the screen? I noted in my post that Elizabeth's method of suicide was lifted from the BTF comics (unless that was somehow purely coincidental), so I wonder if anything from these comics made their way into an episode.
And since we know that the Original Fringe Plan was radically changing even from the Pilot onward, I wonder what elements in this series would still be considered valid, or if they have been retconned/invalidated by later plot points.
I have only seen portions of the first run, so I will look to refresh my memory of their contents. And as I recall, you said you have yet to read the BTF comics; it thus appears that we both have a lot of work to do.
The first 6 Fringe comics and prequel intro are all floating around the web in complete, full resolution form, and while they don't completely fit into anything, they ask a lot of strange questions, and have lots of small ..retroactive shout outs to things that we now know about. Some hints at Germany, nazi stuff, body swapping, memory replication, mention of LSD and souls, Walter getting a visitor at St Claires with observer-type tech, who attempts to question him; a lot of early bishop/bell stuff concerning how they met, a great time travel arc concerning Walter's father; a lot more government involvement in fringe events (and being quite familiar with bell and bishop); a story with a time loop of sorts, and a lot of "big scary corporation" stuff and evil experimentation. Some stuff on cloning.... one comic supposedly leads almost directly into Olivia getting there in the pilot.
It definately feels like the original plot would have been much, much different than the one we saw; Something that would have taken the whole first season and involved a lot of big business and corrupt scientists (as we actually saw with ZFT in a way) but without going into the AU stuff. I'd love to see the early notes and plans for the show.
Last edited by phx219; 05-22-2012 at 01:00 AM.
So are you saying that the first run of comics are more thematic canon than plot canon, in a manner of speaking? From your description, it sounds like something any Fringe fan would dig. I'm at ease with looking for things (if ya know what I mean, hurr hurr), so I will certainly observe them all.
Thanks again for correcting my previous assertion, phx.
Observe them all.... love it.
I still have to find the 2nd run of comics and the BTF comics. if you find anything you think i'd be interested in, e-mail me.
I dunno about the 2nd run; as I recall, they're the stories with the really weird art style for the characters, making it so that they don't even look like the actors. But the first comic run comes first.Observe them all.... love it.
I still have to find the 2nd run of comics and the BTF comics. if you find anything you think i'd be interested in, e-mail me.
I will keep you notified of these matters, as per your request.
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