Forager

by Jimmy Palmiotti

In an attempt to save their crumbling marriage, Glenn and Joan Travers take their six-year-old daughter Ellie, on a week’s vacation aboard a luxury Star Liner orbiting the Earth and Mars.Soon after reaching orbit, Ellie begins hearing voices from what she calls angels, claiming they are, “coming for our world”. As the days pass, Ellie alarmingly slips in and out of a catatonic state for short periods of time, each time explaining that the angels are getting closer. Are the angels real? Is Ellie suffering a mental breakdown or are we about to make first contact with an alien intelligence?The inspiration for FORAGER was born out of frustration with mainstream science fiction movies where nearly all alien life in the universe wants to conquer or eat us. There is very little optimism, hope or joy. So FORAGER draws its inspiration films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET and Starman.Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray; Art by Steven Cummings; Cover by Darwyn Cooke

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Fiction

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 20, 2014

About the author

James "Jimmy" Palmiotti is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film.

Photo by Luigi Novi.

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe I should be upfront when entering a review about a Kickstarter that I helped to fund, as this is one that I contributed to. While this is very much a one and done story Palmiotti and Gray created a believable science fiction universe where more stories could be told.

While maybe not "hard" science fiction by the standards of some the story deals well with many science fiction features in a realistic way. In particular the matter of time and FTL travel, and environmental issues that affect the Earth (and not in a preachy way).

I also enjoyed that our protagonist, Ellie, has Asperger syndrome, albeit a mild case. The syndrome plays apart in the early portion of the story, and I appreciated seeing a differently abled person portrayed as a useful member of society.

Some might compare the later half of the tale to the movie Avatar. Please keep in mind Avatar was not using any original science fiction tropes, and...

I think Forager does a better job of telling a story.

[Millguy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I googled the history of this book. The internet tells me "840 backers pledged $27,043" but I think the comic was mostly made before the Kickstarter was done, so the Kickstarter didn't fund the production.

The book was Kickstarted as an "All age book" but the main theme seemed to be about parents worried about their daughter, and largely takes the adult's point of view, so it doesn't seem like a book with a lot of kid appeal to me. All ages to me means a story with themes that will appeal to kids and adults, not just "This story doesn't happen to contain sex or violence".

I found this comic to be boring. The characters are thin. There isn't much conflict to speak of, and the conflict that existed didn't create much genuine tension.

I'm not in principle against an optimistic science fiction book. But if you're going to do something like this you'd better have a less generic set of characters and a more visual set of storytelling ideas. (This story felt like it largely consisted of people standing around chatting, even though in theory it's about people exploring space).

The art by Steven Cummings is excellent, and the coloring is good.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok, but not great...the story line jumps around quite a bit more than I was expecting and while you can sort of fill in the gaps, I was really looking forward to something a bit more linear. But hey, it was on sale when I got it, so it's all good.

[Darth Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

ZERO FUCKING STARS!

Wow. Just fucking wow. This is trash in so many ways I don't know where to begin. First, apparently autistic people are, like, super special. So special they're basically Jesus. Two, when they go to a planet for the first time they wear masks for something called "Columbus Syndrome"...cool, right? Wrong. Because the masks are meant to *protect them* against diseases, not the other way around. So why the fuck name it after Columbus at all? I thought they were being clever and were going to say it was to protect the fucking planet against diseases humans carry, you know, because that's what happened with Natives and Columbus and since *they* were the ones colonizing the planet *they* would be Columbus in this metaphor. Three, the main character, who is a super special twee white girl, literally states they have a super huge diverse collection of people on board to help colonize planets and for genetic diversity...and every fucking single goddamn character is a white American.

I don't know what I was expecting. Same dude wrote Wayward and he's just a yellow fevered weeb who lives in Japan...because? Seriously why do white people who have ZERO reason to be in Japan feel such a fucking need to live there, like they're entitled to the culture and to their obsession simply because they think since they love Japan they aren't doing any harm, when really they're just racist, problematic assholes who perpetuate Orientalism.

[Joseph B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forager is described by the writer as a remix. This is apt; as Forager weaves together a hodgepodge of familiar sci-fi tropes and puts a personal spin on them. Eternally bickering parents take their daughter, who is on the autism spectrum, out for a stellar vacation aboard a luxury ship. Essentially a sci-fi take on the whole cruise ship vacation shtick. While in space, the girl inexplicably picks up voices of the "angels." What follows is a whirlwind of events that have ramifications for all of humanity.

One might think that Ellie, the girl, would be our protagonist. Instead, the story is told from her parents point of view. I think this works decently given how the book ends. I can see why Palmiotti decided on this perspective. I wish the characters weren't so cookie cutter. There is little to them and they are ones we've seen in dozens and dozens of other sci-fi stories in recent decades. There is joy in this more optimistic (to a degree) version of space exploration and first contact. I also credit the author for having a differently abled main character; as I am on the spectrum myself. However at the end of the day; this is a story with stale, paper thin characters and exhaustingly familiar tropes. Cummings art is good, accentuated by bright coloring.

If you are looking for a quick soft sci-fi pulp read, then Forager might have what you're looking for. 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.

[Therearenobadbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover shows this girl that has the ability to speak to aliens. We expect her to be the main character, but the story is told from the parents point of view, we never get to see her doing the really cool stuff, going places, growing up, facing problems, communication with the other aliens. This story has the wrong point of view.
The art is amazing, though.

spoilers ahead

The end was abrupt and underwhelming because we sit with the parents for weeks on the beach while she goes somewhere in the water to do whatever that we never see at all.

[Carol Hardesty · Rating 3 out of 5]

With all that's going on in the world right now, it was good to have a distraction like this around. And since it's more of a graphic novella (is that even a thing?) than a full graphic novel, it was easy to read through. While I haven't read many of these kind of books, I wouldn't mind reading more of them. Especially if they are as well-done as this.

[L.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kolega mi przyniósł, no to przeczytałem, bo mnie nawet trochę zainteresowała. Można przeczytać, ale tu i ówdzie trochę chaotyczny, poza tym chyba jednak nie przepadam za komiksami ;) To jednak inne medium niż książka i mniej treści niesie za to opisuje pewne rzeczy, które w książce byłyby opisane na zasadzie narracji... chyba mnie to trochę drażni.

(czytana: 5-6.12.2021)
3/5

[Brian Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5- Well, I was just kind of bored with the whole thing. The cruise in space looked like fun with anyone other than the bickering parents. Writing is decent, but the story overall just lacked and seemed to have gaps. I kind of just pushed through it.

[Edd Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Weak 4/5 Graphic Novel

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wish this book was better than it is given the neat story concepts, strong art, and inclusion of a lead with Asperger's. Unfortunately, it's just too rushed to really give the characters and narrative development.

The story starts with a family consisting of bickering mom and dad with little girl heading on vacation on a luxury spacecraft. Little girl, Ellie, starts hearing "angels" which turn out to be aliens who want to help Earth develop. Over a decade later, the aliens still only speak through Ellie (even though they can make other speakers) and take off with her to explore new worlds. Even though they find a new world to colonize (and I should mention that flippantly saying that human colonisation is going to be permanently pre-industrial is not something you don't discuss!!!), because of techno-babble, they return to Earth over 800 years later and humanity is dying. The aliens took a colony ship and technobabble suggests they've evolved past humanity, but the remaining humans all got into giant wars and destroyed the world. So Ellie and her crew (all chosen to provide a genetic foundation for new humanity without any of them knowing this) head off to the unknown to start again. It's not a bad sci-fi outline, but there's little exploration of the themes and challenges so it makes for a superficial read for a story with a lot of interesting and controversial ideas. I would have also loved for Ellie's Asperger's to have been explored more in depth, but instead it was just window dressing.

All in all, Foranger is an okay read with fantastic art that would really benefit from being a lot longer than it is.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and it was provided to me via Amazon Publishing. I am reviewing it as a courtesy and as a thank you.

This graphic novel is just so gorgeous. There was so much worldbuilding packed into one slim volume. I'm not a big reader of graphic novels, so I might be lacking in experience but this is really just so good. The art is amazing.

My only complaint is the Young Autistic Child is Conduit for Strange Happenings trope. But it's not entirely an integral part of the plot, so I can let it slide.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and beautiful adventure to the stars!

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple with a troubled marriage decide a family vacation will help. So they head off on a luxury space cruise with their 6-year-old daughter Ellie, who falls somewhere on the spectrum. Shortly after the cruise begins, Ellie begins to claim that she hears angels, causing friction between her parents. She begins to have seizures and to lapse into a catatonic-like state, which increasingly alarms her parents. Are the angels real? And if they are, what exactly are they--and what do they want? This is a fast-moving science fiction adventure.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Public library copy.

While I liked the story and art, I expected a lot of shoot-em-up sci-fi action and this work had none of that. The production overall was very nice from art to colors to the cardstock. I'd nitpick that some of the early arguments between the married couple weren't exactly consistent in terms of holding a position, but perhaps that was intentional rather than am oversight.

I haven't seen the movie the Martian yet (as I type this) but maybe fans of that movie might appreciate another sci-fi drama about journey over all out action and violence.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover shows this girl that has the ability to speak to aliens. We expect her to be the main character, but the story is told from the parents point of view, we never get to see her doing the really cool stuff, going places, growing up, facing problems, communication with the other aliens. This story has the wrong point of view.
The art is amazing, though.

spoilers ahead

The end was abrupt and underwhelming because we sit with the parents for weeks on the beach while she goes somewhere in the water to do whatever that we never see at all.

[Nastassja Riemermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deals with some tough isssues

Although it really only skimmed the surface, it hurt a little bit to think about what it would be like to have nearly everyone you ever knew be centuries dead in the span of far less than a year. At least this nuclear family was able to stay together. As others mentioned, I feel like this story could be much more enjoyable in a longer and more flushed-out format, but it was very good for the length it had to work with.

[Natille · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story line and graphics. It didn't go off base and was easy to read. Beautiful artwork. I was instantly captivated by the creepy little girl and what was going on, so it definitely captured my attention. Once I sat down to read it the pages went by fast. I received this free from first-read on Goodreads.

[Morgan Parabola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a GoodReads first-reads review.

A refreshingly positive take on the science fiction genre. Instead of malicious alien life, a girl acts as a speaker for friendly aliens named Engelys. A spectacular look into the OTHER outcome of alien contact with fantastic art and a fully fleshed-out story.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel and hope to see more like it in the future.

[Marc Jentzsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet first contact story. Vibrant and intriguing. I can't say too much without spoiling it, but it was well worth the read. Some of the author's observations are also well worth reading and shed light on the choices made in this story.

A great respite from the color-by-numbers first contact tales we often get (and don't get me wrong, I really like those).

[Ricky Kimsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Contact

This is a first contact story with a twist. The one who makes contact with an alien race is a young girl with Aspergers,so it's great to see a positive portrayal of someone with this condition The ending of this graphic felt like a start of a series so possibly there will be more Forager in the future.

[Lady Entropy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I found a book where the ending cost it a star. It's not that it's a bad ending or one I don't like.

It's the fact that it's a hasty, pointless, open ended ending and it feels more like this should be a "backstory" free story, rather than a full narrative. And that makes me sad, because I could really have liked this book.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads Program in exchange for an honest review.

I like the artwork of this book and I really think there's still a room for improvement with the plot. Fans of aliens will probably enjoy this book. It is worth checking out.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It needed to be longer. I admire the artwork and some parts of this, but everything moves so quickly. At one point is just hops like 10 years ahead. Nothing in-between. If you read this, you'll see why it's frustrating.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

We drawn with a nice modern style.
the story was very interesting, a unique take on space exploration and first contact. Plenty of stuff to think about. I didn't care for the parent squabbles, even after decades.
Quite worth reading.

[Míla Brousil · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is a thin line between fleshed-out sci-fi story and something that looks like it was made by Church of Scientology.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

well worth checking out. Good quality paper and ink. Great start to story line. Thanks for this goodreads free

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did like this story. A little sparse and very quick pace, but i did overall enjoy the story.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crisp, amazing graphics and cool story. A breath of fresh air to read this when my normal reads do not have graphics. Well done!

I received this copy through Goodreads Firstreads.

[Laine · Rating 2 out of 5]

an interesting concept but populated with one-dimensional characters. art was decent, with great colours though.

[Laurian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot was interesting. It reminded me of Interstellar. The graphic style wasn't one I normally enjoy (I prefer gritty v. shiny) so this was a pleasant surprise.