Graphic Novel Introduces the World of Falling Skies
The TNT sci-fi drama Falling Skies is the story of an alien invasion that does not actually feature a literal invasion. Instead the narrative begins a good six to seven months after the aliens have arrived and annihilated most of mankind, and focuses on a handful of survivors who have come together in an area outside Boston, Massachusetts. While a few of these characters have military background, the majority are just normal citizens who suddenly find themselves fighting for their very survival.
Because of the starting point for Falling Skies the television series, there is obviously a great deal of backstory that has not found its way onto the small screen. Executive producer Steven Spielberg, creator Bob Rodat and co-executive producer Mark Verheiden thus came up with the idea of crafting a prequel online webcomic and releasing it in short installments as Falling Skies drew closer to its official premier on TNT in June 2011. The webcomic was later collected into graphic novel form by Dark Horse Comics and the five chapters fill in numerous blanks pertaining to main characters Tom Mason, Anne Glass and Captain Weaver.
Those blanks, however, do not include the actual alien invasion. “You will be able to see where they were before the show starts,” Mark Verheiden explained to Comics Alliance in November 2010 in regards to the Falling Skies comic. “There will be some hints as to what the invasion will be like for these people. One of the conceits of the show, one of the things we don’t do, is that you don’t see the invasion happen. There are no flashbacks. During the invasion the military was taken out, mass communication was taken out. Things were taken out so the characters have their own take on what the invasion was like for them and we reference that a bit more and we also see how the characters meet-up.”
Like Falling Skies the series, Falling Skies the graphic novel primarily focuses on Tom Mason, the former college history professor turned militia man. In the opening pages, however, Tom and his three sons—Matt, Ben and Hal—are more interested in finding food and hiding from the aliens as opposed to fighting back. They have also taken refuge in a makeshift hospital run by a former pediatrician named Anne Glass, who figures prominently in the TNT drama, and a few other every-day people trying to make sense out of the new, hostile environment.
“We need to survive, that’s what we need to do,” Tom Mason explains when faced with members of a start-up opposition military force. “We can’t fight them until we know more about them. Right now, we’re totally outgunned.”
Mason’s attitude changes, however, when his middle son Ben is taken by the aliens, who have been nicknamed “skitters” by the few remnants of the Boston region. The former history teacher uses his knowledge of the Revolutionary War—just like he does in Falling Skies the series—to help find recruitments for the Second Massachusetts division of the resistance movement. With the help of Anne Glass, civilians craft posters filled with Paul Revere references which Mason and his eldest son Hal then hang throughout the war ravaged region. The efforts eventually catch the eye of Colonel Porter, the man in charge, who senses the leadership and military potential of Mason.
Porter also introduces Tom Mason to Captain Weaver, who later serves as Mason’s commanding officer on the TNT drama. While Tom Mason still understands the need for food, protecting civilians and the necessity of surviving, Weaver is more driven to killing the enemy than anything else. This conviction is only re-enforced when a recon mission leads to the discovery of a group of humans hiding from the aliens. Weaver wants to leave them behind but is overruled by a superior. During the journey back, however, one of the starved refugees attempts to enter a grocery store that has been booby-trapped, leading to the death of a fellow soldier. While he still completes the mission as ordered, the experience only strengthens Weaver’s opinion that civilians are nothing more than a hindrance to the primary focus of military retaliation.
“These comics are a great way to lead into the show and the comics are canon for Falling Skies,” co-executive television producer Mark Verheiden told Comics Alliance over six months before Falling Skies premiered on TNT. “They’re not ‘imaginary stories,’ to use a word DC used to throw around. So you can read these comics and that’s us saying how our characters met. But you don’t need to read the comics to enjoy the show. If you do, you’ll be fine, and if you don’t? You’ll be fine. They’re just a fun way for people to really get into the show and explore what we’re creating.”
Fortunately those comments are equally true now that Falling Skies has completed its first season, as Falling Skies the graphic novel not only compliments Falling Skies the series, but enhances the experience as well.
Anthony Letizia (August 17, 2011)
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