Broken Saints redefines modern art. discipline, f a i t h , courage, empathy, p a r a n o i a , revenge, forgiveness a n d sacrifice. It is a b o u t the g o o d a n d evil in all of us. e n c o u n t e r e d . This is a w a y of e x p r e s s i n g that. A l l the characters believe in something t o t a l l y d i f f e r e n t a n d y e t t h e i r perspectives o n w h a t is h a p p e n i n g a r e i d e n t i c a l . " He C o m p u t e r technology, especially the Internet, has taken us light years b e y o n d Picasso a n d free verse. W i t h a l l the high tech capabilities of the Macromedia Flash animation In the quiet corners of the globe Four strangers receive a message darkness pauses for a m o m e n t a n d then adds, "Under the s k i n w e a r e a l l o n e . It's t h e basic p r o g r a m , N o r t h V a n c o u v e r ' s Brooke Burgess a n d friends h a v e p r o d u c e d a s t u n n i n g piece of graphic literature. So s t u n n i n g , in fact, that it recently received t h e " A u d i e n c e A w a r d for Online Animation" at the prestigious The Together they will face the coming And learn that the greatest Is often the greatest love holistic t r u t h . " sacrifice Unlike m u c h o f t h e fast-paced material o n the net, Broken Saints moves slowly, Sundance Festival. plot revolves around four diverse young s u p p o r t e d by a hypnotic, a l m o s t meditative, soundtrack Tobias created with by Burgess' contributions cousin, from characters: Shandala, a mysterious G r a p h i c literature is a t e r m f r o m t h e c o m i c book industry that separates more mature w o m a n raised o n a n u n c h a r t e d Fijian i s l a n d after b e i n g lost a t s e a as a b a b y ; R a i m i , a Montrealer working company city; for a in a n Oran a high-tech unnamed Muslim Tinker T o r o n t o - b a s e d c o m p o s e r Q u e n t i n Grey. It requires the audience t o set aside the time to a b s o r b t h e story a n d its a t m o s p h e r e , to p o n d e r its i m a g e s , t o be still. The reader is c o m p e l l e d t o b e c o m e i n v o l v e d in the intelligent w o r k s from t h e average b l o w ' e m up superhero material. by Using dynamic artist communication Pacific images created self-taught Northwest A n d r e w West, Burgess m o v e s the story a l o n g with dialogue bubbles and internal mercenary from Baghdad; a n d Kamimura, a Japanese Shinto priest. They are drawn experience. In o n e of B u r g e s s ' m a n y haikus o n t h e site, h e says, " You are On a strange embarking and sacred patience" quest m o n o l o g u e text, just like in a c o m i c b o o k . The t e c h n i c a l director f o r a l l t h e m a t e r i a l is Ian Kirby, w h o k n o w s e v e r y t h i n g there is t o k n o w about Flash. t o g e t h e r by the s a m e recurring psychic vision a n d thus the plot unfolds. The i d e a f o r t h e story g r e w o u t of B u r g e s s ' t r a v e l s , his p e r s p e c t i v e o n t h e w o r l d , a n d his interest in s u c h global religions as Summon your A c c o r d i n g t o t h e w e b s i t e t h e story is a b o u t hope, fate, love, fear, d e a t h , hate, consciousness, compassion, betrayal, wisdom, change, awareness, power, mercy, will, The online serial story is told in 24 chapters, e a c h c h a p t e r t a k i n g f r o m three w e e k s to t w o m o n t h s t o c o m p l e t e . A l t h o u g h , for the most part, Broken Saints has kept true to the Shinto, Sufism a n d Taoism. "I k n o w I believe in s o m e t h i n g b e y o n d myself but I don't k n o w w h a t ? I take t h e pieces of e v e r y t h i n g I've 2 2 May | June