The Multiversity

[Lantern7]

I figured that DC Comics' big teaser comic deserves its own thread. For those coming in, The Multiversity has been in development forever, conceived in the mad mind of Grant Morrison. Is it a satire about modern comic reading? A throwback to the old "Crisis" issues of Justice League of America? Or will it evolve into something even more surreal? With Morrison writing, I'd say that will be a given.
 
I got my issue today at 30 percent off the $4.99 cover price. Was it worth it? I'd say so . . . the ideas are pretty big, and the concept itself isn't going to float into the "main" continuity (re: "new 52") just yet. One of the main characters is Calvin Ellis, the Superman of Earth-23; a black man who's also the president of the United States. I don't think he's an out-and-out Obama expy, but he's been in a few issues of Action Comics (one of "our" Superman's books), so he's a good entry character for midway through the issue. He winds up sucked into the story, one of many heroes opted into a multiversal crisis. "Interesting" just about covers it without getting too deep into spoilers. It does seem like something Morrison would come up with . . . whether that's good or bad is up to you.
 
If you're interested, here are annotations from ComicsAlliance. Unlike the "Seven Soldiers" maxiseries, The Multiversity is easier to pick up for anybody who's into Grant Morrison or wants to get into his work. Also, I found that the story read better at home than at the comic shop, if that makes any sense. I'd like to hear from anybody else that's reading this miniseries.

 

ETA: Here's a guide to the Multiverse from DC Comics' Youtube channel.

[Chip]

I was pretty happy to see

Captain Carrot

again. I didn't love it like I thought I would, but I liked it enough that I'm in for the whole series. Definitely allusions to the Crisis maxi-series. I really want to go through that annotations link you posted. Thanks!

 

[Lantern7]

Chip . . . since that character is on the cover, I don't think that's a spoiler.

[Lantern7]

Society of Super-Heroes came out today. Interesting Golden Age-tinged battle between Earths 20 and 40 . . . lots of familiar names with strange faces, particularly Abin Sur, who was on last issue's cover. You can read the first four pages here, as well as check out the variant covers. Next month: Earth-16, aka "Earth-Me."

 

ETA for anybody who's interested: annotations from ComicsAlliance.

[Lantern7]

Here's an exclusive preview from AVClub on "The Just."

[Lantern7]

Just checking to see if anybody else is reading the event. Earth-4 (the Charlton Comics-based world that inspired Watchmen) comes into play this week. Also, it turns out Jim Lee will be providing art on "The Mastermen," which is due out in February.

[Lantern7]

Bumping up for the publication of the "Guidebook," which indexes just about all of the Earths and their respective heroes. Apparently, the Stan Lee-created "Just Imagine" characters got their own universe. I will say that the simpler tone to last month's "Thunderworld" was fine by me, because it usually feels like a grind going through Grant Morrison's stories . . . like "Pax Americana," which read like Grant Morrison's Watchmen.