The Multiversity

This is an epic miniseries with some appropriately epic flaws as well.  First off:  If you haven’t read Grant Morrison’s previous big event comic, “Final Crisis,” then I suggest you do that now.  Because that’s where Nix Uotan — last of the multiversal Monitors — was introduced along with other sinister story beats that follow here.  Nix doesn’t stick around long as he gets sucked into the multiverse-destroying plans of the Gentry, but not before getting one hero out with the call to summon the rest.  That leads us through six stories about other heroes in the multiverse, “The Society of Superheroes,” “The Just,” “Pax Americana,” “Thunderworld Adventures,” “Mastermen,” and “Ultra Comics” as well as a guidebook to further flesh things out.  These one-shots are all deeply interconnected regarding the over-arching narrative of the threat to the multiverse.  Yet even if they further the core story, not all of them work as satisfying stories in and of themselves.  “Thunderworld” is the only one that delivers the complete package, while the likes of “Society of Superheroes” and “The Just” end in cliffhangers never to be given proper resolution.

Still, Morrison’s ambition with these stories is grand enough that there’s entertainment to be had even in the ones that don’t quite work.  “Society” still offers some real pulp excitement, “Pax Americana” delivers some amazing formalist thrills in its structure (which also shows the “Before Watchmen” crowd how to properly troll Alan Moore via that seminal work), and “Ultra Comics” is a heady metafictional rush.  Helping matters immensely is that all of these stories feature a stellar group of artists working at the top of their respective games.  From the slick precision of Chris Sprouse, the energetic cartoonishness of Cameron Stewart, to the meticulous design of Frank Quitely, to the bold superhero stylings of Jim Lee, to the lushness of Ben Oliver, and the magnetic weirdness of Doug Mahnke, all of the artists here turn in work that shows you why they’re considered to be some of the best in the business.  Particularly Ivan Reis in the bookend issues, who really sells the epic-level spectacle of the event while doing a frankly impressive job of rendering Morrison’s utterly weird ideas on the page.

I wouldn’t have minded more from the whole event, such is the quality of its individual parts.  Yet “The Multiversity’s” biggest issue is the “To Be Continued” aspect that hangs over just about every aspect of it.  From the issues showcasing the multiverse to the bookends, you’re consistently left hanging in the end (except “Thunderworld” which is why it’s the best of the bunch).  The final issue is the biggest offender as while the reveal of the true nature of the force behind the Gentry is revealed, the ultimate confrontation is put off until a later date.  Given how long it took “The Multiversity” to arrive, we could be waiting quite a while to see its ultimate resolution.  Until then, this miniseries offers so much to take in and digest that pouring over it until such a time as its follow-up is announced doesn’t seem all that bad.  Probably best described as an “ambitious failure,” but the world would be a much better place if all failures were as ambitious (and fun) as this one.