Once a month, we’ll be releasing a list of fictional Multiversity Collection releases. A small group of staff will pick books that they believe are essential for every comic book collection, give you a short reason as to why and then create what we feel would be the ultimate release edition of that book. With that in mind, every one of these articles will start with the following note:
- None of these books are actually books that are in production, nor will they ever be in production. We don’t produce books, just articles.
- This is all very much and incredibly unsubtly based on the Criterion Collection, which actually produces high quality DVDs and Blu-rays of fine films that you can buy. If you haven’t already checked them out in the past, you should really check out their selection now.
So, with that in mind, we bring you the first wave of the Multiversity Collection.
The Multiversity Collection is dedicated to gathering the greatest comics from around the world and publishing them in editions of the highest artistic quality, with supplemental features that enhance the appreciation of the art of comics.
#012: “100%” by Paul Pope
Collection curated by Matthew Meylikhov
Set in an alternate post-war Manhattan in 2038, “100%” is a secret romance comic disguised as a sci-fi thrill ride in the style only comic master Paul Pope can deliver. With interweaving stories of life and relationships, Pope channels classic storytellers like Anthony Burgess and filmmakers like Ridley Scott to make the ultimate cyberpunk epic in Pope’s American Manga graphic.
Re-printed in black and white, Pope’s “100%” is a stark and avid testament to his ability as a visionary artist and storyteller.
Special Features
- A bonus edition of the first issue colored by Jamie Grant (“All Star Superman,” “One Trick Rip-Off”)
- A documentary with Pope detailing the nuances of page construction, design and world-building within the series
- A faux-documentary detailing the never-before-revealed history of the world of “100%”
- A CD featuring a soundtrack to 100% composed by Jon Hopkins
#013: “The Flash” by Mark Waid
Collection curated by Brian Salvatore
After 26 years as Kid Flash, and 7 as The Flash, Wally West finally came into his own as a hero when Mark Waid began his 8-year run on the character in 1992. Waid’s “Flash” story has the thread of family running through every panel and informing each character’s motivations. Besides being incredibly heartfelt, it also has some of the finest superheroics of the 90’s contained within and, with Waid’s invention of the Speed Force, gave a unifying tie to all the speedsters throughout DC.
Special Features
- “Channeling the Speed Force” – writer Mark Waid and physicist Stanley J. Brodsky (expert on high-energy physics) sit down to discuss the pseudo-science behind the Speed Force
- “The Art of “The Flash,” a gallery featuring the work of some of the incredible artists to illustrate Waid’s run, including Salvador Larocca, Mike Wieringo, Greg LaRocque, Carlos Pacheco and more
- “A Brief History of Speedsters – From Max Mercury to Impulse,” how DC’s fleet of foot heroes have impacted the company’s history
#014: “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” by Hayao Miyazaki
Collection curated by Vince Ostrowski
From 1982 until 1995, Hayao Miyazaki’s masterwork manga was released serially in Japan. Miyazaki’s signature style would be beloved and appreciated for years to come, critically and commercially, but what makes his work so special began right here with “Nausicaa.” Rich characterization, beautifully detailed artwork, and a true sense of humanism throughout make “Nausicaa” not only one of the most entertaining, thrilling, and enjoyable manga in the history of the medium, but also a work of true importance and awareness. Nausicaa also represents a banner landmark for female heroism, as she is one of manga’s most compelling and noble fighters for justice. Let Miyazaki’s sense of wonder sweep you away as you follow Nausicaa on her harrowing journey to save her people from a world dying at the hands of pollution.
Continued belowSpecial Features
- “Birth of a Fantasy,” a 90 minute one-on-one interview between Miyazaki and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi regarding the history of manga, the influences behind Miyazaki’s work, art, politics, ethics, and a wide variety of other topics that span the breadth of what “Nausicaa” has meant to readers for decades
- A blu-ray/DVD combo + digital copy of the classic animated film, also directed by Miyazaki
- “The Art of Nausicaä” – this 1984 release coincided with the film and contains a plethora of gorgeous artwork from all production stages
- “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: A Hayao Mizayaki Watercolor Art Book” – Miyazaki rendered some of the sequences from the manga in watercolor, first made available in 1995. This updated version contains watercolors that he has crafted since its initial release
- 5 new mini-digests, each focusing on a different character. These manga stories have been completed after over a decade of work that Miyazaki had held in secret until now. As lovingly rendered as the original work, these stories follow some of our favorite characters through their lives beyond the original story: Tepa, Chikuku, Selm, Ohma, and Teto all receive new stories
#015: “DMZ” by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli
Collection curated by Walter Richardson
Every so often, a work of fiction comes around that almost flawlessly predicts what is to come. As stellar as it is, let’s hope DMZ is not one of those works. Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli’s 2005-2012 masterpiece is a chilling look at a world that very well could be — and, sometimes, seems closer with every single day. Set in an America torn by Civil War, “DMZ” is set on the devestated island of Manhattan, a demilitarized zone that both the USA and the “Free States” have their eyes set on. When young journalist Matty Roth is stranded on the island, he soon learns that the conflict is even more complex tham he already believed; any semblance of right and wrong quickly fades into a massive tide of widespread suffering.
Neither Wood nor Burchielli pull any punches in this brutal, 72-issue series, delivering a vision of the future that is dark, yet honest. Rarely is the suspension of disbelief tested while reading “DMZ” — instead, the only disappointment is how easy to swallow the darkest points of it are. And yet, “DMZ” is not a triumph because of the story it tells, but because of the world the two artists create. The fictional inhabitants of the DMZ are so incredibly real, due to the prolonged efforts of Wood, Burchielli, and other guest artists to fully flesh out the setting. And if we can feel this much for the war-torn population of a fictional comic…
Special Features
- “From the DMZ,” Justin Giampaoli’s stellar interviews with Brian Wood are reprinted here, including a new follow-up interview where Giampaoli and Wood discuss DMZ’s increasing relevance
- “Clippings,” Matty Roth articles that never found their way into the main body of “DMZ” are printed for the first time in this collection
- Maps, notes, and character designs from the desks of Wood and Burchielli detailing the creation of war-torn Manhattan
