First things first, just to clear up a bit of highly reported news: Grant Morrison is not leaving superhero comics. He is, as quoted by Joe Keatinge who was in attendance of the convention, taking a breather. With that, millions of fanboys breathe a sigh of relief.
So what is it exactly that Morrison is going to be working on during this break of his? Why, just what you’ve accidentally come upon this site to find out about: “Multiversity.” That’s right — the comic that we thought would never actually come out whose original name helped us title the original blog this website was born from is actually happening. Cue wild arm flailing and excitement all around.
For those that don’t know, “Multiversity” was a post-“Final Crisis” comic that Morrison had announced he was working on, with the express goal of exploring the multiverse that had been so crucial to the DCU. (Emphasis on had, all things considered.) The book would explore various worlds over a series of issues illustrated by talented artists like Frank Quitely and Cameron Stewart, but it was heavily delayed for various unknown reasons. Now it looks like we should be expecting it in 2013, and what an exciting promise that is.
So what exactly is going to be happening with “Multiversity”? Quite a bit, actually. As reported at websites like Comics Alliance, who interviewed Morrison at the convention, the book will be a sprawling epic, eight issues long that are 38 pages each with 8 page back-ups. The first and last issues will be book-ends, similar to Morrison’s “Seven Soldiers,” with an additional ninth issue coming out as an addendum/appendix. The middle six books will feature multiple artists and take place in multiple universes on multiples Earths, of which we have learned are the following:
- Earth 22, the “pulp world,” featuring re-imagined heroes as the Society of Superheroes, who are led by Doctor Fate
- “Ultra”, which takes place on Earth Prime, our world, and will feature superheroes in a more realistic environment.
- An issue reportedly titled “The Just,” which stars all legacy heroes and grown-up sidekicks in a world where they are no longer needed, which Morrison describes as The Hills with superheroes.
- The long-rumored Thunderworld issue, based on classic Fawcett comic characters and starring Captain Marvel, which Morrison describes as the “Pixar version of the complete story of Captain Marvel, who’s drawn into the conflict.”
- A Nazi World, featuring the Matermen fighting the Freedom Fighters in an issue similar to “Superman: Red Son,” where Superman lands in Nazi-controlled Europe.
- And finally, “Pax Americana,” the Charlton World that will be illustrated by Frank Quitely and will be Morrison’s version of “Watchmen.”
For more on each issue, be sure to check out the interview at Comics Alliance.
In addition to that, Morrison held a rather revealing interview at iFanboy (from which the above image comes from), in which he confirmed that the effects of the New 52 will not hold any effect on “Multiversity,” unlike his Batman run which the New 52 altered significantly.
So. How much longer do you think it’ll be until DC calls us and tells us we need to change our name? And on that same thread, who wants to wager that we start getting more hits in the coming weeks/months?
