Comics are Awesome III

[andersonh1]

Hard to say, I don't recall them ever actually mentioning when the Dominion first became aware of the wormhole in the series. Although I do remember there was a race on the Gamma Quadrant side that also had a mythology based on the wormhole, so that was not exclusive to the Alpha Quadrant side. And on one of the DVD behind the scenes features, the writers talk about how they had this idea the Dominion had been aware of the Federation even before the discovery of the wormhole, but they weren't going to do anything about them until they reached their space, which the wormhole only expedited. Even from what we see in the show, ships had been traveling through the wormhole for about 2 years before the Dominion made themselves known to the Federation. They were in no hurry to confront the Federation, so why would that change in the altered timeline?

Who knows? Honestly, unless the writers detail just why it happened, all we can do is guess. I don't even know that they'll address the topic. Now that the story is over, they're going back to the TOS time and dealing with Kirk and his crew, so we may never know.

It's been a while since I watched the DVD extras. I remember that they started name-dropping the Dominion during the second season, and had the reveal at the end of that season, but I can't remember if it was ever stated when the Dominion became aware of the Federation. I sort of vaguely remember what you're talking about with the writers discussing that topic in the DVD extras, but I can't remember if that ever made it into a final episode. It certainly could have.

[andersonh1]

Preview of the next issue of Multiversity, the guidebook: http://www.newsarama.com/23307-seven-dc ... eview.html

That's a $7.99 book, but it's 80 pages. It seems odd to place it in the middle of the release order rather than near the end. Looks interesting though. And if this series does nothing else, at the very least it's established that if you don't like one version of a character, there's likely another version that you can like out in the multiverse.

[Dominic]

Of course, if nothing is done with those characters, does it really matter? (Morrison himself used has conflated character being forgotten or unused with being dead.)

The cover art is interesting and confirms something I have suspected about "Multiversity" from the beginning. It was planned and written for '08 or so, not 2014/2015. Much of it is consistent with pre-"Flashpoint" DC. Not sure how it will relate to post-"Convergence" DC.

[Sparky Prime]

The cover art is interesting and confirms something I have suspected about "Multiversity" from the beginning. It was planned and written for '08 or so, not 2014/2015. Much of it is consistent with pre-"Flashpoint" DC. Not sure how it will relate to post-"Convergence" DC.

How does the cover art tell you that? Most of those characters are pretty heavily featured in previous multiversal/Crisis stories. It makes sense a book profiling the DC multiverse would feature characters from other already well established universes. Not to mention, some of the alternate covers appears to have some new characters like Atom Batman. I don't see that the covers reflects when it was originally planned.

[andersonh1]

My Little Pony is outselling Transformers by quite a bit. Not quite sure what to think of that...

http://comicsbeat.com/indie-month-to-mo ... ge-rising/

166. Transformers vs. GI Joe #4 (IDW)
7/1/2014: Transformers Vs GI Joe #1 - 23,009
8/1/2014: Transformers Vs GI Joe #2 - 15,472 (-32.8%)
10/1/2014: Transformers Vs GI Joe #3 - 14,293 (-7.6%)
11/1/2014: Transformers Vs GI Joe #4 - 12,733 (-10.9%)

193. Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #35 (IDW)
7/1/2014: Transformers More Than Meets Eye #30 - 9,395 (-1.6%)
8/1/2014: Transformers More Than Meets Eye #31 - 10,063 (+7.1%)
9/1/2014: Transformers More Than Meets Eye #32 - 9,857 (-2.0%)
9/1/2014: Transformers More Than Meets Eye #33 - 9,744 (-1.1%)
10/1/2014: Transformers More Than Meets Eye #34 - 9,670 (-0.8%)
11/1/2014: Transformers More Than Meets Eye #35 - 9,390 (-2.9%)


195. Transformers Robots in Disguise #35 (IDW)
6/1/2014: Transformers Robots In Disguise #30 - 9,714 (+1.8%)
7/1/2014: Transformers Robots In Disguise #31 - 8,706 (-10.4%)
8/1/2014: Transformers Robots In Disguise #32 - 9,762 (+12.1%)
9/1/2014: Transformers Robots In Disguise #33 - 10,815 (+10.8%)
10/1/2014: Transformers Robots In Disguise #34 - 9,418 (-12.9%)
11/1/2014: Transformers Robots In Disguise #35 - 9,354 (-0.7%)


199. Transformers Drift Empire of Stone #1 (IDW)
11/1/2014: TRANSFORMERS DRIFT EMPIRE OF STONE #1 - 9,246

[andersonh1]

Multiversity Guidebook
I had questioned why this issue was published now in the middle of the other issues instead of at the end of the series, because it seemed to me as if a guidebook should come at the end and summarize everything that Multiversity revealed about the 52 universes. But my question was answered from page one: because this isn’t just a list of all the different Earths. There’s a framing story that takes up over half the issue, and like Multiversity #1, it focuses on a number of characters from a mixture of worlds. The guidebook is found in-story by Kamandi halfway through the book, and we read it as he does. So this doesn’t end up being just a reference guide. It’s also another piece of the ongoing storyline. And a pretty major one.

Surprisingly, the plot picks up directly from the end of last month’s Thunderworld, with the various different Sivanas from across the multiverse being pursued by Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. The Sivanas have learned how to travel between the various universes so they’re all gathered in one room this time, pooling resources. There is a lot of plot and a lot of characters, and yes, both Batmen on the cover spend most of the story interacting with each other. The New Gods (the originals, apparently, not the ones seen in Godhead) make an appearance, and it’s implied that Nix Uotan is the person who unleashed Darkseid on the many universes.

One of my favorite parts of the issue are the pages devoted to the history of the DC multiverse, which starts with how it was created, then zeroes in on Barry Allen and how he wanted to travel to other dimensions. And we see scenes from Flash of Two Worlds where he meets Jay Garrick, and then the cover of the JLA issue where they first meet the JSA. The Crisis is described, and then Zero Hour… on and on it goes, basically describing the history of all the major stories and revisions/reboots that have led up to the present day. Even Hypertime gets a mention. And like the description of the current multiverse, all of that is in the books that Kamandi is reading, so it’s presented as actual history for the characters in the Multiverse. And if all of that is recorded history, even if it’s erased now, those timelines once existed for Brainiac to take all the characters that we’ll see in Convergence. Or at least it looks like that’s how they’ll tie the two together.

And those robots we've seen since Calvin Ellis/Superman was fighting one in the first issue? Those are being controlled by the various Sivanas. They've popped up in most of the issues now, so there's another connecting story thread between everything we've read so far.

I’m still enjoying Multiversity more than most comics that I’ve read in a long time. It’s a consistently enjoyable series. Up next: Mastermen.

[Dominic]

Multiversity Guidebook:

In terms of plot, this works well enough. The major problem with the "Multiversity Guidebook" is that it is not very useful as a guidebook.

The guidebook contains entries for 45 of the 52 Earths in DC's current multiverse. The problem is that the entries are difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile with any one permutation of DC's multiverse.

The story pages imply that the E51 scenes are set after "Final Crisis" (with Darkseid having died and been entombed), and immediately before the "New 52" started (assuming Darkseid has been raised). No mention is made in the story pages or in the numbered Earth entries of the Supermen killed by Darkseid (as shown in the gimmick-month books from 2013).

Notable Earths:

Earth 2: Describes the early run of the current "Earth 2" comic. No mention of the planet's imminent destruction. Specifically not the Earth 2 shown in "52" and "Countdown".
Earth 3: Described in present tense as intact, implying that the entry was written (or is meant to be "set") immediately post-"Flashpoint".

Earth 8: Bastardized Marvel. Thematically consistent with Earth 8 circta "52". But, the details have been revised.

Earth 13: Should not exist at all post-"Flashpoint", being one of two Earths fused with Earth 0. Combination of Vertigo and retro-90s "dark" characters.
Earth 50: Similarly, should not exist, being the other Earth fused with Earth 0. Depicteded in "Countdown" as being allocated for the Wildstorm characters. Currently described as being the home of the Justice Lords.

Earth 15: Destroyed in "Countdown". The "Multiversity Guidebook" entry describes the entirety of Universe 15 as having been destroyed.

Earth 17: Visually contradicts Earth 17 as depicted in "52" and "Final Crisis". (This is odd given that "Final Crisis" was written by Morrison.) The Aromic Knights are now another variation of the Justice League.
Earth 44: Swap out the Atomic Knights for the Metal Men, but otherwise similar to Earth 17 in terms of being inconsistent.

Earth 33: New number for "Earth Prime" (reader's Earth). Notable for being placed with the "bad" Earths on the included map of the multiverse.

Earth 35: A non-to-subtle jab at Image comics. Referred to as a faux-universe. (Never mind that Image comics has matured over the last 20+ years and is arguably producing better comics than DC.)


Unlisted Earths: 14, 24, 25, 27, 28, 46, 49
Numbered, but not described. Presumably reserved for future ideas. At least one is likely to be allocated for "Injustice", if solicits for "Convergence" are anything to go by. The others are likely to be allocated for other retro, pre-"Flashpoint", settings.

Too many Earths are allocated for ideas derived from old "Elseworlds" comics. The "Elseworlds" imprint used to be DC's way of publishig high-concept comics using established characters that did not fit with mainline books. The point was that "Elseworlds" comics were self-contained and did not need to be continued or to connect with other books. (This is probably more an issue with DC editorial than "Multiversity". But, it is still a problem.)


Grade: C



New Avengers #29:
The main take-away from this issue is that Marvel is apparently trashing their multiverse entirely. As a reader, I am not much worried about that. If Marvel keeps making good comics, I will keep buying them. But, as somebody who thinks about the industry, I tend to think that they are making a mistake. DC tried it in the 80s, and there were exceptions to the rule almost immediately.

As much as Quesada may not care about consistency between runs of books, many readers and creators do care about it. The idea of a multiverse is too much a part of the genre to be discounted. (Generally, if a property has been around for a certain amount of time, it is safe to assume that there has or will be a "Shattered Mirror" story of some kind.)

Even putting aside creative mutiny (writers and editors trying to sneak something through), the idea of a multiverse is too good of a cheat to simply give up. Marvel's "What if....?" books could be rebranded as being similar to DC's old "Elseworlds" imprint. But, Marvel still has the "2099" imprint and they might want to use the "alternate future" cheat to stave off reader complaints. And, there are going to be more other "imminent future" comics. Fandom complaints along may require Marvel to back-pedal.

Still, those concerns aside, "Time Runs Out" continues to be a solid read.

Grade: B

[Sparky Prime]

The story pages imply that the E51 scenes are set after "Final Crisis" (with Darkseid having died and been entombed), and immediately before the "New 52" started (assuming Darkseid has been raised).

Considering Earth 0 and Earth 2 are described as the New 52 versions, wouldn't that mean the guidebook takes place immediately after the New 52 started in order to have included those worlds in the first place? That would also make sense if Earth 3 is still intact, despite its destruction in Forever Evil, not to mention could explain many of the inconsistencies you mentioned about several universes that had seen or described prior to the launch of the New 52.

[Dominic]

Earths 13 and 50 existing at all throws off the idea of the guide applying post-"Flashpoint". Additionally, the contradictions involving Earths that Morrison has used before are also notable.

166. Transformers vs. GI Joe #4 (IDW)
7/1/2014: Transformers Vs GI Joe #1 - 23,009
8/1/2014: Transformers Vs GI Joe #2 - 15,472 (-32.8%)
10/1/2014: Transformers Vs GI Joe #3 - 14,293 (-7.6%)
11/1/2014: Transformers Vs GI Joe #4 - 12,733 (-10.9%)

How the hell is Scioli's creative coproma out-selling the other two books?

[Sparky Prime]

Earths 13 and 50 existing at all throws off the idea of the guide applying post-"Flashpoint". Additionally, the contradictions involving Earths that Morrison has used before are also notable.

Why? Those 2 universes merged to become part of Earth 0, but Earth 50 isn't the Wildstorm universe anymore, it's the Justice Lords universe and Earth 13 is now the League of Shadows universe rather than the Vertigo universe. It seems clear some universes merged while others were created as a result of Flashpoint given those universes still exist but not as they had before. That would also explain any contradictions with any other universe.