THE MULTIVERSITY: THE JUST #1 Review

Will The Multiversity continue to hit all the high notes? Read on to find out.

The official description from DC Comics:

The next chapter of the greatest adventure in DC’s history is here!

When they last collaborated, Grant Morrison joined artist Ben Oliver (LOBO, BATMAN/SUPERMAN) for the acclaimed ACTION COMICS #0. For their next team-up, the two superstars take a spin around the self-obsessed Earth-16 – a.k.a. Earth-Me!

With all of the world’s threats having been handled long ago by their parents, the next generation of supers – including Chris Kent, Damien Wayne, Alexis Luthor, Offspring, Megamorpho, Donna Troy and more – find themselves labeled as superstars more often than super heroes. But with that fame comes complacency, and when a massive threat unlike anything they’ve ever seen surfaces, this pampered crew finds themselves in way over their head. What secret is Damien keeping from Chris that could tear the world’s finest friends apart? Who is the mysterious killer lurking behind the scenes among these spoiled super-children? And what chance do they stand against the monstrous villain that’s murdering its way cross the Multiverse? All that and more in this exciting stand-alone issue which also acts as chapter three of the MULTIVERSITY saga. Join us, if your dare, for THE MULTIVERSITY!

As The Multiversity came closer to publication it was revealed that it would be a series of oversized one-shots. This news left me more than sceptical, with the $4.99 cover price making it a risky purchase. I am however more than happy to have jumped on this bandwagon, as though my wallet may disagree the unique series of varying one-shots has been a real hit so far. I do however feel that the series has produced it’s best here, with the next generation of heroes being very enthralling.

Grant Morrison may confuse the hell out of me sometimes, but when he gets a good idea you know it. The Multiversity is definitely a good idea, with his vast imagination being on display here. What I loved about Morrison’s writing in this issue was his understanding of the characters, as though these are virtually new characters (even though some share the same names), there is a lot of influence from the character they’re related to. I also loved how he handled the character interaction, with the whole Batman/Superman/Alexis Luthor angle having me hooked. Despite this there has been one thing that has bothered me about these one-shots, and that’s the fact there’s never an ending, with everything feeling like a big tie-in to something much bigger.

Ben Oliver joins Morrison on this issue, with the former Batwing and Action Comics #0 artists bringing his ultra sleek style to the series. Between the gossip magazine like cover, to the thoroughly captivating array of events, Oliver manages to give a very intense look to this story. The detail of his art also allows the character emotions to be as raw as possible, with there being some gripping moments. It is however his colours that really make his art all the more unique, as with an assist from Dan Brown he manages to give an uber sleek palette that is very powerful.

The Multiversity: The Just is an amazing look at what the future generation of heroes may be like, with this Earth-Me Universe being the best that Morrison has displayed so far. Highly recommended.