The Multiversity Guidebook #1 Review

One comic to bring them all and in the Bleed bind them

That’s exactly how I feel about the latest offering in The Multiversity saga — The Multiversity Guidebook #1. This issue went beyond all expectations for me. When I first heard about the Guidebook being released, I thought to myself, “Okay, it’s going to be one of those behind-the-scenes books — some interviews and a recap of what has been happening.” This is not that type of issue. This installment of The Multiversity continues the crossover battles of multiple worlds, and within that context, brings in the other universes. Talk about relevance!

The Guidebook is used in both the sense of guiding the reader and the characters within the stories. Using that schema, the reader is brought completely into the Multiverse. We become a character, and are not so much of an observer, but a participant. The Guidebook contains two stories, and in a just-in-time format, it describes the fifty-two Earths that are involved in the Multiverse. Within one of the stories, they also cover past events (Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Flashpoint) and current events (an homage to Brother Eye from Earth-AD) in DC’s fictional history. Like I said, it educates the characters and the reader, who becomes a character (there’s your expected Grant Morrison meta-mind bending narrative).

The Batmen Section (Spoiler-Free)

That’s actually what they’re officially calling the first story in the Guidebook. All the Doctor Sivanas from across the Multiverse have united to invade Earth-42 (Chibi Earth). As Earth-17’s Atomic Batman arrives through a portal, he joins forces with Earth-42’s Chibi Batman. The alliance is conflicted of course — I mean, what do you expect when you put together a naive hero from a world without death, with a hero from the opposite extreme. Chibi Batman shows Atomic Batman the Guidebook (the same copy we have in the real world) and deduces that it’s a map of parallel worlds, which brings us to …

The Kamandi Section (Spoiler-Free)

Yep, another no-frills official name for a story. On Earth-51, Kamandi, BiOMAC, and Prince Tuftan venture into an ancient temple where they find a pictographic history on the walls. The stories document the creation, destruction, and re-creation of the Multiverse. Little do they know, they’re also eavesdropped on by a council of another version of the New Gods. Discovering old comic books, Kamandi and his team learn of the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, and Flashpoint. As we go back to Chibi Batman reading these events, the Guidebook gives the reader …

A Map and Tour of the Multiverse

The map is the same one that was shown as a preview for The Multiversity series back in August of 2014, and also the same one covered in our initial review of The Multiversity #1 – House of Heroes.

Soon, the Guidebook takes us on tour of all fifty-two Earths. The description and illustration of various incarnations from each world is nothing short of amazing. Using the talents of multiple artists, we are given an even deeper feeling of variation and differences across the Multiverse.

If I’m allowed to be nitpicky, I would say that one page where they could’ve knocked it out of the park would’ve been the one describing Earth-22 — the Earth that is occupied by the incarnations from Kingdom Come. You read my mind if you thought, “Alex Ross!” But they couldn’t acquire his services, so another artist had to do the illustrations. It truly would’ve made the Guidebook a perfect issue had DC been able to work his magic into this book.

After this spectacular tour, the Guidebook goes back to the Kamandi and Batmen sections to conclude their stories, which leaves on a cliffhanger.

Final Thoughts

This issue is chock full of references and homages tailored towards DC nerds. Beautifully illustrated and written with flare, Morrison and the giant team of artists totally shined in this issue. Frequent readers of Bam Smack Pow know that I’m the resident Superman fan and will rarely pass up anything related to him. That’s why I also purchased the Guidebook’s variant cover.

Illustrated by Phil Jimenez, the variant cover featured Supermen from three different Earths. Yes, the $30 was totally worth it. I saw it bagged and boarded in my comic shop and I had to have it.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been following The Multiversity series. If you’ve been or are a DC fan, you owe it to yourself to pick up this issue. It’s a book that actually lives up to the hype.

More from Bam Smack Pow

Home/Comics