University of Liff

Welcome to the first post of the merry, merry month of May. Today, I want to give an overview of Multiversity, the limited series originally trailed by pop archmage Grant Morrison back in 2009. I was a fan of Morrison's during the Doom Patrol run of the very early 90s; again on JLA; and to a lesser extent on X-Men. He has a maddening habit of descending into self-indulgent occult conspiracy, sadism and gonzo humour but I enjoyed his reworking of the '30s Superman in the New 52 and this "baton race" series sounded entertaining

 Multiversity 1: "House of Heroes" mashed up Morrison's Super-Obama, the Marvel-lous Retaliators of Earth-8, Captain Carrot, Dinocop ( a Savage Dragon pastiche?), the Aborigine Thunderer and others on a Yellow Submarine journey to Valla-Hal, the wreck of the Monitor's sphere.

I was strongly reminded of elements from the BBC Doctor Who novel, The Adventuress of Henrietta Street: submersible, universe-hopping craft and apes in military garb. The prelude to this ambitious project also reminded me of 2008's Superman Beyond, the 3-D saga that I dropped after the first issue.

 Society of Super-Heroes:"Conquerors from the Counter-World" was a pulp adventure reworking JSA stalwarts in a world of horror and demonology. The period adventures of Doc Fate, Green Lantern Abin Sur and the Mighty Atom with Lady Blackhawk and Immortal Man would make a great tv series.This was my second favourite installment.

The Just: "#EarthMe" was the wittiest and most exciting installment as a blend of  unloved 90s DC heroes like Alpha Centurion, Argus and Bloodwynd mingled with the jaded hipster children of the Big Two. The concept of the "predatory story" ( returning in Ultra Comics) was juxtaposed with a deadly skewering of celebrity culture. This was the best original idea in the series and should have been a standalone graphic novel.

Pax Americana: "In Which We Burn" was the best-looking installment but it was a fractal reimagining of Watchmen as a JFK-style tragedy. The Cold Soldiers ( Peacemaker and the" unkillable autistic god" Captain Atom were icily unsympathetic protagonists.

Thunderworld Adventures: The highlight of this series. The joyful "Captain Marvel and The Day That Never Was" reintroduced the Lieutenant Marvels- Tall Billy, Hill Billy and Fat Billy- for the first time in 30-odd years. There were a few unfortunate sadistic elements from the Morrison dungeon of modern horror but by and large, this was a delightful Shazam comic.

The Multiversity Guidebook: "Maps and Symbols" was hard work. A Noughties- style handbook of multiple Earths and their casts, with a framing sequence featuring versions of Omac and Kamandi (while the New Gods look on dispassionately). Experimental and elusive.

Mastermen: "Splendour Falls" was a rather transgressive showcase for the static posing of Jim Lee's scratchily cross-hatched heroes, reimagined as Nazi propaganda. The juvenile satire of Hitler's bowel movements jarred with the pained nobility of Lee's Ubermenschen. Chilly and unlikeable.

Ultra Comics: "Ultra Comics Lives" was a dystopian, metatextual sci-fi story about a self-aware comic. Morrison featured cameos by Ultra the Multi-Alien, Ultraa from the Satellite Era JLA and Gary Concord, the Ultra-Man. However, the self-aware mockery of " ..absorbed in its picture shows, yu (sic) grow old" and "this guy's raped my wallet way too many times" seemed smug and irritating.

Multiversity 2:  "Superjudge". The final (?) installment reminded me of Crisis on Infinite Earths crossed with Animal Man, with analogues of Marvel super-heroes. A messy mash-up that I found barely comprehensible. There was a silly plot device about a Rubik's Cube, which seemed weirdly retro. The comment " on every world a crisis, an endless event" seemed rather pointed but mildly hypocritical from the author of Final Crisis. I was amused by the poetic puns of Etrigan the Superdemon but in the end, the comic was an indulgent, barely digestible sprawl.

In the end, Multiversity is a mind-bending 30th birthday card to the Crisis and, as such, its criticism of comics' insularity and huckstering is a little rich. However, there are some entertaining ideas to be mined there and a largely respectful take on the Original Captain Marvel.

Coming soon: Age of Ultron on the big screen and on the printed page.

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