Multiversity Is Finally Coming

Well, if all goes according to plan, that is.

DC announced that Grant Morrison's much talked about but little seen series will be out late 2013. From the announcement:

MULTIVERSITY is an 8-issue series comprising 6 one-shots and a two-part conclusion with each issue featuring a 38-page lead story followed by an 8-page backup. Each issue takes place on a different parallel world from the main DC Earth and functions as a number one issue. Each world in the Multiverse publishes comic books about the heroes on the OTHER worlds. Once the characters realize this, they then unite to respond to the villains!

Additionally, each universe (which have been brewing in Morrison’s mind for years) will open up an endless series of worlds and realities for future writers and creators to use, expand upon and enjoy.

This has been talked about for so, so long that, to be honest, I'd pretty much given up hope of it ever appearing. My disturbing lack of faith, though, looks to be misplaced as Morrison's been talking up a storm about Multiversity over the last few days and it sounds interesting at the very least. Most of the talk focuses on Pax Americana the only issue to have a definite title so far (though Thunderworld was mentioned a while back) and it's here that Morrison's taking on the old Charlton characters such as Blue Beetle and the Question shown above.

He also mentions the Peacemaker:

Morrison said . . . they too were playing with the character the Comedian was based off on, the Peacemaker.
"His title was, a man who loves peace so much he'll kill the Communists for you," Morrison joked, describing the original hero. His Peacemaker was very different from the Comedian, Morrison added, "He's a really good guy but he assassinates the President in the first page."

which sounds like a heck of a place to start from.

I like the central conceit, that heroes on one world read about heroes on another in comic books. As Morrison says:

I kind of like to do odd structures and that’s just how this one worked out. And it came about that way because of the original parallel worlds story where The Flash meets the Golden Age Flash and I loved the idea that Barry Allen knew about Jay Garrick because he read about him in a comic book. So that kind of set up the whole premise of these guys all have comics published and they can all read about each other in different parallel Earths. So I thought, how would you use that as a strategy if you’re fighting an enemy who is attacking multiple parallel worlds all at one? And that kind of formed my take on this.

It's another cracking idea from Morrison - as I've said before, he has huge ideas but sometimes his execution of them lacks something, Final Crisis being a good example. Brilliant idea, but it just meandered by the end of it.

I think the thing that got me the most about the art, though, was this page featuring Captain Atom:

Click the picture to go full size and check out the symbol on his forehead. Look ever so slightly familiar?

Fingers crossed this is as good as it promises to be.