Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

The Multiversity Guidebook #1The Multiversity Guidebook #1
DC Comics
Morrison, To, Siqueira, McCaig & Hi-Fi

The Multiversity Guidebook may not seem essential to the series that Grant Morrison is putting together but why take the chance and miss out on this? While the book clocks in at 70 plus pages, of which half are story and the other half are informational sections, the book provides a dense read for the eight-dollar price tag. The components make up a more than complete read and it feels like a regular issue in the series with some extras. I definitely recommend checking this comic book out.

In previous Morrison works, the reader is generally left to their own detective skills to figure out the clues that Morrison has left behind. Part of the fun in reading or re-reading a Morrison work is seeing some of the bits that you missed the first read through. This guidebook provides a nice summary of not only the scope of what Morrison is tackling, but also the history of the multiverse stories that DC has dealt with over the previous 30 years. The book, all by itself, is an ambitious undertaking.

The bulk of the story introduces another universe, much like the previous issues, and provides an opening into explaining much of the background to the reader, but as part of the context of comic. Again, this is not something we typically see in a Morrison story but the information shows just how much story is getting spun in this series. Also, this allows the other one-shots to really get connected, which is something that wasn't too clear at the conclusion of each individual one-shot. While each issue was very entertaining there wasn't that moment that stuck out for the reader to see how they all fit together.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe artwork is great. There are a lot of artists at work in this issue and there really isn't any reason to have a consistent flow between them, yet there seems to be. For a guidebook, it sure didn't let up on the quality in the art department.

The biggest drawback in purchasing this comic is the price. Eight bucks is too high for the curious reader. And the label of 'guidebook" combined with the price might be enough to scare off the reader of the series who is looking to save a buck and doesn’t believe this to be essential reading. However you slice it, this book was informational, entertaining and definitely worth cutting some other book from your weekly budget to pick up. If you love, or even just like, the Multiversity series then this is a must-have book.

4.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles