(2005) Larry & Andy Wachowski and others, Titan Books, £16.99, trdpbk, 176pp, ISBN 1-845-76021-2
Following along from the excellent first volume, this is another dozen tales set in the Matrix universe. Highlights include "Deja vu" by Paul (Concrete) Chadwick, in which a woman catches glimpses of future programming; Poppy Z Brite's text story, "System Freeze", illustrated by Dave (Alien: Tribes) Dorman; Ted (Metropol) McKeever's "The King of Never Return"; Gregory Ruth's excellent tragic and chilling "A Path Among Stones"; "Wrong Number", a short vignette by Vince Evans; and the best story in here, "Broadcast Depth by Bill (Elektra) Sienkiewicz, in which a child unwittingly exposes her mother and her crew. Also on offer are contributions from Jim Krueger and Tim Sale, Troy Nixey, Keron Grant, Peter Bagge, Spencer Lamm (editor at Burleyman Comics) and Michael Oeming, and "I Kant", featuring the Kid (from the Animatrix and the second two films) and Morpheus by Kaare Andrews. If there's anyone out there who still doesn't 'get' comics and wonders why they should read them (rather than just watch the films), I can do no better than to quote the Wachowski brothers themselves: "You can say what you want about the industry but, as an art form, the comic book is superior to film in our opinion because of the excessive compromises that must be made every single day on a film set." So there. And for those whose tastes run to computer games, don't forget The Matrix Online went live in January (2005). This volume also contains previews of the Burleyman titles Doc Frankenstein by the Wachowski's and Steve Skroce (co-created by Matrix storyboard artist Geof (Hard Boiled) Darrow) and The Shaolin Cowboy by Darrow and the Wachowski's (their respective first issues should have been out November and December last year) - both look great. More comics can be seen at TheMatrix.com. Don't say I didn't tell ya!
Tony Chester
See also The Matrix, Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions. Not to mention Matrix Warrior.
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