The Matrix Comics
Encyclopedia
The Matrix Comics is a collection of short comic book
stories set in the fictional universe of The Matrix series
, originally released as webcomic
s on the series' official website from 1999 to 2004,. Most of the stories were published in two volumes (printed in 2003 and 2004 respectively) by the Wachowski Brothers' company Burlyman Entertainment
, along with three never released online. The comics' editor was Spencer Lamm. The Wachowski Brothers, the creators of The Matrix series, contributed one script to the project, "Bits and Pieces of Information", aspects of which were later included in The Animatrix
short animated film "The Second Renaissance".
In addition, a pin-up of the Woman in the Red Dress by Stuart Immonen
was made for the website, and three comics which did not appear online were only available in The Matrix Comics: Volume 2:
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
stories set in the fictional universe of The Matrix series
The Matrix (franchise)
The Matrix is a science fiction action franchise created by Andy and Larry Wachowski and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series began with the 1999 film The Matrix and later spawned two sequels; The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003, thus forming a trilogy...
, originally released as webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
s on the series' official website from 1999 to 2004,. Most of the stories were published in two volumes (printed in 2003 and 2004 respectively) by the Wachowski Brothers' company Burlyman Entertainment
Burlyman Entertainment
BurlyMan Entertainment is a comic book company created by Andy and Larry Wachowski, best known as the writer/director duo behind the Matrix Trilogy.-History:...
, along with three never released online. The comics' editor was Spencer Lamm. The Wachowski Brothers, the creators of The Matrix series, contributed one script to the project, "Bits and Pieces of Information", aspects of which were later included in The Animatrix
The Animatrix
is a 2003 direct-to-video anthology film based on The Matrix trilogy. The film is a compilation of nine animated short films.-Production:Development of the Animatrix project began when the film series' writers and directors, the Wachowski brothers, were in Japan promoting the first Matrix film...
short animated film "The Second Renaissance".
Stories
| Title | Writers | Artists | Volume | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | ||||
| Series 1 pin-ups by Vince Evans, Geof Darrow Geof Darrow Geofrey "Geof" Darrow is a comic artist known for his work on books such as Hard Boiled and Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, which was adapted into an animated TV series of the same name.-Character design and Moebius collaborations:... , Aron Weisenfeld and Michael Kaluta Michael William Kaluta Michael William Kaluta, sometimes credited as Mike Kaluta or Michael Wm. Kaluta , is an American comic book artist and writer.-Early life:Born in Guatemala to U.S... |
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| "Goliath" | Neil Gaiman Neil Gaiman Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book... |
Bill Sienkiewicz Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav Felix Robert "Bill" Sienkiewicz [pronounced sin-KEV-itch] is an Eisner Award-winning American artist and writer best known for his comic book work, primarily for Marvel Comics' The New Mutants and Elektra: Assassin... , Gregory Ruth |
1 | A short story Short story A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because... ; illustrations were added at a later date. |
| "System Freeze" | Poppy Z. Brite Poppy Z. Brite Poppy Z. Brite is an American author. Brite initially achieved notoriety in the gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s after publishing a string of successful novels and short story collections... |
Dave Dorman Dave Dorman Dave Dorman is a science fiction, horror and fantasy illustrator.-Background:Dorman's parents are Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jack N. Dorman and Phyllis Dorman. Both parents are deceased. Dorman is married to award-winning TV/video producer, writer and publicist Denise Dorman of WriteBrain Media... |
2 | Short story; new illustrations were added when it was included in volume 2. |
| "The Man Who Knew Too Much" | W. Wilbur W. | Removed from the website. | ||
| "Sweating the Small Stuff" | Bill Sienkiewicz | 1 | Spencer Lamm is credited under plot in the comic strip but not in the Volume 1 contents page. | |
| "Déjà Vu" | Paul Chadwick Paul Chadwick Paul Chadwick is an American comic book creator best known for his series Concrete about a normal man trapped in a rock-hard body.... |
2 | Also printed to coincide with the release of The Matrix The Matrix The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving... as a promo comic, but was recalled after the content was deemed too controversial. |
|
| "Morning Sickness" | John Gaeta John Gaeta John Gaeta is an academy award winning visual effects designer best known for his work on the Matrix film trilogy and Speed Racer, where he explored and advanced the effects methods known as "Bullet Time", "Virtual Cinematography", and "Photo Anime".-Career:John C. Gaeta's career began in New York... , Grant Niesner, Thomas Proctor, Brett Hartshorn, Dan Rosen, Noah Mizrahi, Sean White & Jamie Pilgrim |
Created by staff of visual effects house Manex Visual Effects Manex Visual Effects Manex Visual Effects was a motion picture special visual effects company located in Alameda, California. Though a small company active only for a short period of time it provided visual effects for a number of high profile movies and the company received international recognition including two... which worked on The Matrix. |
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| "Bits and Pieces of Information" | Larry & Andy Wachowski | Geof Darrow | 1 | Written as the first of a four part story, aspects of this story were later incorporated into The Animatrix The Animatrix is a 2003 direct-to-video anthology film based on The Matrix trilogy. The film is a compilation of nine animated short films.-Production:Development of the Animatrix project began when the film series' writers and directors, the Wachowski brothers, were in Japan promoting the first Matrix film... short film "The Second Renaissance". Artist Geof Darrow worked as a concept artist on all three Matrix films. |
| "Wrong Number" | Vince Evans | 2 | Vince Evans only credited for "Art" in the comic strip, but for "Plot & Art" in the Volume 2 contents page. | |
| "Farewell Performance" | Jim Krueger Jim Krueger Jim Krueger is an American comic book writer, novelist, and filmmaker.- Filmmaking :Kreuger's first short film, They Might Be Dragons, which he wrote, directed, and produced, won "Best In Class" at New York University , a "Best Short Film" award from the New York Independent Film Festival, and a... |
Tim Sale Tim Sale (artist) Tim Sale is an American Eisner Award-winning comic book artist. He is primarily known for his collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb.-Early life:... |
2 | |
| "A Life Less Empty" | Ted McKeever Ted McKeever -Career:McKeever first professional work appeared in 1987, when he published the first five parts of his unfinished series Transit , establishing his trademark style. This was followed in 1987-1988 by his 12-part series Eddy Current. This "12-hour book" centers on an escapee from an asylum... |
1 | ||
| Series 2 | ||||
| Series 2 pin-ups by Peter Bagge Peter Bagge Peter Bagge is an American cartoonist. He is the creator of Buddy Bradley, Hate, Neat Stuff, Martini Baton, and Sweatshop, Apocalypse Nerd and Other Lives. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduced expectations of middle-class American youth... , Paul Chadwick, John Van Fleet, Keron Grant Keron Grant Keron Grant is a Jamaican-American comic book artist, who has worked mostly for Marvel Comics.His first published work was a pinup in the back of one of the final issues of Dale Keown's Pitt. His first steady comics work was drawing three issues of the unpublished Century comic from Rob Liefeld's... , Ted McKeever and Tommy Lee Edwards Tommy Lee Edwards Tommy Lee Edwards is an American illustrator. Edwards' varied portfolio includes works created in the realm of comics, video-games, books, advertising, film, and animation.-Career:... |
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| "An Asset to the System" | Troy Nixey | 2 | ||
| "A Path Among Stones" | Gregory Ruth | 2 | ||
| "There Are No Flowers in the Real World" | David Lapham David Lapham David Lapham is an Eisner Award winning American comic book writer, artist, and cartoonist, best known for his work on his groundbreaking independent comic book Stray Bullets.-Biography:... |
1 | Parts 1 & 2. Also released with Stray Bullets Stray Bullets Stray Bullets is an independent American comic book series published in black and white by El Capitan Books. It is written and drawn by David Lapham.... #2 for Free Comic Book Day Free Comic Book Day Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer... in 2002 by El Capitan Books El Capitan Books El Capitan Books is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, which exclusively publishes the work of its founder, David Lapham.El Capitan's first release was Stray Bullets #1 in 1995, and the company is still best known for publishing this comic book series which continues today.Other... . |
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| "Broadcast Depth" | Bill Sienkiewicz | 2 | Included a hidden QuickTime QuickTime QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and... movie. |
|
| "Butterfly" | Dave Gibbons | 1 | ||
| "Day In... Day Out" | Ted McKeever & Keron Grant | Keron Grant | Story by Ted McKeever, script by Keron Grant. | |
| "Burning Hope" | John Van Fleet | 1 | ||
| "The King of Never Return" | Ted McKeever | 2 | ||
| "An Easy One" | Tommy Lee Edwards | Lettering by John Workman John Workman John Workman is an editor, writer, artist, designer, colorist and letterer in the comic book industry... . |
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| "Let It All Fall Down" | Paul Chadwick | |||
| "Get It?" | Peter Bagge | 1 | ||
| "Run, Saga, Run" | Keron Grant | 2 | Inks by Rob Stull. | |
| Series 3 | ||||
| Series 3 pin-ups by Greg Ruth, Troy Nixey Troy Nixey Troy Nixey is a Canadian comic book artist and film director.-Comic books:Nixey has written and illustrated for comic books such as Neil Gaiman's Only the End of the World Again, Harley Quinn, and The Matrix Comics.-Film:After submitting his 2007 short Latchkey's Lament to filmmaker Guillermo del... and Kaare Andrews Kaare Andrews Kaare Andrews is a comic book writer and artist and filmmaker known for his cover work on Incredible Hulk and Canada's first national recognized award, "The Shuster", for his work on Spider-Man: Doctor Octopus.-Career:... |
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| "The Miller's Tale" | Paul Chadwick | 1 | Released as a limited edition single story comic, given away at the 2003 San Diego Comic Con and for pre-orders of the first printed volume. | |
| "Return of the Prodigal Son" | Gregory Ruth | Parts 1 & 2. | ||
| "A Sword of a Different Color" | Troy Nixey | 1 | ||
| "Hunters and Collectors" | Gregory Ruth | 1 | ||
| "Artistic Freedom" | Ryder Windham | Kilian Plunkett | 1 | |
In addition, a pin-up of the Woman in the Red Dress by Stuart Immonen
Stuart Immonen
Stuart Immonen is a Canadian comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Nextwave, Ultimate X-Men, The New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man...
was made for the website, and three comics which did not appear online were only available in The Matrix Comics: Volume 2:
| Title | Writer | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Who Says You Can't Get Good Help These Days?" | Peter Bagge | ||
| "Saviors" | Spencer Lamm | Michael Oeming | |
| "I Kant" | Kaare Andrews | Illustrations are used for the front cover of Volume 2 and the back covers of both volumes. | |
See also
- Burlyman EntertainmentBurlyman EntertainmentBurlyMan Entertainment is a comic book company created by Andy and Larry Wachowski, best known as the writer/director duo behind the Matrix Trilogy.-History:...
- List of comics based on films
- Simulated realitySimulated realitySimulated reality is the proposition that reality could be simulated—perhaps by computer simulation—to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds which may or may not be fully aware that they are living inside a simulation....
External links
- Official site of non-profit independent short movie, based on "Wrong Number" comics