![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/matrix-comics.jpg\")
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By Various (Burlyman Entertainment)
\nISBN: 1-84023-806-2<\/p>\n
You’ve probably heard this before, I suspect, but I wasn’t overly impressed by the Matrix<\/strong> movies. This made the arrival of these two books something of a surprise to me.<\/p>\n The folks at Burlyman have gathered a pretty impressive crowd of comic creators to produce tales set in and spinning out of the filmic universe for their website, and these are now available in a format you can read on a bus or in the bath. And, believe me, you will want to.<\/p>\n Volume 1 expands the universe first seen in the movies, starring Neo and a brave band of human survivors battling against an oppressive computerised tyranny in a deadly cyber-reality with a series of telling short tales in a variety of styles and formats.<\/p>\n Under the editorial eye of Spencer Lamm and the auspices of original creators Larry and Andy Wachowski \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who kick off proceedings with the Geof Darrow illustrated ‘Bits & Pieces of Information’<\/em>, followed by Bill Sienkiewicz’s ‘Sweating the Small Stuff’<\/em>, and Ted McKeever’s ‘A Life Less Empty’<\/em>.<\/p>\n Neil Gaiman contributes the prose vignette ‘Goliath,’<\/em> with spot illustrations from Sienkiewicz and Gregory Ruth, ‘Burning Hope’<\/em> is by John Van Fleet, and Dave Gibbons recreates a Japanes parable in ‘Butterfly’<\/em>. Troy Nixey and Dave McCaig combine for ‘A Sword of a Different Colour’<\/em> and alternative legend Peter Bagge crafts the truly disturbing ‘Get It?’<\/em><\/p>\n David Lapham’s black and white thriller ‘There are No Flowers in the Real World’<\/em> skilfully counterpoints Paul Chadwick’s oppressive ‘The Miller’s Tale’<\/em>, whilst Ryder Windham and Killian Plunkett explore creativity in ‘Artistic Freedom.’<\/em><\/p>\n Greg Ruth returns to conclude the volume with the painterly comic strip fable ‘Hunters and Collectors,’<\/em> a contemplative finish to as funny, thrilling, frightening, distressing and rollicking a bunch of tales as I have not seen since the glory days of 2000AD<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n In comic book terms at least this book is a fan-boy’s delight.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a9 2003, 2004 Burlyman Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00c2\u00a0 By Various (Burlyman Entertainment) ISBN: 1-84023-806-2 You’ve probably heard this before, I suspect, but I wasn’t overly impressed by the Matrix movies. This made the arrival of these two books something of a surprise to me. The folks at Burlyman have gathered a pretty impressive crowd of comic creators to produce tales set in … <\/p>\n