The Matrix Comics: 20th Anniversary Edition (2019)

The Matrix Comics: 20th Anniversary Edition (2019)

Authors: Various | Illustrators: Various | Page Count: 400

"The answer. It's right there. I can touch it. It's beautiful. Simple. And it scares the hell out of me."

Beyond the infinite possibilities offered by a virtual world, part of what keeps The Matrix universe so appealing is that it hasn't been milked to death by a greedy studio. Exploitation and oversaturation would've killed it as easily as it does any other commodity.

I assume the Wachowski's had some hand in regulating that, so kudos to them and everyone else who stuck to their guns. Yes, one of the siblings made a fourth film, but not until eighteen years later. (Having said that, I'd really love another anime collection like The Animatrix.)

The 20th Anniversary Edition of The Matrix Comics combines both of the original TPB publications into one larger than normal US comic format HB book.

That in itself is a generous amount, but it also includes four stories that weren't in either of the two previous volumes, which came out in 2003 and 2005, respectively. After doing the maths, the 'anniversary' label must refer instead to the first Matrix film, which was released in cinemas in March 1999.

Many of the twenty-eight stories (twenty-six comics and two short prose works) contained in the collection were originally available on The Matrix website from 1999 to 2003. They're gone from there now, so your only option if you want to read them legally is to buy the book. As with many other other tie-ins, they expand upon and attempt to enrich the core concerns explored in the original film(s). They were created over a period of years, so aren't tied to, or designed to reflect, any one specific film. Some were written before the first movie even came out.

I'm delighted they they're archived in some manner, and I did enjoy some of them for what they were or tried to do, but the truth is that the majority of the stories aren't very interesting. As web comics they'd have been a fun way to keep a viewer / reader connected to the ongoing story, but I don't feel they hold up when brought together into a medium for which they weren't originally designed. For fans who may feel differently, know that even with the new additions it's still an incomplete selection. Some works from the original website are absent, for whatever reason.

The creator profiles that accompany each entry are a nice touch; every anthology should have those. The stories end on page 380. The remaining pages are 'pin-ups' and textless covers.

A full list of contributors in alphabetical order (of first name because it was easier for me):

Writers: Bill Sienkiewicz / Dave Gibbons / David Lapham / Gregory Ruth / Jim Krueger / John Van Fleet / Kaare Andrews / Keron Grant / Larry + Andy Wachowski / Neil Gaiman / Paul Chadwick / Peter Bagge / Poppy Z. Brite / Ryder Windham / Spencer Lamm / Ted McKeever / Tommy Lee Edwards / Troy Nixey / Vince Evans.

Artists: Bill Sienkiewicz / Dave Dorman / Dave Gibbons / David Lapham / Geof Darrow / Gregory Ruth / John Van Fleet / Kaare Andrews / Keron Grant / Kilian Plunkett / Michael Kaluta / Michael Oeming / Paul Chadwick / Peter Bagge / Ted McKeever / Tim Sale / Tommy Lee Edwards / Troy Nixey / Vince Evans.