Both written and illustrated by Alex Ross, Abrams ComicArts’ Marvel Dimensions arrives with plenty of anticipation and intrigue by the man that has captured classic visions of Marvel and DC’s most noble heroes and reprehensible villains for decades.
Those heroes and villains get a multiversal make-over in Dimensions, transforming the traditional Marvel Universe into a villainous world akin to DC’s Earth 3, home of the corrupted versions of DC’s finest in the Crime Syndicate.
Before the flipped Marvel Universe appears in the story, Marvel Dimensions opens with a history of the traditional Marvel Universe in The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes-style, fully capturing the majesty of those six character-defining volumes by Ross and Paul Dini. If you are fan that has always wanted that style applied to Marvel’s heroes, your prayers have been answered in Dimensions.
Ross illustrates the classic origins of Marvel’s character in fully painted spreads that capture the quintessential moments from their early history in the most beautiful way possible. Each panel of each origin is washed with a specific color that represents them (green for Hulk, Red for Spider-Man, blue for the Fantastic Four) before ending with a full color representation of each hero. At this point in Dimensions, if the story never proceeded beyond these flashbacks, many fans would be fully satisfied. Each origin is a perfect encapsulation of what makes the Marvel heroes so special in only one page. I found myself going back at the end of my first reading to enjoy the trip down memory lane again, and I’m sure that many readers did the exact same thing.
In reality, the actual story really starts after these recaps, as we are introduced to our mysterious narrator in the form of a translucent Machine Man. Ross’ take on Machine Man is retro in the best way possible, with all of the gears and transistors fully apparent to the reader. And although his design in whimsical, the message that Machine Man has to deliver is certainly not, with the reveal of an alternate universe where all of the Marvel heroes are villainous versions of themselves.
At this point, the narrative and physical graphic novel shifts to a pencil and inked, 32-page comic book bound inside the hardcover. The art is akin to Ross’ work on Astro City, especially considering all of the reworked, villainous designs of the heroes. The In-Verse now takes center stage and offers plenty of creative takes on villainous versions of our familiar heroes. The comic establishes the corrupt world of the In-Verse effectively, giving most of the time to their Avengers, X-Men, and Spider-Man to highlight the true differences between them and our traditional heroes.
Once the In-Verse comic ends, the set-up for a multiversal showdown between good and evil is clearly established, although the combatants may not be who you expect. Ross finishes the tale with a mix of his pencil and ink and painted artwork for a number of bombastic battle scenes between both sides, with a hint of more to come in the future.
In our current world of multiversal overload, Ross’ Marvel Dimensions is a unique take on a villainous world, and also a reminder of what made comics so enjoyable and revolutionary in the first place.
