The Matrix Comics Online

Ok, I’ll admit it: they’ve grown on me. The comics (“graphic novels”) I was telling you I’m not really into. They’ve started to grow on me.

Sure, I’m still impatient and do my best to speed read through the series — hoping somehow to understand the story line from reading every other pane and looking at the pictures in between — but the truth is I’m actually enjoying these. (Hurray, I’m 15 again! Now all I need is my Dungeon Master’s guide and my self-esteem lowered about 3/4^ths and I’m ready to roll. Dice, that is. Actually, I sometimes wish I was 15 again, but only if I knew what I know now. Then again, doesn’t everybody?)

Anyway, as for the comics: Because I’ve been reading them, and because I enjoy them, I thought I’d share them with you. The stories I’ve been reading all take place in the Matrix universe, and are all related to the Matrix movies and games. They may not seem like much at first, but they actually explore and fill in a rather large gap left in the story told by the movies. They tell stories of people who took the blue pills, people who left Zion and live on the surface, people who jack into the Matrix and make themselves gods among men, people trained by the Oracle (Run, Saga, Run), and many more. So then, what follows is a listing of the Matrix comics which have been made available online by Warner Brothers and Burlyman Comics.

EDIT: These comics have, since the time of this writing been taken down. However, reader TechDude informs us that “You can view each link at the internet archive. Just go to: http://web.archive.org/web/20040616044000/ and add the URL afterward. Example: For Goliath, go to http://web.archive.org/web/2004061604400
0/http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/rl_neil_g.html.”

I have updated all links here accordingly. Note that some of the images may be gone. I don’t know what to do about these. (Of course, if you want to guarantee you have everything, you can always pick up copies at Amazon.) — Gnorb

Series 1

(Note: Some of the stories in Series 1 are comics, some are just short, illustrated stories.)

• Goliath
• System Freeze
• Sweating all the Small Stuff
• Deja Vu
• Morning Sickness
• Bits and Pieces of Information (This one goes into and explains the whole B1-66ER incident.)
• Wrong Number
• Farewell Performance
• A Life Less Empty (So, what happens to people when they take the blue pill?)

Series 2

• An Asset to the System
• A Path Among Stones
• There Are No Flowers in the Real World
• Broadcast Depth
• Butterfly
• Day In, Day Out
• Burning Hope
• The King of Never Return (You know what the Matrix is, but you don’t care for the politics of Zion. What do you do?)
• An Easy One
• Let It All Fall Down
• Get It?
• Run, Saga, Run

Series 3

• The Miller’s Tale
• Return of the Prodigal Son
• A Sword of a Different Color
• Hunters and Collectors
• Artistic Freedom

(Notes: A good explanation of the characters in these comics can be found in the The Matrix Character Database, Comics Section. Also, if you want to get more information on the artists who created the comics, or are looking for some cool images to use as backgrounds, checkout the source page for all these comics.)