COMING TO BOOKSHELVES FALL 2003 VOLUME ONE 160 pages/12 stories
LARRY & ANDY WACHOWSKI • GEOF DARROW • BILL SIENKIEWICZ NEIL GAIMAN • TED McKEEVER • JOHN VAN FLEET • DAVE GIBBONS DAVID LAPHAM • PETER BAGGE • TROY NIXEY • PAUL CHADWICK RYDER WINDHAM • KILIAN PLUNKETT • GREGORY RUTH
based on concepts by Larry and Andy Wachowski THE MILLER’S TALE written and illustrated by PAUL CHADWICK
from concepts by LARRY & ANDY WACHOWSKI inside cover art cover art GEOF DARROW KAARE ANDREWS edits book design SPENCER LAMM REDPILL PRODUCTIONS
The Matrix comics began in online at TheMatrix com We are into our third series Up until now but for a couple of free promotional books they have been exclusively online It’s about time for them to be in print and on shelves The emails asking us to do just this haven’t hurt either
It was a heady time back before the first film was released We were contacting comic writers and artists about a film no one had seen or even heard of Not everyone we approached was immediately receptive However those that connected with the script and storyboards saw the potential of what was coming on screen and committed to the project The forthcoming volume collects four stories from this first series as well as four from each subsequent series
All the stories bring a specific interpretation of THE MATRIX Paul Chadwick’s rd series entry THE MILLER’S TALE is no exception delving into the hard ships of living in the real world If you’re not following this man’s career you’re missing some wonderful storytelling and art On the other talents included in the forthcoming volume — all of whom I can say similar things about as we have been fortunate to gather such a high caliber ensemble — check the rear of this book for bios and story blurbs
As to the future new stories will continue to appear online and will remain free Yes completely free Consider it the ultimate preview because we’re not changing our ways From the initial discussions of the site free comics were always the plan The spirit of this touches all sections of the site There’s THE ANIMATRIX (where four of the nine episodes remain free downloads) academic essays by noted philosophers crew articles games hundreds of interviews thousands of images and of course over two dozen comics
With THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS coming in November we also have a few surprises planned at TheMatrix com Stay alert
Spencer Lamm July
TheMatrix.com
THE MATRIX COMICS: VOLUME ONE PREVIEW All material copyright © 2003 Warner Bros. All rights reserved. All characters featured in this issue, the distinctive likeness thereof, and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros. The stories, characters, and incidents mentioned in this magazine are entirely fictional. Printed in Chicago (Universal Press). First Printing: July 2003 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
THE MATRIX COMICS VOLUME ONE
TWELVE STORIES ONE BOOK
Illustration by G THIS FALL
regory Ruth BITS & PIECES OF INFORMATION WACHSTORY BY LARRYOW & ANDYSKI DARROWART BY GEOF
Set during the pre history of the Matrix a robot butler is charged with murder Reference to this story is made in SECOND RENAISSANCE: PART ONE from THE ANIMATRIX
The Wachowski brothers have been working together for more than years They wrote and directed BOUND and are now completing their fourth film THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS Little else is known about them
Geof Darrow’s career as a comic book artist includes such noted titles as HARD BOILED and BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT both by Frank Miller and ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT by Andrew Vachss Recently Geof completed the massive task of conceptual designs for THE MATRIX sequels and is currently working on a new book
SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF SIENKIEWICZSTORY & ART BY BILL
Two gunrunners get a little too close to the reality of the Matrix
Bill Sienkiewicz’s innovative use of collage and illustration methods to tell a story have won him many major awards including the Kirby Award for Best Artist for the comic ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN He wrote and illustrated the critically acclaimed comic STRAY TOASTERS and his most recently published work includes A RIVER IN EGYPT and a collection of his non computer enhanced work entitled PRECURSOR (A more comprehensive art book retrospective on Bill’s work is forthcoming ) Bill has exhibited throughout the USA and the world and has also produced work for magazines CD covers and the US Olympics He was nominated for an Emmy® Award for production and character design on the television series “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?” Isuppose thatIcould GOLIATH claimthatI WORDS BY NEIL hadalways GAIMAN suspected thatthe A man is given the gift of knowing the Matrix but at what cost? worldwasa Neil Gaiman is likely best known as the creator/writer of the monthly comic series SANDMAN for DC Comics SANDMAN won the cheapand World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story (the first comic ever to receive a literary award) Neil’s three part comic series DEATH: THE shoddy HIGH COST OF LIVING was published in February and DEATH: THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE was released in March winning the sham GLAAD award for Best Comic Outside of comics Neil has written the English language script for Hayao Miyazaki’s PRINCESS MONONOKE abadcover and is now a best selling novelist penning such titles as STARDUST