Well! This is The Matrix Comics. There were almost 30 Matrix Comics stories created back then. Most of them were published online and then collected in some printed TPBs, some are exclusive to these TPBs and some were webcomics only. So, this book contains 12 stories and I'll give every single one of them a review and then give the book an overall rating.

So, the first story "Bits and Pieces of Information" (I really don't understand why did they call it like that) was only 4 pages and the first of them was text-only. Actually, I wasn't waiting for something really cool, but it was cool! Suddenly. This text intro was like a really good intro. Not THAT good, could be much better, but still... It's a story about robot who killed his owners, because they wanted to scrap him and he felt that he didn't want to die. There's no real conclusion, because there's a trial and we never know was he jailed or terminated. That's a good story. The art is arguable, but fine. This is a black and white comic like manga, but I really wouldn't like to see this in color because of the last page head explosion and too many pissing dogs. Well, that's a solid 7, I think. Not bad and not a masterpiece, but fine.

Also, some of these comics are black and white and some colored. I really don't understand why, it doesn't make sense, really.

"Sweating the small stuff". Again, I don't understand the title. But the story was fine. Solid 7 as well. The art is arguably messed and psychedelic, but it's really fitting here. That's a story about a guy who suddenly started to see the Matrix numbers in everything. + 1 red pill to the Zion.

"A life less empty". My god! It's Ted McKeever... I hate him. I soooooo hate him... His artwork was one of the worst in the Ultimate Marvel Team-Up. I don't know why Marvel hired him. He's just bad. But! He sets the right tone here and the big page of Morpheus wasn't bad, to be honest. Yeah, it could be better with a different artist, but the writing is so good, that it's still 8. By the way, the writer is Ted himself so... Maybe he can make something good. This is a story about a woman, who took the blue pill. And her decision just made her life a living hell. A hell of questioning and blaming herself. It's really depressing and strong. Cool story.

"Goliath" was written by Neil Gaiman himself! Yeah, I see, that the creative team of these comics was really professional. And this exact story isn't a comic at all. But Neil knows how to write such stuff, so it was very entertaining half an hour of my life. I didn't understand every single thing of it and the part about the cosmos was kinda weird as I imagined it, but other than that - just cool. 7.5

"Burning hope". That's a weird, but fine story about people chasing the girl in Matrix. 5 year old girl who was a big african-american guy in the Matrix... The art looks like some cheap rendered 3d animation sometimes. But it's not bad and the story reads fine. 7.5

"Butterfly". As opposite to Gaiman's non-comic story with a couple of pictures, here's a story with as less words as possible... "He was unsure if he was a man who had dreamed that he was a butterfly or if he was a butterfly who was dreaming that he was a man. In truth he was neither man nor butterfly and yet he was both". Pretty cool and poetic and that's it. Finally there was an awesome art and cool action with agents. 8.5

"There are no flowers in the real world". The story and art were really cool... Can't say much. There's a lot of great and spectacular action, but the ending was depressing. 8

"Get it" - a hilarious comic strip. It's about a guy who didn't understand the movie. It's kinda funny, especially the conclusion. Totally deserved 8. The art is fine for such not serious comics.

"A sword of a different color". Interesting story as well! The art is arguable and could be better, but it still doesn't make the story worse. 8 as well.

"The miller's tale". Cool story and art. There's a kid Morpheus, but the story is about people in the real world of Matrix universe, growing wheat. Actually, 4-th movie wasn't that bad in terms of the progress people made there. And maybe they will really make the world great again. 8.5

"Artistic freedom". There are no spoons... Lol. The story is about some woman, who saw the machines in the real world and created them as sculptures in the Matrix. I didn't understand the reason of putting the spoon boy here. And it feels pretty messed-up. The art is cool though. I give it a 7.5. A 7 would be too low.

"Hunters & collectors". That was just wow. Human vs the machine. Legendary. The art isn't that good, but it was fitting. So, I give it 8.5

Overall, that was a cool book with no really weak stories. Some of them are better, some are worse, but it's a great reading for the Matrix fan, especially if you love comics as well.

Very solid 8 from the Matrix fan since his childhood. more