This week I took the plunge into the 3 Worlds / 3 Moons universe created by Jonathan Hickman (Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Secret Wars, Ultimate Spider-Man), Nick Spencer (Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Morning Glories), Mike Del Mundo (Thor, Avengers, Weird World, cover artist extraordinaire), and Mike Huddleston (Harley Quinn, Gen13, the Coffin, cover artist supreme). Published by Dark Horse Comics, Foundations serves as an introduction to a comic universe that began wholly online five years ago.

3 Worlds / 3 Moons isn’t just an all-new, ongoing comics universe but a reconceptualization of comic creation. Our crafting comics in “real time.” After completing the three tales included in Foundations, readers are encouraged to explore the website MythicPowered.com, which acts as the central hub for this new initiative. A visit to the website is where this journey really takes off. I was blown away by the amount of content that was waiting for me even knowing I was coming in five years late. After a free trial, access to mythicpowered’s content will be through a subscription with occasional physical releases through Dark Horse Comics. I’ve never seen this hybrid physical/digital model before, but I enjoyed exploring the various corners of this universe that had only been hinted at in Foundations. What truly sets this project apart is the promise that the community of fans, through engagement on the website, will have an impact on the story and setting of 3 Worlds / 3 Moons. It is an intriguing experiment in collaborative creativity. I’m still unclear how this has worked in practice, but it does have the potential to draw in a devoted fanbase who will genuinely feel a level of ownership over the comics they read. It’s a novel way to grow a burgeoning comic brand, and I’m personally excited to see what’s to come after reading Foundations.

Foundations presents three stories each penned by Hickman and Spencer. The first one, “Fables,” is illustrated by 3 Worlds/ 3 Moons co-architect Mike Huddleston. The tale gives readers a glimpse of the various places this new line will explore, as well as its history. Told through the sweet moment of a father tucking his son in for bed, it ends on an ominous note that is picked up in the next installment entitled “Ruins.” Here, Hickman and Spencer bring us back to the missing father, Dr. Tajo R. Vallar and his doomed mission to the moon Kaoso on behalf of the mysterious institute. Mike Del Mundo and Mike Huddleston handle the art and, like the rest of this book, it’s a joy to look at. The art design and the color palette choices really pull the reader into this fantastic, but dangerous, world. It feels both chillingly alien and tantalizingly beautiful at the same time. This is truly some of the best art I’ve seen in a comic in a long time, each panel deserving of your attention. Already knowing that Tajo will not return from his mission fills the story with a sense of dread as I expected the worst for this team of explorers with each turn of the page. It is in this story that newcomers to this setting are given an introduction to the underlying conflict of 3 Worlds / 3 Moons: a ancient battle between a mysterious institute and ancient practitioners of magic. This collection then ends with the short story, “Breathe,” in which one of the primal magical entities of this new world intervenes to save the life of a human explorer from the institute, sometime before Tajo’s expedition. Jerome Opena takes over the art duties here and continues the book’s strong and consistent artistic vision for the imprint. It reminded me most of the old sci-fi pulp magazine covers.

I’ve intentionally tried to avoid any spoilers or delve too deep into the plot, because half the fun of this book was diving headfirst into this new world without any expectations of where it will take you. In many ways, this project resembles a recent release, also from Dark Horse Comics, from Mike Mignola, Bowling with Corpses, that was itself an introduction to a new fantasy realm. Like that book, Hickman and Spencer welcome readers into their universe through a series of short stories, offering only glimpses of the larger picture. Like, Hickman’s G.O.D.S. for Marvel Comics, there seems to be an underlying conflict between magic and science. And as in G.O.D.S., magic and science are portrayed in Foundations as the two dominant forces in the universe, forever at odds. As with most projects that involve Hickman, even after only reader this single collection, this world feels ancient, real, and lived in. It has a deep, for-now hidden history and vast setting just asking to be explored.

I strongly encourage fans of the architects of 3 Worlds / 3 Moons to take a look at Foundations, as well as explore the content available on Mythicpowered.com. As this experiment in communal creation moves forward, I’m interested in seeing how much the community’s impact really affects the story and the overall world. Is there a set central thread and can the readership alter the course the creators have set? Will people follow an almost entirely online comic universe through a monthly subscription? It’s a bold, new take on the creative process and bringing content to readers, and I can’t wait to see how this unfolds. As a longtime fan of all of the creative partners of 3 Worlds / 3 Moons, I will definitely be joining them for this ride.

Creative Team: Jonathan Hickman (writer), Nick Spencer (writer), Mike Huddleston (artist for “Fable,” “Ruins”), Mike Del Mundo (artist for “Ruins), Jerome Opena (artist for “Breathe”), Matt Holingsworth (colorist for “Breathe”), Rus Wooton (letterer)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics and 3 Worlds / 3 Moons
Click here to purchase.