Description
The Ultraverse was the name given to a comic book imprint published by Malibu Comics and was a shared universe much like the real world, but in which a variety of characters – known within the comics as “Ultras” – acquired super-human abilities. The Ultraverse line was launched during the “comics boom” of the early 1990s. Following the success of Image Comics (a studio of comics’ top artists each publishing their own book contained in its own mini-universe) and Valiant Comics (a cohesive universe shared by all the Valiant characters; the model the Ultraverse line aimed to imitate), a number of new universes were launched including Milestone from DC and Comics Greatest World from Dark Horse. These comics boasted improved production values (especially digital coloring and higher-quality paper), and a roster of respected and/or talented new writers and artists. Following the Valiant Comics formula closely, Ultraverse emphasized tight continuity between the various series in their line, Malibu made extensive use of crossovers, in which a story that began in one series would be continued in the next-shipping issue of another series. Various promotions for special editions or limited-print stories also encouraged readers to sample issues of the entire line. Many. The Ultraverse line came to dominate Malibu’s catalog. The company was purchased by Marvel Comics in 1994. Marvel canceled the entire Ultraverse line, but (during the controversial Black September event) re-launched a handful of the more popular titles as well as a number of crossovers with Marvel characters. The initial move was foreseen with popular franchises and characters from the Avengers guest-starring in their books. The “volume 2″ series each started with “# (infinity)” issues and were canceled a short time later. Within the Marvel Comics multiverse, the Malibu Universe is designated as Earth-93060.
