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The Matrix
"Artistic Freedom"
Matrix Comics Vol. 1
Story: Ryder Windham
Art: Killian Plunkett
Color: Jeromy Cox
2003 |
An artist’s sculptures of the
mechanical beasts of her dreams triggers fear in many who see
them.
Read the story at issuu.com
Didja Know?
This comic strip originally appeared on the official Matrix
website in 2003. It was later printed in
The Matrix Comics, Vol. 1 published by
Burlyman
Entertainment, a comic book publisher founded by the Wachowskis.
Characters appearing or mentioned in this story
Kitt Pritchard
Raven Underwood
Spoon boy
cameraman (unnamed)
gallery woman (unnamed)
Didja Notice?
On page 1 of the story, an electronic sign for City
Appliance is seen with only the L, I, and E of "appliance"
lit up. These letters spell "LIE", a nod to the fact the
story takes place inside the Matrix, a virtual reality
created by the machines to keep humanity enslaved.
The art exhibition taking place in this story is at the
Hednet Gallery. "Hednet" is revealed at the end of the story
as an anagram of "The End".
The bald boy in this story is the same Potential, sometimes
referred to as "Spoon boy", seen under the Oracle's tutelage
in The Matrix.
It turns out that the artist Raven Underwood is a bluepill
who had briefly awakened in her pod, so had seen what the world really was outside of
the Matrix. Now, she is a bluepill again, but has vague
memories percolating up from her subconscious of that other world
which she turns into art. Her art then causes some other
bluepills to have nightmares and require psychiatric help.
On page 2, panel 1 of the story, the intersection of Gibson
and Giger streets is seen in Mega City. These are likely
named for cyberpunk writer William Gibson and artist H.R.
Giger, both of whom were inspirations for the concepts
behind the Matrix franchise.
Two televisions seen in the store window in panel 2 of page
2 of the story are a VitaVision, shown as established 1939,
and a Brandix. These appear to be fictitious television
brands.
On page 3, panel 3 of the story, what appears to be a Dryver
rental truck drives by behind Spoon Boy. It also appears to
have the words "New Mexico" and a picture of a
Super Guppy cargo airplane on the side. I'm not aware of
any connection between the Super Guppy and the U.S. state of
New Mexico. Dryver appears to be a fictitious company, but
the name seems to be a play on
Ryder rental
trucks. The "New Mexico" on the side with a picture is
likely an idea borrowed from the
U-Haul rental company,
which has a tradition of using state-themed pictures on the
side of their trucks.
Underwood calls the machine sculptures she builds
somnicultos (sleep guardians).
On page 11 of the story, a sign for Sentinel Electric
Company is seen. This appears to be a fictitious business,
named for the Sentinels (Squiddies) that are used for search
and destroy missions against the resistance by the machines.
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