Eight Billion Genies Deluxe Edition Vol. 1
Story by Charles Soule & Ryan Browne; Charles Soule, writer; Ryan Browne, art, colors, design & covers
Image Comics, 2023
The story opens on a small group of people at the Lampwick Bar and Grill in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. There's a rock band setting up to play, a father and son, a Chinese tourist couple who have come to the wrong place, and the bar owner/bartender. Suddenly each one of them is visited by a genie, as is everyone in the world. The deal is, every person on Earth has a genie, and they each receive one wish. The barkeep immediately wishes that no wish made outside the bar can affect the bar or anyone or anything inside it, making it a calm central point in an increasingly chaotic world: as he puts it, "this is probably the safest place in the world right now."
A quick glance outside the door of the bar reveals a crazy scene with flying cars, superheroes, killer robots, and dinosaurs, among other things. This is what happens when millions of humans make wishes at once. And it all happens in the first issue (in the first eight minutes!), so the implications play out over the rest of the series. The genies explain that they're not big on stuff that affects the whole world (unless they think it's funny, or interesting, or ironic). They want as many people as possible to see their wish come true, which means they don't want greedy folks ruining it for everyone else.
The father wishes for his late wife to return–mainly for the sake of his son–and shortly thereafter Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, and Jim Morrison show up. The genies call these formerly dead people "remnants," and of course, they all exist because of wishes. Two of the bar's denizens wish for powers to help them protect their loved ones, and eventually, the band members choose to seek out an artist collective. Once they get out into the world, they find communities that are trying to protect each other and create a space where a somewhat normal life is possible. The storyline moves from eight seconds to eight weeks to eight years to eight decades to eight centuries. In the end the last two humans who still have wishes make their choices, creating a (hopefully better) new world.
There is a ton of extra material in the collection. Alternate covers; the history of the series conception; early designs and layouts; and notes on the first issue from the "Director's Cut" version. As a fellow Detroit native, I appreciated all of the local color.
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