At the exact same time, 8 billion genies show up, with 8 billion people getting to each make one wish. What happens next? That question sets the stage for an incredible limited series from one of if not my favorite authors, Charles Soule, along with his collaborator for over a decade at this point, Ryan Browne. Any writer can make any version of this story that they want (making for a unique format of a franchise), but in the case of this series (made up of 8 issues, which started in May 2022), Soule decides to tell the story around a group of people at a bar made up of different individuals, and takes the story from there.
*Spoilers for Eight Billion Genies #1*
As mentioned, the story starts out at a bar in Michigan called The Lampwick. As we meet each of the characters within this bar (the bartender, a kid with his drunk and tired father, a struggling band, and a Chinese couple with a broken translator app), at a random part of the day, genies start to show up in front of their assigned person. The bartender quickly makes his wish (“I wish that no wish made outside this bar can affect this bar or anyone or anything inside it,” basically making the bar a safe haven from any outside sources). Soon after that, outside of the bar, the girl in the aforementioned band wishes for one of the guys in the band to love her, yet that guy happened to be inside the bar, so her wish turned out to be a waste.
The people at the bar take a look outside to see how chaotic the world has become, shown in a crazy but beautiful double-page spread by Ryan Browne. We also get to see multiple people around the world making their wishes, whether it’s to be rich, to walk again, to fly, to have their parents “burn in hell,” or to be adored. The issue ends with the bartender making it known that anything can now happen with this event (while Soule is simultaneously letting his audience know that this story can now go into any direction he wants).
What keeps me coming back to Charles Soule’s work, whether it’s through Marvel, Star Wars, independent work, or novels, is that his stories are consistently and relentlessly engaging. As I’m sure you can think of your favorite author who, no matter the book they’re releasing, you’ll read it no matter what, I think that way about Soule. In particular, I love his ideas, represented through this book as well as in his novels, where big ideas are presented at the start that can make for a near unlimited amount of story ideas. Whether it’s someone who can predict the future that gets the attention of the public in The Oracle Year or a new technology where people can place their consciousness into another body in Anyone, Soule hooks his readers from the start and brings an effective story throughout. The zany tone of Eight Billion Genies is perfectly represented by Ryan Browne’s art, as well.
This story (as if the idea wasn’t interesting enough) has a unique structure in terms of its issues. The first issue covers the first eight minutes after the genies show up, with each issue increasing the amount of time it covers. The second issue covers the first eight hours, the third issue covers the first eight days, and so on until the final issue, issue #8, which covers the first eight centuries since the genies appeared. If all this didn’t convince you enough, Amazon has acquired the rights to make a potential franchise out of this comic, including a movie and TV shows. As I’ve already mentioned, the adaptation of this comic will likely not be a simple or washed-down one, as the filmmakers of the movie and shows will come up with their own ideas about what a group of people may wish for and how it affects the world around them.
If you’re interested in reading the first issue of this book (as well as any other Image Comics, I can guarantee there’s at least one book for you), go to imagecomics.com/comics/read-first-issues to find the first issues of the majority of their books. Happy Reading!
Liam Jarot – Blogger: Liam is a Senior at Lewis University, majoring in English with a concentration in writing. His hobbies include watching movies, reading comic books, and listening to music. Some of his favorite authors include Charles Soule, Stephen King, and Brian K. Vaughan. After graduating, he plans on working with organizations through technical writing while pursuing creative writing on the side.