\n
Things aren\u2019t what they seem in Marvel Dimensions<\/em>, the new book by Alex Ross. Though the book presents itself, in the beginning, as a sort of bog-standard celebration of classic Marvel origins, there\u2019s something decidedly more conceptual<\/em> going on. Even as the narrator \u2013 who appears, at first, to be the Watcher \u2013 sets up the underpinnings of a narrative, the book insists on bombarding the reader with lush, two-page spreads that recap the beginnings of the Marvel Universe, character by character.<\/p>\nThe first sign that things aren\u2019t right is that the Watcher isn\u2019t shown to be his noble, big-headed self but, instead, a grim face on a screen. Fans of the brilliant-but-niche Earth X<\/em> trilogy, a dense and sprawling masterpiece about the end of the Marvel Universe, will recognize the design immediately. This isn\u2019t a book set in our<\/em> Marvel Universe; it\u2019s a sort of companion to Earth X<\/em> \u2013 but, in truth, it\u2019s not even that.<\/p>\n![\"Marvel](\"https:\/\/aiptcomics.com\/2026\/09\/03\/marvel-dimensions-review\/screenshot-2026-09-03-064733\/\" "\\"Abrams,")
<\/p>\n
Marvel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Because this is a book about a third<\/em> universe, a place called (and I\u2019m not kidding here) the In-Verse. It\u2019s a place that celebrates the comic booky clich\u00e9 of \u201cwhat if good but bad?\u201d Here, every character is the direct ideological inverse of the character they are on Earth-616. The goodies are baddies and the baddies are goodies.<\/p>\nIt isn\u2019t just the concept that gets celebrated, it\u2019s the form<\/em>. During the origin splash pages and the parts of the story featuring Machine Man (the Watcher\u2019s replacement in Earth X<\/em>), the book luxuriates in the visual style Ross is best known for: lushly painted, organically laid out, and otherwise remarkable. But in the story that Machine Man is telling us \u2013 the story of the In-Verse \u2013 the book embraces the comic-booky conceit of Good is Bad by sort of dropping dimensionality; the full-scale painting goes away and the artwork more closely resembles a classic comic book \u2013 well, as classic a comic book as Alex Ross can illustrate; it\u2019s still remarkable.<\/p>\n![\"Marvel](\"https:\/\/aiptcomics.com\/2026\/09\/03\/marvel-dimensions-review\/screenshot-2026-09-03-064659\/\" "\\"Abrams,")
<\/p>\n
Marvel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
What this does for the narrative is enforce the differences between realities, but what it does to the book itself is to highlight how incredible Alex Ross is devoid even his most-exploited tool set. The pages where the painterly intuition goes out the window are just as incredible; they may be made more so by the comparison. Ross is an incredible artist working in any style, the book proves, and the reader begins to anticipate the pages in which the book embraces the comic book medium or, incredibly, pages which embrace both artistic traditions.<\/p>\n
![\"Marvel](\"https:\/\/aiptcomics.com\/2026\/09\/03\/marvel-dimensions-review\/screenshot-2026-09-03-064719\/\" "\\"Abrams,")
<\/p>\n
Marvel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
If the book can be said to suffer, it\u2019s in the story, which reads less as a full narrative and more as a sort of conceptual aside to the Earth X<\/em> narrative. The Machine Man has happened upon this universe through the Watcher\u2019s \u201cWhat If\u201d monitoring abilities \u2013 his ability to look in upon alternate universes. He\u2019s discussing this universe (and a brief window of its events) with someone<\/em> unseen (we might even assume with us<\/em>), and while that narrative is enticing and incredible, the book never quite sees it through to the end. We\u2019re left with all climax and no conclusion, the book made more a thought experiment than a story.<\/p>\nThat does not make Marvel Dimensions<\/em> a failure by any means \u2013 the experiment is successful<\/em> even if it is a bit truncated. It stands alone: you don\u2019t need to read Earth X<\/em> to understand what the Machine Man tells you. You need only to understand the multiverse (which, given the tendency of narrative in comics and movies these days, you must already understand).<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a beautiful book, it\u2019s an intriguing book, and it\u2019s a true treat to those of us who think, without hyperbole, that Earth X<\/em> is one of the best stories Marvel Comics has ever published, period.<\/p>\n\n
![\"'Marvel](\"https:\/\/aiptcomics.com\/2026\/09\/03\/marvel-dimensions-review\/81yup5-xjbl-_sl1500_\/\" "\\"Abrams,")
<\/div>\n
\n
\u2018Marvel Dimensions\u2019 is a truncated snapshot of an intriguing world<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Marvel Dimensions<\/p>\n
Though the narrative never quite reaches its end, Marvel Dimensions presents an interesting thought experiment in the form of an alternate universe, and provides a hidden treat for fans of another great alternate universe story. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Luxuriates in Alex Ross’s art in two modes. <\/p>\n
Connects to Earth X.<\/p>\n
Creates innumerable new takes on characters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Narrative never reaches its conclusion. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Things aren\u2019t what they seem in Marvel Dimensions, the new book by Alex Ross. Though the book presents itself, in the beginning, as a sort of bog-standard celebration of classic Marvel origins, there\u2019s something decidedly more conceptual going on. Even as the narrator \u2013 who appears, at first, to be the Watcher \u2013 sets up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7056414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[218797,100255,99401,97595],"tags":[25354,988,3749],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7056413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrams","category-comic-books","category-marvel","category-reviews","tag-dimensions","tag-marvel","tag-review"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Marvel](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aiptcomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot-2026-09-03-064733.png?w=918&ssl=1 "\\"Abrams,")
![\"Marvel](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aiptcomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot-2026-09-03-064659.png?w=765&ssl=1 "\\"Abrams,")
![\"Marvel](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aiptcomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot-2026-09-03-064719.png?w=780&ssl=1 "\\"Abrams,")
![\"'Marvel](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aiptcomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/81Yup5-XJBL._SL1500_.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 "\\"Abrams,")