Every individual on Earth gets a genie capable of fulfilling a single wish. A fraction of the 8 billion people make instant wishes, while others choose to hold onto their genies for years. Predictably, the wishes trigger wild consequences, which lead to a rapid decline in the global population. Animal Mecha: Dave Masters, a disgruntled car assembly line worker, uses his wish to get a "carasaurus" that could breathe fire and devour other cars after he lost his job when the factory closed. One of the genies mentions that a woman wished for a lightsaber, only to accidentally set downtown Detroit ablaze since she never wished for the skill to use it.

No Ontological Inertia: Downplayed. People and things created by wishes can last up to a few days following the death of the wisher. These "Remnants" will simply vanish a certain amount of time passes completely without warning. The Remnants of Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, and Jim Morrison all go poof during issues 2 and 3, with Ed and Robbie worrying that this could happen to June if Ed were to die. Benevolent Genie: While the genies are amoral at best given how they're happy to grant blatantly destructive wishes like the carasaurus or turning a person into a vampire, they're never malicious about what they do. They're also happy to be consulted for context and advice up to the point that the wish is actually made and will fulfill a wish to the full spirit of the wish rather than the letter of the wish. But they can still act as a Literal Genie if a wish is ill-thought out and will not care about the consequences unless they're "boring" or would deny others their wish. Eight Billion Genies collects issues 1-8 of the Image Comics series written by Charles Soule and art by Ryan Browne. Walking the Earth: Daisy does this after the deaths of Brian and Alex. She does this for 700 years due to her unexpected immortality.Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When Daisy asks if the Remnants of Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, and Jim Morrison are real or not, the genie calls it a good question. They then respond with, "Are you?" while looking directly at the reader from outside any of the panels. Betty and Carlos, son of the leader of El Futuro, end up being happily married for several decades, with several children and grandchildren.

On December 10, 2021, Eight Billion Genies debuted at C2E2 when the comic book's creators, writer Charles Soule and artist Ryan Browne, released a full-color " Special Preview Edition" of the first issue. [1] In addition to the entire "standard" contents of the first issue, this Special Preview Edition also included an additional prose short story titled "The First Eight Milliseconds". [2] Limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, signed by both creators and sketched upon by Browne, the Special Preview Edition was printed without the help of Image Comics and solely bore branding for 3-D Cowboy Comics as the publisher. [3]

Comics

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First - the art - it isn't bad but isn't something that grabs me. The art isn't a problem but it also isn't a selling point for me. Robbie says that he's read enough comic books to know that wishing for immortality is a very bad idea that could go wrong any number of ways. He instead uses his wish to become a superhero capable of defending himself and his parents while searching for another save haven for them. Uncatty Resemblance: All of the genies bear a resemblance to the person they're bonded to. For instance, Will's genie has the same pointy beard he does, while Alex's has glasses and a much bushier beard.At Emerald City Comic Con in 2015, Ryan Browne had a "drunk[en] idea" about "What happens when everyone on Earth gets a genie at once?", which became the genesis for Eight Billion Genies. [13] Crazy-Prepared: Will converted the basement of his bar into an armored bunker with a little bit of everything, from food to supplies to weapons in case he needs to hunker down. He figured that he needed to be prepared for a wildfire after watching all the friction being created all over the world even before the genies came to Earth.

The narrative spans years, decades, and finally, centuries so that readers explore the aftermath of the world constantly changed by wishes. The initial chapters drew me in with their pacing and ideas, but I soon started to lose interest. Not entirely, mind, but as the story switched into a mix of superheroes, family drama, utopia/dystopia, I wasn't as invested any longer. Incompatible Orientation: Daisy doesn't learn Brian is gay until long after she wastes her wish trying to make him fall in love with her (it didn't work because he was inside the wish-proof bar when she made the wish but she wasn't). It begs the question of whether or not she would've made that wish had she known it would change a fundamental part of him (as opposed to "just" overriding his free will). Justified. The genies are Reality Warpers who can grant virtually any wish. As such, it's a trivial thing for them to give someone exaggerated physical proportions, such as giving a child biceps bigger than his own head. Domino Mask: Robbie's eyes are covered by one of these when he becomes a superhero as part of his wish to his genie. The Virus: We don't see it in detail, but "Dougland", a region covering a good chunk of the United States, is inhabited by "Dougs" that can turn anybody into a copy of themselves if they get close enough.The writing by Charles Soule is witty and engaging, capturing the essence of each character and their unique wishes. The artwork by Ryan Browne adds to the comedic tone of the series, with vibrant colors and expressive illustrations. The collaboration between Soule and Browne brings the story to life and keeps readers hooked from start to finish. Implacable Woman: Betty eventually becomes this. Because of her mother's wish, Betty is immortal until she makes a wish, so she is determined to become the last person on Earth to do so. She ends up hunting down everyone else with a genie until she's the only one left. Half the Man He Used to Be: Wang shoots an energy blast from his Power Fist and swipes it across a vampire's torso to cut him in half.