Higher Earth: The Modal Realism of Comic Books

I'm sure you are all familiar with David Lewis' 'On the Plurality of Worlds', if not, then just ask me for an explanation and I'll send you a copy of my award winning dissertation. Nothing wrong with a bit of shameless self promotion.

But anyway, Higher Earth, from Boom! Studios, Sam Humphries and Francesco Biagini takes the idea of multiple earth's and runs with it, turns it into a fantastic setting for what you could say is a simple road trip story. Even though it is so much more than that, it is a road trip over multiple earth's  a trip taken by an embittered soldier Rex and an innocent yet hardened girl named Heidi. I've only read the first issue so I don't know how things are going to pan out, but I can already say that its going to be exciting to find out. After all the first few panels did have a robotic bear, a robotic bear!! I mean come on, if that isn't enough to get you to read it you have no sense of whimsy or joy.

Though it does have a slightly darker undertone, a telling tale that reflects our true nature, namely, what would happen if we were to actually discover the existence of other earth's and gain access to those worlds. How would we react? It would, I fear, and as Higher Earth demonstrates, not go well.

We would turn those other worlds into 'junk' worlds, if we don't obliterate them first. We are a highly disposable society, in all meanings of the term, and if we were given the chance we would create entire worlds for our waste produce,  places we can discard what we don't want to deal with. We would create entire ecosystems and economies around junk worlds and we wouldn't give it, or the people living there a second thought. Perhaps this is what Higher Earth will show us, or maybe a story about travelling to a better place, that we must deal with all the 'junk' on the way. I guess I'll find out as I continue reading the series. Orbital Comics here I come!

Now, What Would Doom Do? Read it, he would definitely read it, then wish he had a robotic bear as a pet. He's only human after all.