What is “Numina”?
(Noo-mih-nuh)
numen (plural numina)
- a divinity, especially a local or presiding god
Numina Comics is a publishing venture that tells stories about the gods of our time: superheroes. The pantheon of these local gods interact in a shared universe called the Fractal Universe. “Numina” is also the muse and mascot of Numina Comics. She doesn’t figure into the stories directly, but she is kind of like the three ghosts in “A Christmas Carol”: she can show us the past, present and future of the Fractal Universe.
What’s the Fractal Universe?
fractal
- a curve or geometric figure […] in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales[.]
It’s a shared universe. You know what that is. Yes, you do. It’s what let’s Spider-Man show up in Captain America. Different guys with their own thing, but they live in the same world and bump into each other sometimes when they’re out, like when you’re at the mall and you run into a friend. Except with more punching and explosions than the mall.
Or if you want a dictionary sounding definition, it’s a narrative space in which fictional characters, the subjects of stories in their own right, interact in a continuity. The Fractal Universe was built to resemble what people think of when they think of superheroes. It’s meant to feel familiar, so you might say it borrows a bit. Maybe even a lot. Some might say we’ve committed outright theft. That’s for someone else to argue. If a few characters feel like mash-ups, or appear to just be straight up rip-offs, they are – some of the best contributions to comics often have been.
Why should you care about it?
Remember when superhero comics weren’t all just proto-movies? We want our comics to be comics. Comic booky comics that reference comics for people who like comics. If anything, we’re going for a feel with the Fractal Universe characters. The shared universes up and running today are well integrated but don’t have as much of the neighborhood familiarity that I want to see. Remember when Spider-Man just dropped in on the Fantastic Four one time, and left his symbiote suite for Reed Richards to study, because they basically live five minutes away from each other in Manhattan? Also, shared universes, comics, and comics canon discussions are so serious and self-important these days we could use a little melodramatic fun.
Where’d it all come from?
We’re professed fans of early Marvel & classic DC, the work of Stan and Jack, and the Bullpen. We like nostalgia. We like old comics. We like new comics. We like how comics change. And we also like to steal from more than just comics! We’re fans of genre fiction: of noir and pulp and sci-fi and fantasy. Of old TV, and weird corners of the Internet. It’s all just a place to start.
Follow the Fractal Universe from Numina Comics! (contact and internet/social media info, RSS feed follow, etc. etc.)