At the tail end of 2023, Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Jason Fabok and a host of other extraordinary creators announced the launch of their new company Ghost Machine. With it, they’d all be working exclusively on a brand-new set of creator-owned comic books.
Under the umbrella of Ghost Machine, there are a multitude of universes that these stories take place in. These include things like the sci-fi universe that Rook: Exodus belongs to, or the horror themed tales that take place on Hyde Street.
Chief among them however is the Unnamed Universe – the first and largest of the lot.
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What is the Unnamed Universe?
The Unnamed Universe combines multiple narrative strands that Geoff Johns and his common collaborators have so often and so deftly approached throughout their careers at DC Comics. That is to say: The Unnamed Universe is a kind of independent superhero universe, albeit one that operates on an alt-history version of America and one whose heroes are reluctantly finding their feet throughout the timeline.
And that mention of the timeline is deliberate – each series set in this universe takes place at a different point within US history. Redcoat takes place in the 1800s, while Geiger is decidedly near-future and post-apocalypse in its setting. As such, each entry in this universe brings with it a different tone and genre, while always contributing to the overarching narrative threading between each series.
Which series are a part of the Unnamed Universe?
Currently there are a small selection of characters with series published within the Unnamed Universe.
The books began, as Ghost Machine itself did, with Geiger – following the eponymous, radioactive hero. Since then, the universe has expanded with new characters set in new genres, all throughout time.
Geiger
The original Unnamed series, Geiger is set 25 years from now and follows a used-to-be scientist, Tariq Geiger. When the bombs dropped and America become a radioactive wasteland, Tariq was locked outside the bunker that his family hid inside. Rather than die however, he was forever changed.
Tariq became The Glowing Man – part folklore, part monster, all avenger. Armed with two rods that, when inserted inside his suit neutralise his radioactive tendencies, Tariq wanders the wastes in search of purpose, and often finding trouble instead.
Conceptually, Geiger sits somewhere on an axis between Batman, Old Man Logan and Fallout, managing to combine elements of westerns, science fiction and vigilante superheroics in equal measure.
The reading order for Geiger is a little fragmented, largely due to the initial six-issue mini-series being published under the “Mad Ghost” imprint before that was transformed into the Ghost Machine that we have today. For those looking to read everything in release order (which doubles as the intended reading order too), the following order is what you’re looking for:
- Geiger, Vol. 1 (2021) #1-6
- Geiger: 80-Page Giant
- Geiger: Ground Zero #1-2
- Ghost Machine #1 (Geiger story)
- Geiger, Vol. 2 (2024) #1 – Current
Currently, Geoff Johns and Gary Frank are continuing the adventures of Geiger, alongside his two-headed dog Barney and his companion, Nate the Nuclear Knight, in an ongoing Geiger series. Issues #1-6 are drawn by Frank, while the second arc will be drawn by fellow Johns collaborator Paul Pelletier.
Junkyard Joe
Having first appeared in Geiger (2021) #6, Junkyard Joe is a robot soldier, likely inspired by the DC Comics character G.I. Robot. When we meet him in the near-future, Joe is being used as a mindless killing machine by antagonistic forces. However, Joe’s origins go back to 1972, when he was assigned to a unit of marines sent into the jungles of Vietnam.
The Junkyard Joe series from 2022 follows Muddy Davis, a member of Joe’s platoon turned cartoonist. His famous newspaper strip, Junkyard Joe, turns the real-life scenarios that Muddy and his crew went through with the robot and spins them out into Garfield-style comedy gags. However, readers meet him at the end of his career, as a new family moves in across the way, and as his one-time robot companion (who he’s long thought decommissioned) shows up on his doorstep.
There are rumblings that Johns and Frank will return to the mechanical marine, much in the same way they’ve followed up the original Geiger series with a new ongoing.
Redcoat
Redcoat broadens the Unnamed Universe, not just by going back in time and widening the scope of the alt-history DNA that underpins the universe, but also by introducing some unique fantasy elements.
The series follows Simon Pure, a member of the British forces in the 1700s. Simon Pure promptly dies, at the hands of George Washington no less, but not before he’s imbued with a mystical energy that prevents his death from really sticking. Simon Pure winds up immortal, and immortally hungry too, and as such spends his seemingly unending life lurching from one disaster to the next.
Redcoat #1 picks up in 1892, with Simon, as always, on the run where his latest misadventures lead him to meet a 12-year-old Albert Einstein, as well as a cult dedicated to unlocking the secrets of immortality.
From Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch, Redcoat is something of an alt-history action comedy, but one that carries a surprising amount of heart. Hitch himself has also mentioned that, given how much fun he’s having and how many stories they have to tell, Redcoat is likely to span many years of publication.
Tales of the Unnamed: The Blizzard
Originally published in chapters through the Image! 30th Anniversary Anthology, “The Blizzard” follows Michael Verardi, a man convicted of killing the person that killed his son. During his transportation to prison however, he and a group of other convicts end up stranded, and a blizzard rolls in.
Soon enough, a monster from the snow starts stalking the group, picking people off one by one. This broadens the Unnamed Universe by adding a tale of horror to the world of Geiger and the Unknown War.
In terms of how “essential” it is to the overarching story, it is less critical than books like Geiger and Redcoat, though it does end on a note that has ramifications down the line.
The complete (and growing) timeline of the Unnamed Universe
In the back of every issue of the Unnamed Universe books, Ghost Machine provides a timeline of events – many of which we’ve seen and many still to come.
As you can see, events like the birth of Junkyard Joe and the empowering of Simon Pure are marked accordingly, but there’s also mention of characters we’re yet to properly meet, such as The Northerner and Widow X. There’s also the pivotal moment that is the eruption of the Unknown War, though as the name suggests we currently know very little about it. All we’ve seen thus far are glimpse of atomic disaster through the eyes of Tariq Geiger.
Once more series are launched, this timeline will likely update.
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