While I do not own the first volume of Matrix Comics, I can say quite easily that this volume is excellent at presenting a variety of stories based on the Matrix world. Each comic is by a different artist and it should be interesting to note that while all of their plots vary, they are all quite dark and drab in nature. Like the Animatrix, don't expect to find happy endings or a very upbeat mood in any of these episodes. The book has its mix of action oriented and drama based stories (though the latter is in more numbers): one involves one of the oracle's potentials seeking a more charged life in the city, but ends up running from agents. The art in this one is very much based on anime--using all kinds of awkward perspectives and speed lines to generate a short that is charged with enormous amounts of adrenaline. In stark contrast, another excellent one is "A path among stones". The artist uses washed out, dreamy colours for the mood, and the story plays out like a conversation between a psychologist and his patient which gives us insight into how people are 'unplugged' from the Matrix.
The only downside to this book is that at the end, there's a bit of a preview of two new non-related comics that the publishers are going to release. While this is interesting and all, it will come off as a bit of a sham since this 'preview' takes up a visible chunk in the book.
Other than that, this is an absolute must for Matrix fans. To a casual reader, this is also a good buy as the stories are well drawn and scripted to formulate stories that are intricate and mysterious enough that they are excellent standalones even to those who have never seen the Matrix films.
