Rick and Morty Character Guide Delves Into the Multiverse

The open nature of animation as a genre and the seeming limitlessness of Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s imaginations means that their Adult Swim creation Rick and Morty occupies a big universe … or universes more accurately 

This creates for an undeniably exciting viewing experience. It feels like anything can happen in a multiverse-spanning episode of Rick and Morty – because just about anything probably can. But that enormous universe also means an equally enormous stable of characters, which can be hard to keep up with. We gave it our best shot over here, but now the real professionals are stepping in to make sure the critters, creatures, cretins, and characters of Rick and Morty are properly catalogued. 

Dark Horse Comics will be publishing the Rick and Morty Character Guide on Wednesday, Dec. 9, just in time for the holiday season. The guide is written by Rick and Morty producer/writer Albro Lundy and will creatively present and keep track of all the denizens of Rick and Morty’s universe. Dark Horse exclusively provided six pages to Den of Geek in advance to help us all get a sense of how the whole endeavor will work. 

Give them a look below and take the first steps towards being able to tell the difference between a Gromflomite and a Garblovian.

The first example is pretty straightforward. Here we have Morty Smith (C-137) a.k.a. The One True Morty in all his glory. Morty’s profile appears to have been approached from an alien perspective, which creates an unbiased, but rather harsh assessment of his character. “Morty is your average fourteen-year-old Earth male. Painfully, measurably average.” How the writer can square that away with Morty’s impressive list of intergalactic crimes (on which “Horniness” resides right next to “Manslaughter”) is anyone’s guess.

OK, they’re really laying into poor Morty. While this scientific-minded writer is thoughtful enough to get images of Morty’s habitat, they also have a disturbingly thorough understanding of his sexual desperation. You try being a 14-year-old boy, dispassionate scientist. 

This appears to be a page torn out of an Intergalactic magazine and as such it has all the latest hot gossip from the Rick and Morty multiverse. For starters it appears that Jerry Smith and wife (Beth Smith) have announced yet another breakup at the Golden Globe Awards. That’s probably not the C-137 version of the duo. More importantly, however, electronics tycoon Ants-in-My-Eyes Johnson is in some hot water for recent divisive statements. 

And now an advertisement page featuring more beloved characters from the Interdimensional Cable airwaves. Tophat Jones, Stealy, and the Real Fake Door and Lil Bits guys all stop by to sell some of their wares. Presumably this is a much-needed break from all the character cataloguing. 

This page should prove to be a very helpful resource for longtime Rick and Morty watchers. The number of aliens that pop up on this show, even if only for a moment or two, is truly staggering. This alphabetized index of aliens (from Abadongians to Beckians on this page alone) should help clear up some galactic confusion. 

Of course, what would a Rick and Morty Character Guide be without an appearance from everyone’s favorite corvid?  Dan Harmon’s deadpanned Bird Person may be gone but his spirit, and his species, live on. Bird People have an average adult wingspan of 4.5 meters. And the author notes “Please note their bones are not hollow and they are tired of being asked about it.”

The Rick and Morty Character Guide will be released on Dec. 9, feature 160 pages, and has a suggested retail price of $39.99.