Morrison's "The Invisibles"...

[diana_fan]

I'm into volume 5 now. I read volumes 2, 3, and 4 today.

I cannot for life of me understand why this is not considered one of the great works of literature of the last 20 or 30 or 40 years. And, once Phil Jimenez took over the art chores, wow. Really, wow. Nothing agains the amazing stuff that Jill Thompson was kicking out in the earlier volumes, but sheesh.

Seriously, when people discuss great comics (or literature of any format, for that matter) why doesn't The Invisibles come up more often? I don't get it. Certainly, this right up there with anything others have put out.

This is the type of literature that bends your whole way of looking at the world, and actually says something.

I'm late to the game, I realize that. And maybe the whole train has run past by now. But if we are still constantly talking about Watchmen, why is this work hardly ever brought up?

The sections explaining Lord Fanny's history are right up there with "The Coyote Gospel" as far as I'm concerned. OK, *nothing* is as good as the "The Coyote Gospel", but it is close.

As good as it gets, and then some. I guess I'm just shocked at the lack of common response this work gets.

[diablo7]

i've been wanting to pick up the trades...can you tell me what issue glyn dillon worked on...i know it's between issues 6-13 of vol. 2...i'm trying to track down as much dillon goodness as i can find

[diana_fan]

I can't find any specific credits for Dillon. In the credits overall for Volume 5 of the series, it shows Glyn Dillon as an inker. But if you look throughout the actual credits for the individual issues, I don't see the name.

Sorry, I couldn't be of more help.

[ChthonicSpirit]

I haven't read this yet. I will, though, as soon as I can fit them in to my comic-book budget. I've just been buying Morrison's Doom Patrol (and wondering why the hell the Trades stopped in mid-storyarc).

I hear that the first of the Matrix movies was based on the Invisibles. That sound about right to you?

[diana_fan]

I haven't read this yet. I will, though, as soon as I can fit them in to my comic-book budget. I've just been buying Morrison's Doom Patrol (and wondering why the hell the Trades stopped in mid-storyarc).

I hear that the first of the Matrix movies was based on the Invisibles. That sound about right to you?

Anybody who has read The Invisibles and seen "The Matrix" and doesn't see the rip-off is deluding themselves.

It's almost, scene for scene, at times, a complete rip-off. On the other hand, Morrison has said he doesn't really mind. So, there ya have it.

[Karen El]

Anybody who has read The Invisibles and seen "The Matrix" and doesn't see the rip-off is deluding themselves.

It's almost, scene for scene, at times, a complete rip-off. On the other hand, Morrison has said he doesn't really mind. So, there ya have it.

Might be worth checking the dates there. Didn't The Matrix came out before The Invisibles was finished?

[ChthonicSpirit]

Anybody who has read The Invisibles and seen "The Matrix" and doesn't see the rip-off is deluding themselves.

It's almost, scene for scene, at times, a complete rip-off. On the other hand, Morrison has said he doesn't really mind. So, there ya have it.

I read an interview by him recently. I'm paraphrasing, but he said that he wasn't half so ticked off that they stole his story as he was that in the second and third movies they devolved it from gnosticism to basic catholic theology and then saddled it with a completely incomprehensible ending.

Anyway, as regards the Wachowskis, my respect-meter has been reading zero since 'V for Vendetta' anyway.

[Monkey]

I cannot for life of me understand why this is not considered one of the great works of literature of the last 20 or 30 or 40 years.

Probably because everyone else in the world other than me got all excited about the Matrix and didn't know it was just a big fat Invisibles and Dark City rip off.

Honestly I don't even like talking with people about the Matrix I find myself getting mad when people talk about how original it was.

[Agent Helix]

Might be worth checking the dates there. Didn't The Matrix came out before The Invisibles was finished?

Check some of the early Invisibles issues that came out some time before. There's even a scene where the main character has to make a leap of faith off a skyscraper to prove to himself he's the chosen one. Yeah, the series went on after the first Matrix came out, but that doesn't change the fact that the Matrix seemingly ripped a LOT of ideas from the Invisibles wholesale.

[Tobias March]

Morrison wasn't too worried about the Matrix rip off after a while, seeing as he figured once the ideas were being popularized, what's the harm? But then they kinda dropped the ball.

There was another story floating around there of a woman who'd written a story proposal for a comic remarkably similar to the Matrix with characters named Morpheus & Trinity - I believe she's seeking damages and a means to publish her material.

Still beyond all that - The Invisibles is an excellent read. You're right it's not mentioned in the same company of Watchmen, mostly because it's seen as difficult and uncommercial. A real pity, because I always found it a very involving and rewarding read. My favourite issues were Fanny's initiation as a witch, the Marquis de Sade's adventures in the present day and hell, anything with Six :D

[The Mirrorball Man]

Morrison probably didn't mind that The Matrix was inspired by The Invisibles because he realized that it was just the hypersigil at work.

[The Xenos]

A friend once tried to get me to read Invisibles in high school. I just said, No. I told him, I don't do drugs... and that includes reading Invisibles. For some reason, I think LSD or crystal meth might be safer.

[shrike]

The first two volumes of the Invisibles were great stuff.

The third one, by the end, totally falls flat on its face. Morrison totally dropped the ball.

[Jeff Brady]

There was another story floating around there of a woman who'd written a story proposal for a comic remarkably similar to the Matrix with characters named Morpheus & Trinity - I believe she's seeking damages and a means to publish her material.

Her case was thrown out of court.

[Agent Helix]

Her case was thrown out of court.

Yeah, didn't that lady also claim to have created the Terminator as well?

[DuelaDent]

I cannot for life of me understand why this is not considered one of the great works of literature of the last 20 or 30 or 40 years. And, once Phil Jimenez took over the art chores, wow. Really, wow. Nothing agains the amazing stuff that Jill Thompson was kicking out in the earlier volumes, but sheesh.

Seriously, when people discuss great comics (or literature of any format, for that matter) why doesn't The Invisibles come up more often? I don't get it. Certainly, this right up there with anything others have put out.

Grant Morrison is one of those creators that people seem to either love or hate. He doesn't really have that universal cross-over appeal that a lot of creators possess. This could be a reason why many fans never picked up the series.

Personally, the only thing by Morrison that I read regularly was JLA and I liked it.

[Trench]

Given my avatar, you can guess my opinion on the series.

The Matrix controversy is old news, but seems to pop up every once in a while. Matix came out in 1999. The Invisibles came out in 1994. There's loads of evidence that certain issues, particularly Issue 12 of Volume two were passed around on the set of the movie as it was being filmed.

But that's all moot to me. And to Grant. He said he was writing a hypersigil to re-write the code of reality, and he got it.

Second Volume was the Hollywood version. Third was rather compressed storytelling. There's flaws int he series, for sure.

Still, up there with one of my favorite ever.

[The Xenos]

Yes. Because clearly she invented the whole idea of machines taking over and enslaving humanity. Of course, her and Morrison also invented all the metatextual Gnostic ideas that appear in all those works. C'mon. Nothing new. I don't think Matrix ripped off Invisibles as much as they were both ripping off the same older Gnostic ideas.

[MartinRedmond]

Maybe it's not a great work of literature because it borrows so much from real books? Volume 1 kicks ass, I don't care for the remaining volumes afterwards, it's a confusing mess full of plot holes.

[MartinRedmond]

The first two volumes of the Invisibles were great stuff.

The third one, by the end, totally falls flat on its face. Morrison totally dropped the ball.

I stopped caring when they attacked some military bases. Imo, he shouldn't write action sequences or make them more a little more realistic if...

[Crowley]

if you like Invisibles I highly recommend "The Filth"

[diana_fan]

if you like Invisibles I highly recommend "The Filth"

Thanks. That's up there on my list. I've read really good stuff about it.

[Jared_Humpherys]

Invisibles changed the way I looked at comic books, and storytelling in general.

Fantastic stuff.

[brundlefly]

Seriously, when people discuss great comics (or literature of any format, for that matter) why doesn't The Invisibles come up more often?


Huh. I thought it did. Generally seems to be held up as Morrison's own 'Watchmen' (i.e. his pinnacle, his most critically acclaimed work) and tends to get noted on people's 'my all-time favorite comics list.' Maybe its content and story structure makes it less accessible to some people. I loved it, as do most or my friends that read comics. Now, "mainstream" non-comics-fan audiences obviously don't know what The Invisibles is, but then they also don't know what Watchmen, Sandman, or Dark Knight Returns are, either.


I don't think Matrix ripped off Invisibles as much as they were both ripping off the same older Gnostic ideas.

Quoted for truth. And as much as I love his work, Morrison himself borrows too heavily from other writers (like Robert Anton Wilson) and their concepts to moan about people supposedly "ripping off" his ideas. I saw some comparitive elements between the two (Matrix/Invisibles) but they're not the same story or carbon copies of each other, by any stretch of the imagination. Plus, if you look hard enough, you can see borrowed/shared elements everywhere, in all forms of media. Going into everything you read/watch/listen to with a predisposition of "oh, this is just a ripoff of such-and-such" over a shared element that what you perceive to be the "original" didn't really "invent" in the first place just means you won't enjoy anything that you read/watch/listen to after a certain point in your life.


if you like Invisibles I highly recommend "The Filth"

My second favorite of his works after Invisibles (and followed by Doom Patrol to round out a top three). Did The Filth sell/go over well with comics audiences? It doesn't seem very well-known whenever I reference or recommend it.

[MartinRedmond]

Volume 1 kills Watchmen. Truth be told a shitload of comics have outdone Watchmen without trying.

[Tobias March]

Did The Filth sell/go over well with comics audiences? It doesn't seem very well-known whenever I reference or recommend it.

I remember alot of furious head scratching when the issues were coming out. I liked it. Especially the 'ocean liner as nation/macro organism', issue.