What Grant Morrison tpb is worth picking up?

[lukewarmwater]

I've read his new xmen, we3, and some of the seven soldiers and was impressed and have heard enough about him that I want to pick up a book, but I don't know which one.

The majority of reviews of morrisons have been the book starts out great and dwindles. And when I look at the reviews on amazon.com most books of his are 31/2 stars.

What is the book or books he did thats so great? Why is most of his stuff getting bad reviews if he is such a great writer?

This isn't meant as an anti grant morrison, I seriously want to know. I'd like to read some of his work.

So what is worth checking out, which is his best trade?

Thanks, sorry for rambling

[Surt]

Well, for me the best Morrison is The Invisibles from Vertigo. This is all collected in 7-8 tpb's.

WE3 is also extremely good (best mini of the new millenium?) and is also out in tpb. This might be a good place to start, although it doesn't really give any idea of what to expect from his earlier works.

I'd also recommend Animal Man and especially the mighty Doom Patrol. The latter was one wild ride, I assure you!

[BlueOrange25]

Hi there.

I'm a big Grant Morrison fan, and I wouldn't pay too much attention to those negative reviews that you see on Amazon. If you just gave some of the stuff a little read, you'll get to make up your own opinion which is what really counts. A lot of people find that Morrison is one of the best writers in the business, and if you're already impressed with some of his work, it's worth checking out some of his previous stuff.

Some other Morrison titles I'd recommend (in addition to those recommended by Surt):

JLA: Earth 2
His JLA run
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Marvel Boy
The Filth

[Jared_Humpherys]

I'm surprised no on has mentioned "The Mystery Play" yet. That's one of my favorite self-contained stories from Morrison.

[DDM]

Grants Morrison's The Doom Patrol Volume 1-3 TPB, Animal Man TPB Volume 1, 2, JLA: Earth-2...

[AlterEgo]

i wouldn't immediately recommend Invisibles until they've gotten a lot more grant morrison under their belt. it's an acquired taste.

ps. loved jimenez's art on that run. gorgeous!

[SOGG]

I'd add 1234 and Sebastian O to that list. 1234's Jae Lee art shows us a very different fantastic four.

[king mob]

Arkham Asylum, The Filth, JLA and if you can find a copy, Zenith.

That should give you a start before heading for things like Doom Patrol, The Invisibles, X Men, etc.

[lukewarmwater]

hey thanks everybody I think Ill check out animal man or doom patrol.

and like I said in the post, in the very first sentence, I have read new x-men and we3. I liked both.

I dont think Ill check out batman arkham asylum though. I'm a bit of a batman snob and the only bats I like seem to be from batman years one and the animated series.

[Harry]

I only just finished Animal Man and loved it. Highly recommended. It gets a little self indulgent and preachy, but in a way I really like it. However, if that's something that's likely to bother you, you may want to skip it. I'm really fond of JLA Earth 2 as well, which is a little more traditionally super heroish - for Morrison anyway.

[sunsetdayglo]

Grant Morrison's work is something that for me was totally unenjoyable...at first. Now I count myself among many that think he's easily one of the top writers ever.
If you've read We3, just don't expect the same thing from his other work. From what I've read of his, it's probably the most tight and penetrable work he's done.
What you have to understand is his approach to writing. His actual story isn't what he cares about most. His IDEAS are of primary importance.
We3 was the best place you could have started. Try Marvel Boy next. Awesome story, also understandable.
After that your probably ready for The Invisibles.
But be warned...you won't understand Invisibles until you've read it all and probably not until you've read it twice (and maybe researched some of the philosophical stuff he talks about.)
That being said, IMO it's the best ongoing comic ever. It's a very wild head trip and might even make you see the world differently.
That's why he's such an acclaimed writer despite being very hard to understand.

[stealthwise]

I just ordered The Filth and I'm hoping that it's good.

Morrison is hit or miss for me.

[dancj]

I just ordered The Filth and I'm hoping that it's good.

Morrison is hit or miss for me.

Morrison can be hit and miss for me (Fantastic Four 1234 and Marvel Boy did nothing for me) but I really enjoyed The Filth. It is along similar lines to The Invisibles, but you can actually understand it (mostly) the first time you read it.

Dan

[Ryan K]

Personally, I'd recommend Doom Patrol.

[Stephane Garrelie]

Doom Patrol.
Batman: Arkham Asylum.

[Babylon23]

I have to agree with everybody that recommended Doom Patrol and Animal Man. They're gret series.

Invisibles is an incredible comic, but as King Mob said, it's an aquired taste.

I'm also a big fan of the original Kid Eternity miniseries.

[Adam Crocker]

I'd add 1234 and Sebastian O to that list. 1234's Jae Lee art shows us a very different fantastic four.

I'd reccommend against that myself. The book was okay, but it's easily one of Morrison's weaker works. It feels like a rather tenative testbed for some of the ideas Morrison expanded upon in the Invisibles, and the ending just struck me as weak. That said dive right into the Invisibles. The trades in order are:

vol. 1:
Say You Want a Revolution
Apocalipstick
Entropy in the UK

vol. 2:
Bloody Hell In America
Counting to None
Kissing Mr. Quimper

vol. 3: The Invisible Kingdom.

I found some parts of it hard to grasp, but not as impermeable as some people have made it out to be though reading up on some of the ideas covered in it might be a good idea, though I'm not sure where since I came to it with basic understanding of certain ideas related to Chaos magick, like sigils and servitors, and puzzled the rest together myself. The Invisibles isn't quite like Grant's superhero work though, which deals more with mythological archetypes and comments on fictional reality. The Invisibles tends to deal more with the nature of the identities we take up for ourselves, how we construct reality, and a magical view of the universe. It's worth looking around the old Barbelith the Bomb (http://www.barbelith.com/bomb/) site to find out about some of the ideas that went into the book if you're interested. That's what I did.

[SOGG]

I'd reccommend against that myself. The book was okay, but it's easily one of Morrison's weaker works. It feels like a rather tenative testbed for some of the ideas Morrison expanded upon in the Invisibles, and the ending just struck me as weak. That said dive right into the Invisibles. The trades in order are:
<snipped for space>

I was just thinking that it was a kind of fun book. Mechanical gardens, hints at orgone, a hedonistic James Bond, etc. Sure, he's done some more mind-blowing stuff, but this stuff was fun.

1234, though, I'm not sure what I see there. Maybe I just really like Jae Lee art. But I also really liked the look at the Fantastic Four inside their superstar status.

[Headhunter]

I'm a bit cautious around his mainstream/superhero works, but his Vertigo books are brilliant (The Invisibles)...or at least, inspired (The Filth). :)

An easy place to start is JLA: Earth 2. Short and to the point, you'll get a relatively light but still substantial dose of Grant Morrison.