From: [b--b--k] at [mack.rt66.com] (Bob Kelly)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.alternative
Subject: The Invisibles Semi-Exposed #1
Date: 14 Jun 1995 13:08:05 -0600
The Invisibles Semi-Exposed: #1
The Meanderings and Thoughts of
Grant Morrison's The Invisibles
Published by DC/Vertigo
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"This is the comic I've wanted to write all my life -- a comic
about everything: action, philosophy, paranoia, sex, magic,
biography, travel, drugs, religion, UFOs...."
-- Grant Morrison, Invisible Ink, the Invisibles #1
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This is not meant to be an annotated Invisibles, but a
thought- and discussion-provoking tool to help us think
about Grant Morrison's work. Rumors, theories and
meanderings are welcome.
I will try to add everyone's input once per every couple of weeks.
Speculation is welcome, as long as it is brief.
For those of you who want to see my less-prestigious work
(along with Bill Sherman and John Bullough) on the Doom
Patrol, try the following web location:
<URL:http://www.rpi.edu/~bulloj/Doom_Patrol/DoomPatrol.html>
Also, you can check out
<URL:http://www.digimark.net/wraith/Bibliographies/HTML/Morrison-Grant.html>
Sincerely, Bob Kelly
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Dead Beatle$
Issue #1, Sep 94
Artist: Steve Yeowell
Letters Column: Before I begin, I want to quote
from Grant himself:
"DESTROY THIS COMIC! That's my advice. When you're
finished reading THE INVISIBLES #1, tear it up, burn
it, feed it to your lizards, lock it in the trunk of
a stolen car and push it off a bridge. You'll feel
good, believe me. It's only a comic, after all."
So, the sheer nature of "annotating" the Invisibles
is against the grain of what Morrison wants us to
do. So be it. I choose my own path and I am not
ready to give up my Invisibles. I do NOT place
them in plastic baggies, nor oogle over their
resale value. I like to READ comics, not admire
them from afar.
--
Page 1, Panel 2
Some ancient Egyptian Mythos has the sun being a
large ball rolled across the sky by a beetle. First
appearance of King Mob.
We immediately begin with a theme in the
Invisibles: Polytheism.
Page 2, Panel 1
Gee, meet Dane McGowan. He's such a witty guy.
Morrison has a child throwing a rock, a molotov
cocktail or a grenade at the establishment. He's
done this in: Doom Patrol #52, Kill Your Boyfriend,
anything else?
Page 3, Panel 4
Someone needs to explain to the editors and comic
artists that Molotov Cocktails don't explode like
that. It's sort of a running theme in this book.
Burning books: this is a standard revolutionary
tactic used to "re-write the pages of history" for
2000 years plus. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it
doesn't. Compare this activity to "DESTROY THIS
COMIC" statement: we can become trapped by that
what we think is "real." For example, the
revisionist history of Christopher Columbus as a
"hero" for America -- a history that is now a hot
bed of dispute.
Page 4, Panel 1
Dane's t-shirt: Carlsberg. It's a beer, aint it?
Page 4, Panel 2
"Bizzies" -- Police?
Page 4, Panel 4
"We are the Boys! We are the Boys! We are the
Croxteth Po-SSE!"
Where is this from, folks?
First Appearance of King Mob's tag.
Page 5, Panel 4-5
"It's sort of like I've seen it before but I
haven't." Read the letters column in issue #11:
Could Dane be a Situationist International member
reborn?
Page 6, Panel 2
King Mob's first name is Gideon. He's also be
"unchanged" since 1924. Why doesn't he age? Why
does she?
Page 6, Panel 4
John-A-Dreams is mentioned for the first time. It
is later implied that he has converted over to the
enemy and is betraying the Invisibles.
Page 7, Panel 4-5
The Russian Anarchist theorist who denounced the
October Revolution? I haven't read Kropotkin, but
I think I'd like to now.
Page 8, Panel 5
"Only Nazis burn books." Except the religious
right, the PMRC, Gannett Syndicate, large
multinational corporations... even historians burn
books, metaphorically speaking.
Note that Dane's wearing the same shirt...
eeeewwww!
Page 9, Panel 3
Gee, Mom, can you put any more crud on you face?
Page 9, Panel 6
King Mob's really been following this guy.
Pages 10-12
Dane is watching John Lennon and Stu ?. The
foreshadowing Lennon's death is a little late.
Dane can see across time and watch (participate) in
events -- a precursor to how important he will
become later in the issue.
Page 13, Panel 2
First appearance of jack Front, Dane's alter-ego.
Page 13, Panel 3
"Erdische methode gut, starker besitscher."
"Seelisches land."
I'll be arsed if I'm going to look them up when
there's plenty of nice german-speaking people on
the internet that'll do it for me.
Page 14, Panel 1
"TDA" Is this the equivalent to juvenile home?
drunk driving?
Page 14-15
We see just how good of a car thief Dane is.
Page 17, Panel 3
Hey! You left your lights on!
Page 17, Panel 4
"I say we blow up the whole fucking school." To
quote the Comics Journal:
CJ: What's the best effect that the Invisibles
could have?
Grant: Just to inspire people to smash up their
school desks. [laughs]
Page 18-19
The evil influence of aggrandizing lsd to corrupt
the young and the innocent children of the world.
Fukin' A, folks, DO DRUGS! They're better than
television! Healthier for you too.
Grant says that these two pages were written on
acid. Yet another Dead Beatle, the Apple from the
record label... If someone wants a stab at these
pages, go right ahead.
Page 21, Panel 5
Dane isn't as stupid or crazy as he has been
pictured as.
Page 22, Panel 1
"Beyond the limits regarded as legitimate youthful
rebellion against authority." Those are
interesting words.
Page 23, Panel 2
Hmmmmm, like those glasses Ms. Dwyer. She belongs
to the enemy.
Page 23, Panel 4
Harmony House. Looks like Heritage School in
Provo, Utah or Bakkan (sp?) Control Training
Center. A lot of these schools have worse
treatment of the "students" than many prisons in
America.
Page 24, Panel 1
"Conformity" As ever, it's the age old nemesis
that Morrison like to pick on. Mr. Gelt is servant
of the evil ones.
Page 25, Panel 3
Hmmm, that looks like a fun card game. "I win!"
"No, you don't!" "Yes, I do!"
Page 26, Panel 1
ISXIS? Isis? Give me hints!
Page 26, Panel 2
Ragged Robin makes her appearance, and everyone in
the world assumes it's Crazy Jane. Yeah, that's
creative thought for you. K.M. and Robin discuss
the recruiting of Dane.
Page 28, Panel 2
Virtual Reality -- at least somebody has the right
idea about what it is all about.
Page 28, Panel 4
OK, Grant, We get the hint! Emotion is bad.
Strange celery-headed, vaginal-eyed creatures are
good. :)
Page 29
Yeah, it's atypical evil Morrison creature -- but I
*STILL* like it.
Page 32-33
OK, so they look like sex organ-ish, brain-ish
things. How do they scream? :)
"Smooth between the legs, smooth between the
ears..." No one but Morrison can make conformity
seem such a wonderful prospect.
Page 34, Panel 3
King Mob in full regalia! Note the way he hangs
his gun.
Page 37, Panel 2
the Secret Society Invisibles is first mentioned.
Page 38, Panel 4
Dane's luck is showing through - so much for Mr.
Gelt.
Letter Column
"I was also, to be brutally frank, shattered by the
response to DOOM PATROL which I loved as a parent
loves a gifted and misunderstood child, but which
was either relentlessly panned by critics or
completely ignored."
Well, I wrote MY first letter as a response to
issue #20, which god published in #25. I haven't
stopped since.
Grant outs himself as a "heterosexual (with possible
latent homosexual tendencies)" Personally, until I
notice that he's sharing a bed with me, I think the
speculation is something left for Tiger Beat magazine.
:)
--
-Bob Kelly-
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