I have never read the Invisibles

[Purdie]

It's been a while since this thread was commented on but didn't feel the need to start a new one. 

Just a quick question on the coming omnibus, has it been confirmed that it is one big volume?  I really want to own this series in a nice collection but if it's going to be unreadable I'll buy up the singles and get them bound in separate volumes myself. 

[George]

I, too, have never read the invisibles...along with a lot of morrison stuff.

[RickV]

The Invisibles was better when it was called The Filth

[Tempo House]

A lot of the ideas Morrison toyed with in DP are later explored in the Invisibles. He even brought over a character. I'd recommend both series to Morrison fans.

And this is the weirdest thing ... as far as I am concerned: I absolutely love Morrison's Doom Patrol. I think it is his best work ever.  But I just can't get into the Invisibles.  I couldn't when it was coming out, and I tried again just two weeks ago, and it is not happening.  I get the similarity, but somehow ...

I don't want to go negative on a creator that so many people love, but Morrison is such a hit or miss for me.  I see him as someone who constantly walks along an imaginary line.  When he crosses that line and I find his work to be completely self-absorbed and incoherent, when he stays on this side, it is absolutely, unquestionably captivating and brilliant. I never know what I am going to get.

I think for me that line is somewhere between the Doom Patrol and the Invisibles. I suspect that line exists for a lot of people but it is at a different spot for everyone.

[Sean M.]

And lo, the mighty beast is spotted in the wild (courtesy of Philip Bond). Gonna need to clear some shelf space. 

[Scotchlander]

And lo, the mighty beast is spotted in the wild (courtesy of Philip Bond). Gonna need to clear some shelf space. 

Are the letters pages included?

[Tempo House]

So true. The greatest part about the whole thing is that he constantly stays true to what the Doom Patrol is all about. Yes it's an acid trip full of Dadaist zany imaginative ideas, but it's totally in tune with what Silver Age Doom Patrol was. It's really all about the healing process for Robotman and Crazy Jane, and the characterization is always on point.  

Completely agree and that's a very good point. Almost as if the fact that Doom Patrol came with a certain template and Morrison decided to stay within that template introduced a type of discipline into his run that I think his writing generally benefits from. (I think his X-Men run also nails that perfect balancing act of staying true to the template while experimenting within those boundaries).  IMO, that's when Morrison is at his best.

[Sean M.]

Are the letters pages included?

Probably not as they would add another 100 or so pages. They are, however, available here. They were freely available on the internet (Andrew Jackson from the now sadly defunct Barbelith inputted all but the last of them and I grabbed them off archive.org's wayback machine). I have re-formatted and edited them (mainly for the occasional spelling error). Enjoy.

[Hassan T]

The Invisibles was better when it was called The Filth

I am not sure if I could say which one is better, since it has been a long time since I read Invisibles, but the advantages that the Flith are having a more concise story (only 12 issues) and having the same artist work on the whole book.

[Scotchlander]

Probably not as they would add another 100 or so pages. They are, however, available here. They were freely available on the internet (Andrew Jackson from the now sadly defunct Barbelith inputted all but the last of them and I grabbed them off archive.org's wayback machine). I have re-formatted and edited them (mainly for the occasional spelling error). Enjoy.

Sir you go above and beyond, much appreciated.

[timber-munki]

Probably not as they would add another 100 or so pages. They are, however, available here. They were freely available on the internet (Andrew Jackson from the now sadly defunct Barbelith inputted all but the last of them and I grabbed them off archive.org's wayback machine). I have re-formatted and edited them (mainly for the occasional spelling error). Enjoy.

Karma, downloaded and it's going onto my long list of kindle reads.

[Jeppe]

Probably not as they would add another 100 or so pages. They are, however, available here. They were freely available on the internet (Andrew Jackson from the now sadly defunct Barbelith inputted all but the last of them and I grabbed them off archive.org's wayback machine). I have re-formatted and edited them (mainly for the occasional spelling error). Enjoy.

Great job, Sean, and very much appreciated 

[Wormworth]

Probably not as they would add another 100 or so pages. They are, however, available here. They were freely available on the internet (Andrew Jackson from the now sadly defunct Barbelith inputted all but the last of them and I grabbed them off archive.org's wayback machine). I have re-formatted and edited them (mainly for the occasional spelling error). Enjoy.

I have the issues, but I still lift my cap for your kindness to let other people enjoy the letter columns as well! They add a lot to the experience, nice personal journey bits from Morrison.

Anybody read "Anarchy for the Masses - The Disinformation Guide to the Invisibles"? Is it any good?

[Farrell]

The Invisibles was better when it was called The Filth

That phrasing is generally reserved for when one wants to point out that something new has already been done better by something very similar.  Since The Invisibles came out well before The Filth, this makes no sense.

[Koete]

Karma and thanks for the letters pages, Sean. All I need is a thumbs up on the binding and the Omnibus will be mine.

[Sean M.]

Thanks for the thanks. I can't take too much credit- Andrew Jackson had done all of the hard work. All it took was the time to put it into a single word doc, type in the final invisible ink from volume 3 #1, format and then spell check it. The letters pages were always one of my favourite parts of the Invisibles and although i have the single issues, there seemed to be no way to read them all together. Formatting in pdf means they can be read either on computer, printed out or the tablet of your choice. It's almost like i'm on vacation at the momnt.   Special thanks to Scotchlander, I'd never have thought of doing it without his question about whether letters would be included in the Omnibus.

Wormworth, yes i have the Anarchy for the Masses book. It contains the following; synopsis and reviews for each issue, annotations for each issue, micro interviews with all the creators and a 29 page interview with Grant. It reminds me of those Star Trek official episode guides. I wouldn't say it's perfect but it's well worth picking up if only for the interview. "Our Sentence is Up" by Patrick Meaney (same guy who did Talking With Gods) follows the same issue by issue template but is slightly more academic in tone (only slightly). It occasionally falls into the trap of just recounting the events in the comic. But again includes a massive Grant interview. To be honest, the best critical (and i mean literary criticism, I'm an Eng Lit major) reaction was the "Invisible Kingdom" chapter of Marc Singer's "Grant Morrison Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics". Although it focusses a little too heavily on authorial intent than i would prefer.

Koete, I'll let you know about the binding, mine should be with me next week.

p.s. i didn't change the subject header when i resurrected the thread. It is slightly ironic that it is now more about people who have read The Invisibles.

[Wormworth]

Wormworth, yes i have the Anarchy for the Masses book. It contains the following; synopsis and reviews for each issue, annotations for each issue, micro interviews with all the creators and a 29 page interview with Grant. It reminds me of those Star Trek official episode guides. I wouldn't say it's perfect but it's well worth picking up if only for the interview. "Our Sentence is Up" by Patrick Meaney (same guy who did Talking With Gods) follows the same issue by issue template but is slightly more academic in tone (only slightly). It occasionally falls into the trap of just recounting the events in the comic. But again includes a massive Grant interview. To be honest, the best critical (and i mean literary criticism, I'm an Eng Lit major) reaction was the "Invisible Kingdom" chapter of Marc Singer's "Grant Morrison Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics". Although it focusses a little too heavily on authorial intent than i would prefer.

Thanks for telling about those books! I had hoped that Morrison would have gone more in-depth into Invisibles on Supergods. I'm not usually into annotations, but in this case it would be handy. Anarchy for the Masses sounds like it takes many viewpoints into the story and also gives the artists a voice, in that sense it would be interesting. I'll have to look up the Marc Singer book, too!

[Dave Faust]

Thanks for telling about those books! I had hoped that Morrison would have gone more in-depth into Invisibles on Supergods. I'm not usually into annotations, but in this case it would be handy. Anarchy for the Masses sounds like it takes many viewpoints into the story and also gives the artists a voice, in that sense it would be interesting. I'll have to look up the Marc Singer book, too!

I second what Sean says about the guides. All three are very useful and interesting in different ways.

[Felt Martin]

And lo, the mighty beast is spotted in the wild (courtesy of Philip Bond). Gonna need to clear some shelf space. 

Even though I've got all the singles I'm just going to have to buy this. Have to.

[Scotchlander]

Even though I've got all the singles I'm just going to have to buy this. Have to.

This plus the new printing of the New X-men Omnibus are going to be a colossal amount of Morrison for me to get through.