the invisibles

From humble beginnings in the UK small press scene, to his work on one of the most iconic Batman and Joker stories of all time, and his instantly recognizable covers on a range of titles, legendary artist Brian Bolland has blazed a trail through the last forty years of comics history.

In magical practice, the term magnum opus has a different meaning than in popular context. Latin for "the Great Work," its been used since the early alchemists, and taken on various shades of metaphorical meaning through different traditions, but they're all essentially referring to the same thing: the total actualization of one's will, and the creation of the idealized self. Grant Morrison, the most inventive writer in comics, has been at it for a while now.

Welcome to The Issue, a new feature examining some of the strangest, most interesting and most distinctive single issue comic stories ever to grace the medium. You know the ones; silent issues, sideways issues, backwards issues; the comics that try to do something different with the form, and stand out from the series they belong to. As October is Villains Month here on ComicsAlliance, we're taking a look at an issue focusing on a character who is nominally one of the bad guys, though the story tries to unpack what that really means. The issue is The Invisibles #12, 'Best Man Fall', written by Grant Morrison and Steve Parkhouse.

True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto has claimed that Alan Moore Moore and Grant Morrison were the first writers to excite him about the possibilities of storytelling. With everyone looking to solve the many remaining mysteries of True Detective, it’s tempting to ask: are comic books the key? Pizzolatto’s spectacular Moore crib aside, I’d go with with a big no. Ain’t nothing going to settle the debate around Carcosa let alone Marty Hart’s hot dating skills, but comics do represent a largely unexplored and appropriately strange route into the show. So without further ado here’s our by no means exhaustive guide to True Detective and weird comic books. SPOILER WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for True Detective, Top 10, From Hell and some of The Invisibles.

Thirteen years after its completion, The Invisibles has finally been collected in one massive volume. Weighing in at nearly ten pounds, over 1500 pages, and costing $150 US Dollars, The Invisibles Omnibus is one of the purest and most unique experiences in comics...

We are not the mainstream. That's a truth understood by anyone who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered or in any other way queer. We are not the audience. We are not the market. We are not the people. It's also a truth understood by a lot of people with a passion for comics...

Known for its excellent programming devoted to eclecticism, introspection and general artsy fartsyness, public radio station KCRW welcomed none other than Grant Morrison to its Los Angeles studios to spin five favorite tracks and discuss in detail why they are so near and dear to his heart...

Back in June DC Comics took its first step toward a more digital future by releasing a signature digital comics sales app via comiXology on mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone. Today, as reported by DC's The Source, the publisher is taking its branding even further with a DC Comics online storefront powered by comiXology that further emphasizes DC's digital convergence at home and on the go...

Love him or hate him, you can always depend on Grant Morrison to deliver a story that works on multiple levels. This week's "Joe the Barbarian," featuring great art from Sean Murphy, manages to live up to that trend admirably. The titular Joe is a quiet kid with a recently-deceased father, Type 1 Diabetes, and a mom desperate to move out of their house...

So you hate your dad. It happens. Whether there's a break in ideology, he made you kill and eat your childhood dog, or you just have an Oedipal complex, you and Dad are not on good terms, and the sound of Father's Day approaching turns your spine to broken glass...