www.nextplanetover.com compilation... (Sep 16-1999)



JLAnthony - I loved "The Invisibles : Counting to None" !!! Any new books you can give us a 'heads-up' about?

New books ? Umm...the next Invisibles collection is out soon, I think, reprinting the rest of Volume 2. I'm still trying to convince Vertigo to collect the rest of Volume 1 - not to mention Sebastian 0, Kid Eternity, Flex Mentallo and all the other work that lies unexploited in their drawers. For prose books, you could check out 'Lovely Biscuits' if you can find it - it collects all of my previously published fiction and plays.

Guest_Remic - Sep 13, 1999 12:22 PM - 4 of 335

I think I recall reading once when you began writing JLA that you had hoped to bring Animal Man into the fold as some point. I believe he was one of your personal favorites as he is mine. Now that you are leaving JLA, do you have any plans to work with Buddy Baker again or is that all behind you?


Guest_Pasty - Sep 13, 1999 6:09 PM - 5 of 335

Now that your tenure is over with the JLA, where do you see the series headed.
I've heard that you plan to kill one of the members off. Is this basically an
attempt to start trimming the roster down for the next writer.


Guest_GoatLegEd - Sep 13, 1999 7:26 PM - 6 of 335

Other than 'Marvel Boy' for the Marvel Knights line, do you have any other plans for the future?




Guest_TomStrong - Sep 14, 1999 1:24 PM - 11 of 335

Rich's Ramblings... force for good or for evil?

Guest_summersmith - Sep 17, 1999 6:07 AM - 16 of 335

Grant, your writing is great and your spin on classic superheroing is unique.
I've enjoyed your run on jla very much. Can you give us a idea what the hardcover
jla story is going to involve?

summersmith - The JLA hardcover, EARTH 2, is a story of the evil Crime Syndicate
of America, who live on the Anti-Matter Earth. I don't want to say too much about
the story but I will say it has the sleaziest superbeings imaginable,
Commissioner Wayne and Boss Gordon, evil super-gorillas, Luthor and Brainiac,
colliding Earths, Superwoman seducing the transvestite Jimmy Olsen, Jeffrey
Dahmer as President and lots more. If you buy only one supoerhero book ever, this
is the one with everything. And Frank has outclassed even himself to produce the
most beautiful comic art I've ever seen.

Guest_Adamsfan - Sep 17, 1999 4:44 PM - 17 of 335

Grant - PLEASE do some more work with the character ZENITH. I have re-read all 5
phases a number of times and I crave MORE! Is there any chance that the series
will be reprint in America, possibly in color?? Zenith deserves more of an
audience.

Adamsfan - I won't be doing any more Zenith but I agree that someone should start
looking into reprinting that stuff for the American market. I'm always asked
about that series when I'm at conventions in the US.


Guest_Marquis - Sep 17, 1999 6:00 PM - 18 of 335


My question: My all-time favorite Batman story is Arkham Asylum. It would also
make a very dark, different film. Is there any chance you could write the
screenplay for the next Batman? Or are there any films in production you have
wrote?

Marquis - I don't think there WILL be another batfilm, not for a long time. Mark
Millar and I are working on a screenplay right now which has a superhero theme,
although it's a new and different way of looking at superheroes. I also have a
couple other movie ideas I'm working on but I've only just started to make
inroads into Hollywood, so time will tell if any of this gets off the ground.

Thanks!!!!


Guest_sawdust - Sep 18, 1999 7:09 PM - 19 of 335

hey grant! I've followed your work since animalman #1! you're the best,man...even
better than gardner fox...: ) but what i really wanna see is a 'sunshine
superman' mini-series... he's there in hypertime waiting to be seen again... and
since he thought he'd NEVER be seen again..only YOU can prove him wrong!
excelsior!

sawdust - okay. It's a deal. If Mark Waid and I get arounmd to doing
this'Hypercrisis' thing we've talked about for 2001, I promise you will see the
long-awaited return of Sunshine Superman. You will also find out what Hypertime
really is - alternate realities are only the beginning.


Guest_Neurotic Boy Outsider - Sep 19, 1999 9:23 AM - 20 of 335

1. Any immediate plans after "Marvel Boy?" 2. Any chance we'll ever see "Bizare
Boys?" 3. How about a Doom Patrol reunion? 4. Will "the Invisibles" ever make it
on film? 5. Any Invisibles merchandise coming out?

Thanks for your time. Best of luck on your novel. We'll be watching out for it.


Guest_Jessica - Sep 19, 1999 10:26 AM - 21 of 335

Grant -- I'm really interested in your ideas on continuity and reality in
fiction. I'm thinking of doing an independent study on it (I'm in graduate
school). So far, I'm reading Zenith, Animal Man and The Invisibles. Any
suggestions where else to look? Also, I can't find "Lovely Biscuits" here in the
U.S. -- will it be availiable soon? Thanks, Jessica P.S. I loved the interview in
"Writers on Comics Scriptwriting."


Guest_Kyle - Sep 20, 1999 9:17 AM - 22 of 335

Grant, you're good.

Are there any plans for the Invisibles to go on T.V.? I read once that the B.B.C.
had the rights to the series, is this true? And when will we see it? I could only
imagine the Invisibles on the B.B.C. would resemble Dr.Who, on crack with a
lobotomy. Sounds cool....

Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 21, 1999 4:03 AM - 26 of 335

Neurotic Boy Outsider - great name. Did your mom and dad really call you that ?
Tell your cousin he/she/it is a rare, gifted and beautiful person. And, based on
your reading list, so are you. 1. See above replies. 2. Bizarre Boys lives in
limbo now. Pete and I did half of the script (32 pages) then Jamie Hewlett
dropped out and we all lost intestest. The half that was done is hysterical and
very dark. I can't imagine it being published right now at the new Ned
Flanders-approved Vertigo but times change and who knows ? 3. I can't imagine
doing any more Doom Patrol ever. Tom Peyer, I believe, is doing something with
the 90's DP and he's the only person I'd trust not to ruin my beloved characters.
John Byrne has entertained numerous schemes over the years and will probably end
up doing something with Doom Patrol - like making it exactly the way it was in
his youth but with enough of a Byrne spin to make everyone hate it. 4. The
Invisibles TV show and movie plans have ground to a halt. Mainly because the
first volume of Invisibles has already been adapted as a movioe and released
under the name 'The Matrix'. 5. As far as I know there's some kind of playset or
something coming out next year after I stamped my foot about the lack of
merchandising and promotion for a book which stills more than all those other
books that come with dolls, games, cards, stickers, posters and baseball caps.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 21, 1999 4:11 AM - 27 of 335

Jessica - thanks for the interest. I suggest you pick up Doom Patrol and
particularly the Flex Mentallo minsiseries I did with Frank Quitely. This was my
first conscious attempt to create a comic spell - one designed to actually alter
conditions within 'reality'. As I go deeper into the possibilities of using
comics as hyper-sigils, I'm making new discoveries every day about how words and
pictures can be used to get at the basic programming language of the universe we
live in. Mad, perhaps but it's working and it makes me happy. I'd love to see
anything you come up with on the subject.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 21, 1999 4:17 AM - 28 of 335

kyle - the BBC had it and I'd written some scripts which told a revamped and
extended version of the story from the first four issues. After five years of
meetings and messing around, I was eventually told by a BBC high-up that 'no-one
understands telepathy' and that was reason enough not to make the show. It went
to Channel 4 and nothing happened there and now it's floating around with Chris
Carter and a bunch of other production companies in the US. I don't think it will
ever get made. People seem almost scared of The Invisibles and, as I said, the
Wachowski Brothers already stole the theme, the characters, the code names, the
leather, the bald heads, the torture scenes, the magic mirror, the insect-machine
bad guys, the evil agents with special powers and shades and just about
everything else that would have made The Invisibles look great on film.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 21, 1999 4:21 AM - 29 of 335

starr the clown - yeah, why not ? It can go with the picture I have of me and
Neil in deep discussion in a Paris comicshop in 1990. Having only just got the
computer to work in the last two months I have no idea how you would send me a
jpeg without me putting my e-mail up here for all to see but I'm sure there are
experts out there who'll explain how it's done.

Okay - all the ones I didn't answer I'll do on Friday. Sorry to the people who
didn't get a reply. You actually got three replies which were all lost as I got
to grips with the world of message boards. I'll get back to you.


DanSouder - Sep 21, 1999 9:48 AM - 30 of 335

Hi Grant. It was a pleasure meeting you in Chicago two months ago. Your comments
about the Matrix brought to mind something else I've been wondering: what about
the Men in Black? In Doom Patrol you had the Men in Black, the Men in Mauve, etc.
Did you see anything from the Smith-Jones movie, or was this another rip off? I
know the Men in Black was also a comic book put out by other people but I always
thought that concept first appeared in Doom Patrol.

Personally your works have done much to broaden my perspective on life. Thank
you. I can only hope you continue your Animal Man - Doom Patrol - Flex -
Invisibles assault on reality after the Invisibles ends.

Oh, one more thing: Marvel Boy???


Guest_Beast Boy - Sep 22, 1999 1:09 AM - 31 of 335

GrantGod, Is there a chance you`re going to write an ongoing super-hero title
soon?A new SHAZAM! monthly maybe?Something in the DC Universe anyway(sorry,I hate
MARVEL).


StatelyWayneManor - Sep 22, 1999 8:30 AM - 32 of 335

Mr. Writer, I have lots of questions:

I'm glad to hear that the remainder of Invisibles Vol. 2 will be collected soon.
Does that book have a title or tentative release date? I used to ask Stu Moore
regularly over on rac.vertigo if DC had plans to compile the rest of Invisibles
Vol. 1 into TPBs. Best Man Fall, SheMan, Phil Jiminez's first arc, etc. really
deserve to be in print. Do you agree with Steven Grant, per his Master of the
Obvious column, that TPBs are the future of the industry? I must admit it's a lot
easier to get collections for my friends than trying to turn them on to
serialized comics. I have a buddy in San Diego who I've been sending the JLA
compilations as they are released, but I don't think he'd have the patience to
wade through the stuff a month at a time. I'd love to introduce him to
Invisibles, which I think is clearly your best work, but having to jump over 17
mostly great and essential issues does you a disservice. Tracking down back
issues for him isn't realistic. I just completed my Invisibles collection myself,
after 2 years of trying to find Vol. 1 #13 (Kalamazoo is not exactly a back issue
mecca).

Also, Moore once wrote that DC was entertaining the idea of releasing your Animal
Man stories as two b&w TPBs, a la the Kirby Fourth World books. Might this
actually happen? I'd rather see them in color, as it would keep my current AM TPB
from being redundant. Oh well.

I've recently gone back and reread Invisibles Vol. 1, and I'm surprised to see
how different the book is in tone from what it became in Vols. 2 and 3. I'm not
talking about the ultra-violence, but the characters themselves and the sense of
overall plot. Even looking at something that seemed audacious at the time, like
Arcadia, it's obvious that the scope of the book is a lot bigger now. Issues 5-24
of the first series almost seem...simplified, I guess, especially in comparison
to what's been happening in the title since. Peeling the layers off the onion is
obviously a big part of the series, and I'm sure you had an overall idea of where
you were headed from the get-go, but did you think you'd end up here? I can't put
my finger on it, but it's as if your conception of the universe--not just the
frame of reference of the characters--matured in mid-stream. It's kind of like
comparing the first few issues of Sandman, with Mr. Miracle, etc. to what came
later, except of course that your stuff is unbearably pretentious in a much
cooler way, more pixies than kate bush, if you know what I mean.

The end of Vol. 3 seems to push further and further into the new year with each
passing Previews. What month is the book scheduled to end, as of now? Will some
of the remaining issues be extra-pages to accomodate a series that was originally
supposed to run more issues? I think it would be neat if the last four came out
bi-weekly to weekly, to mirror the acceleration of time/culture that you've
discussed. One great thing about getting the book completely into print is that
it would serve pretty well as a historical record of the 90's, ick, zeitgeist.
You've said that you wanted to capture the spirit of the times, and it will be
interesting to see how the book stands up in retrospect, when the culture has
moved on. The popular fascination with pomo conspiracy tales is already starting
to feel as stale as an old X-Files rerun. Matrix may have been popular, but it
felt like a copy of a copy. Your work in this area rises to the top, with its
whole kitchen sink approach, and singular sense of humanity lurking under all the
crotch shooting and baby flaying, but what's it all going to look like in 10
years?

While I have your ear, what do you think of the work Chirs Ware is doing in ACME
Novelty Library? He's my other favorite comics creator. The latest issue was
stupendous. Do you have any upcoming plans for non-superhero stories?


Guest_MSR77 - Sep 22, 1999 11:40 AM - 33 of 335

Hey Grant! I just wanted to say great job on JLA. I really thought you did an
excellent job and I'm glad to see you added such characters like Huntress and
Steel to the team since I think they are great characters. You'll be missed on
JLA, but I'd like to wish you luck on all your future projects and I'll be
looking forward to the "World War III" story in JLA. Also, while I have a chance
with you, do you have any future plans for Aztek and Zauriel? Thanks in advance!


Guest_Picosecond - Sep 22, 1999 3:23 PM - 34 of 335

I'm a huge huge fan of his JLA and his Invisibles work, and I'm just wondering if
anyone can tell me what the schedule for Invisibles is in these last six issues.
Also, Grant said in an interview that events in JLA and Invisibles parallel each
other; can anyone give me an example? I don't quite see it.


Guest_wishlish - Sep 22, 1999 3:56 PM - 35 of 335

Grant, I just had to relate a true story to you about the Invisibles. About a
year ago, I decided to grab all of my Invisibles issues, start at issue one, vol
1, and read straight on through till I was caught up to whatever the current
issue was (I believe it might have been the New Orleans love issue, which is a
fantabulous issue, Grant). Anyway, I ordered some Chinese food, and as a hoot, I
got some fortune cookies. As I ate and read, I noticed the darnedest thing: all
the fortunes were true. I mean REALLY true, as in some sort of cosmic force
rearranged the ink on the paper, forcing cosmic truth into my brain. I can't
remember what the fortunes were now to save my life, but ever since that day, I
got a cool car, my own apartment, a wonderful job with incredible bosses, and a
shiny luster on my pelt. All of this is true.

Thanks for writing some of the greatest comics of the 20th century, Grant. By the
way, did you ever see an obscure comic by Sirius called ArmageddonQuest? It's
absolutely incredible, for all comics fans. It's the autobiography of the
Antichrist, and it's so charming it's beyond words. Like a friendly Jack Chick
tract. Seriously. All Invisibles fans will enjoy.


Guest_Fin de siecle - Sep 23, 1999 2:07 AM - 36 of 335

Grant - do you ever hang out at the Invisibles Message Board, THE NEXUS (I think
they are thinking of changing the name)? It's part of The Bomb, the website that
took over from the original barbelith. I think the address is
www.barbelith.com/bomb/


wallyoeste - Sep 23, 1999 7:32 AM - 37 of 335

Hello Mr Morrison, I hope that you read my previous message (12 and 13). I'm from
Chile, if you don't understand me, sorry. ¿Why you always left your titles when
you are doing your best work? I can't understand, I could been reading your JLA
always, but you left it, Animal Man was amaizing, but you left it (I read Doom
Patrol too, Sebastian O don't arrive here, Kid Eternity is extinted, and about
the just arrive the first volume numbers 1 and 2, and nothing else). Well, I see
Matrix, Th


Guest_Wonder Dog - Sep 23, 1999 11:33 AM - 38 of 335

HEy Grant, Thank tou for bringing back my favorite title THE JLA! Although I'm
not a fan of Big Barda, Steel or Huntress,you have made them tolerable. I hope
you dont completely give up on mainstream heroes.I would Love to see you on
Captain MArvel for DC. Thanks again!


Guest_FanX15 - Sep 23, 1999 2:15 PM - 39 of 335

Grant- I can't begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed your work. You are a
writer following in the finest tradition of Will Eisner- giving comics there
brains, givingg those of us who read real books comics that don't insult our
intelligence. I would have gotten out of this retarded industry years ago if not
for you a few of your peers and the small-press. "Kill your Boyfriend" was the
first comic that I could sit down and read with my girlfriend. Thanks. It really
pisses me off to think about the shabby treatment you're getting at the hand of
DC? Hell, none of there books were in the top 10 until you showed them how there
line should be written. Why is it that DC always pisses off the talent and then
goes to fourth-rate hacks like Big Jonny Byrne and Chuck Dixon? When is the last
time these guys have done a book anyone has cared about?


Guest_zephir - Sep 23, 1999 5:39 PM - 40 of 335

Grant, I totally hear what you're saying vis-a-vis Flex as a Hypersigil. Every
time I read that, feel that flow over me, and sneak in somewhere into the doggie
door of my unconcious, sub concious, something concious mind; well, I'm happy.
I'm prepared for extreme reality.

People are always complaining about knowing the secret of life, knowing that
thing that can't be put into words, but then forgetting it, at least not being
able to explain it at all. But you've woken up, you remember, and man. You
finally did it, old sport. You put it into words.

I've noticed that your stuff (excluding the ever elusive 'Sheman' Arc) has always
been relatively low priced and easy-ish to find. Now, you're clearly the best in
the business right now, so I think that's the problem. You're too good, you've
overcome the basic problem of Punk. You are whacked out just enough to merit
acceptance, but they still don't give you the gaurantee in books we have for
Transmet and Preacher, and that's just stupid of them. You're too underground,
man. No one wants to understand telepathy. But what would they have you do, water
down your ideas into tripe like the Matrix, which, yeah, was fun to watch, but in
the end, I had that same, "is that all?" feeling I had during the X-Files full
disclosure.

All I'm saying is: keep it up, G-man.


Guest_Thrawn - Sep 23, 1999 7:04 PM - 41 of 335

Fan-X - Actually, Chuck Dixon currently write Nightwing, which is my favorite
book right now (and has been since it started). JLA is my second favorite by the
way. That is nothing again Grant, he is a good writer, but he is not a writed
that puts Dixon to shame and he did not "save" DC. He may have saved the JLA, but
not DC.

Also, before you start calling people Hacks, maybe we should see some of your
work? I hate it when people say things like that, "your art sucks Jim Lee", "the
cowboys can't play football"... well, I'd like to see what you can do.

Anyway, looking forward to reading the last of your JLA run Mr. Morrison. I heard
a rumor you were going to give Oracle her legs back. That isn't true is it? That
would ruin the character in my opinion, and she has also already had a chance at
that and turned it down.


SpaceCake - Sep 24, 1999 2:11 AM - 42 of 335

Grant, first and foremost thanks for restoring a certain amount of dignity back
to the JLA! For God's sake, if you really want to kill someone on your way out,
why not kill Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and Guy Gardner? Hmmm? I know you're
tempted!

I've read all of your JLA since issue 1, I've been reading Invisibles for about
two years, I got the Oni St. Swithin's Day and loved Kill Your Boyfriend. Anyway,
I was wondering if you could tell all of us huge Grant fans what you'll be up to
once you leave us all heartbroken when you leave JLA? Thanks!


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 3:18 AM - 43 of 335

King Casaba - Thanks. Look out for Batman trashing Prometheus in #38. The Caped
crusader pulls a nasty trick.

rictor - hi. I won't be involved in any JLA/Avengers crossover. Last I heard,
Martk WAid and Kurt Busiek were trying to work out something that would allow
them to do the first DC/MArvel crossover in the regular books. I don't know how
far along those plans are but I supsect it will be your children's children who
finally get to see a JLA?Avengers team.

Remic - Yeah, Animal MAn is back in JLA #39 and is instrumental in figuring out
how to defeat Mageddon. Putting dialogue in Buddy';s mouth was like kissing my
first girlfriend again.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 3:25 AM - 44 of 335

Pasty - Mark Waid wanted my monster team trimmed down to a manangeable core seven
plus Plastic Man so I've tried to oblige. As to where the series is headed, I
know as much as you do. It's good to just sit back and be a JLA reader again.

GoatLegEd - which is your goat leg ? After Marvel Boy I'm vanishing into the
undergrowth for a little while. As I've probably said too oftebn for it to be
interetsing any more, I'm taking six months/a year out from comics to refresh my
head, get some new ideas together and dpo some non-comics work I've been waiting
to do for the last few years.

ComixDude - GL has problems of his own, I'm afraid, including no power ring and a
mild case of death in space. Batman takes on Prometheus. As far as Marvel goes,
I'm very interested in doing a Fantastic Four story but nothing's been agreed
yet. A couple of years ago, I'd have wanted to do the perfect recreation of a
STan and Jack feeling but now I'm really excited about doing an FF story that's
NOTHING like anything we've ever seen.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 3:32 AM - 45 of 335

Seeth Ransom - I'm tempted but this is JLA and I can't really wipe out all the
main characters they way I've been able to do with characters I've created in the
past...see reply below.

Inhuman Nature - a little. I'll miss the characters but I've met so many of their
real life counterparts that it doesn't seem so bad. I'm happy I got to the end of
Invisibles and now I intend to take it off the page and into the world.

NdGame - I only took Crazy Jane out of Doom Patrol!!! It wasn't my fault. Rachel
wanted to do her own characters I'm sure just as I had to create my own
characters to replace all the original Doom Patrol members Paul Kupperberg killed
before I took on the book. Waid has nothing to fear.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 3:42 AM - 46 of 335

TomStrong - good to see you made it back from prehistory, Mr. Strong. We were all
very worried about you back there in the 'toxic mists'. I was never really aware
of 'Rich's Ramblings' until some of his spurious ravings led to loss of work for
me. As someone working inside the industry, I don't need to check the internet
for half-heard rumors or misinterpreted facts; I KNOW what's going on. I really
have no idea why someone I don't know would repeatedly try to undermine my career
so as far as I'm concerned poor Rich is strictly dark side of the Force.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 3:47 AM - 47 of 335

wallyoeste - Hello Chile! I haven't read 'Niebla' but it sounds interesting,
Animal Man was influenced by a couple of old FLash stories where the Flash met
his editor Julie Schwartz. I took that classic comicbook notion and spliced it
with the the current ('80s) fad for 'magic realist' or 'potmodern' writing in
which the author becomes part of the text. As for your other question, I always
leave when I'm doing my best work because I don't want to be like those guys who
don't leave and end up running titles and enthusiasm into the ground over ten
year periods. I like to do three/four year runs and leave when I'm getting tired
but still like what I'm doing.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 3:54 AM - 48 of 335

DanSouder - hi Dan, nice to hear from you again. I can't really claim any credit
for the Men In Black - the concept's been aroudn since the 50s in ufological
circles. My twist on it was to introduce even weirded guvmint agents like the Men
in Green and the Men in Mauve etc. The Men in Black script was written by Ed
Solomon who is a smart cookie and someone I have a lot of time for - he also did
the Bill and Ted movies so I wouldn't want to steal his thunder. And Marvel Boy
IS the next phase in my assault on reality.

BeastBoy - sorry, nothing in the works for a while after Marvel Boy but ven if
you hate Marve, check it out. I've never been a huge Marvel fan myself but I've
found a whole new angle to look at the Marvel Universe from and I'm really
getting into it. Mark Waid and I have plans for Captain Marvel - see
'Hypercricis'...


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 4:13 AM - 49 of 335

StatelyWayneManor - this is a good one. Firstly, I certainly agree that getting
trade paperbacks into the stores and onto people's bookshelves is an essential
component in the secure future of comics. I also think that mainstream comics
should be back on the newstands and in the 7-11s and drugstores again to pull in
the general public again - the people who once bought comics in their millions.
The problem isn't quality, the problem isn't 'the market', the problem, I think,
lies in poor marketing. Give me a PR budget and I could turn comics into the
coolest 'must have' items on the planet within a month or two. I don't know the
release date for the next Invisibles trade and yes, I wish they'd just stop
messing me about and put out the rest of Volume 1. Same goes for Animal Man and
Doom Patrol and a whole bunch of other stuff. Your reading of Invisibles is very
perceptive. I knew what the end was going to be in broad strokes but when I set
out to explore the nature of reality and perform the longest sustained piece of
magic I've ever atempted I had no idea where it would lead my thinking. The
simplistic dualisms of the surface story in Invisibles began to fall apart as I
subjected them to the relentless questioning of the series. I think the last one
will come out in March 2000 - the last few issues have been intricate and tricky
and part of me doesn't want to let go, so we're running a little late. I have no
idea if Invisibles will stand or fall. It was 'about' the 90s and it's work is
now done anyway - look around you at the world we're living in now compared to
the world of 1994 when I started and you'll see what the Invisibles was designed
to do. I love Chris Ware's work and consider him a formal genius but like many of
the Fantagraphics creators I sometimes feel like slapping him upside the head and
telling him to stop moaning about everything. Sorry, but I live in one of the
poorest cities in Europe and when I see privileged Americans whining about how
awful everything is in their sunlit world, I have to gag into my porridge. Kill
yourself or get over it, buddy.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 4:19 AM - 50 of 335

MSR77 - Thanks. Um...I don't know how to break the news about Zauriel and
Aztek...

Picosecond - don't know about schedules. I'm just wrapping Invisibles 1 this
weekend. As for links betwenn the two books - for starters: the Hand of Glory/the
Philospher's Stone. Mason Lang/Batman. King Mob/Prometheus. Higher dimensional
entities. Hypertime. There's a lot of crossover.

wishlish - yes, it all works. That's what I'm trying to tell people - you can
change the world completely by changing your own programming language and staying
aware of the mesh of synchronicities which surround us. Haven't seen Sirius but
I'll check it out, thanks.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 4:31 AM - 51 of 335

Fin-de-siecle - I once knew a tranny called Fanny De Siecle...or did I just make
that up. Yeah, I checked out The Nexus after reading your posting. I'd only ever
seen the issue reviews before but I read some of the message board stuff and it
was like coming home. The Invisibles are alive and well and posting their
researches on The Nexus. I intend to join in shortly.

WonderDog - I'll never give up on mainstream heroes and they'll never give up on
us. As for Captain Marvel, see above reply.

Fan X15 - what happens with mainstream companies seesm to be this - if you're at
all passionate and vocal about what you do and if you rise up the tree to find
yourself doing a big-selling mainstream book, you will suddenly find yourself
clashing with editorial and management on al kinds of small stupid details - DC
wants to protect its interests and tends to come from a conservative position (DC
editors are on a salary and don't have to worry about where their next xheck is
coming from). Freelancers, on the other hand, feel that they know best because
they're on the cutting edge - they have to know what's cool and what will sell or
else they don't get paid. It's that simple. As a writer, I think I know best when
it comes to making old characters work for a new audience. As the management, DC
thinks it knows best and doesn't want people like me to push the envelope too
much.Because of this, people like me eventually get frustrated and angry becausde
things aren't being pushed forward enough and DC gets panicky because they think
I'm pushing too hard and trying to make too many rapid changes. That's why they
tend to lose people like me, Alan Moore, Frank MillaR, Alex Ross etc as regular
contributors. It's okay - new young talent arises and is happy to do what
management wants until they too reach the top of the tree and hit the ceiling.
It's pop and that's how it works, as far as I can see.

Fan


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 4:58 AM - 52 of 335

zephir - after spending a night in The Nexus I feel like I've known you all my
life. Thanks for all the brilliant insights on the work. After six years, I kinda
feel that all I've managed to put into words is the fact that words can't hold
what I'm trying to say. The Invisibles has been one long finger pointing at the
moon and I'm so glad so many of you have looked past the finger and glimpsed the
moon. The fact that The Matrix is a mainstream movie has forced people to
consider Gnostic ideas which haven't been current for two thousand years.
Everything is becoming real, as I'm sure you've begun to notice. We are in the
process of squeezing time and space until they sing and I'll keep it up as long
as you do.

Thrawn - I'm fond of the Nightwing booktoo and I envy Chuck His ability to unroll
beautifully choreographed action comics like silk toilet paper but I guess people
have their opinions and there's npo point getting riled. People are entitled to
criticise things they don't like, wouldn't you say ? The truth is, everyone who
writes regular mainstream comic books is a hack. Writers who often work thirteen
hour seven day weeks are hacks by any definition; I'm a hack, Chuck is a hack,
Alan Moore is a hack. Some hacks are more clever or more well-read than others
but it doesn't take away the fact that we are working in a disposable pulp
medium. I don't have any problem with that. I use writing as a form of divination
and spellcasting so I have my own context for what I do. I have to admit I
personally prefer Ellis, Moore, Talbot, etc to Chuck Dixon or John Byrne but I
suspect that's because the writers I like tend to share influences and a
worldview that allows me to extract more depth and enjoyment from their stuff
than I do from the more action or nostlagia-oriented stuff. I always hated the
cheapshot that crippled Barbara Gordon in 'Killing Joke' and I don't believe for
a second that given the chance, an ex-superhero would want to remain in a
wheelchair. I did write a sequence in JLA where Oracle gets hold of a Mother Box
and it grows into a kind of Borg-cyber suit which would have allowed her to run
around and fight for the duration of the World War III arc. That idea was shot
dead on the table and there seems to be so much confusion about what Barbara
Gordon is and what she represents that I'm happy just to keep away from that
character in future.

SpaceCake - thanks for the kind words. As I've said I'll be out of the picture
for a little while - until 2001 at least. Marvel Boy will fill the gap until the
new comics, movies and books come out.


Guest_macavity - Sep 24, 1999 6:43 AM - 53 of 335

grant, i can't wait to see the rest of 'the invisibles' collected in tpb and
finally get my boyfriend to finish reading the series, but i guess i'll have to
>sigh< and i always wanted to see the rest of 'doom patrol' collected but i know
that'll never happen. as for other stuff, i think it would be brilliant to see
'flex mentallo' (which i still haven't read, dammit), 'sebastian o' and the other
mini-series collected. in fact, being mini-series, they could be collected in one
book, really, couldn't they?

people i've been talking to have been speculating on why 'the invisibles' isn't
coming out on a regular-like schedule this year. so, is it because you've not
finished writing it (which i doubt because you say you're writing issue 1 this
weekend), because the artwork isn't ready, or because dc cocked up the
distribution? i've been informed that issue #6 is out next week or the one after
(nice and vague) but when can we expect the last 5 issues?

is there any truth in the rumour that you're going to do another 'sebastian o'
story? and can someone please reprint 'zenith' because i've got a very scant
collection and would like to read the whole lot!

cheers mac

ps you don't know me, but last weekend i received a signed copy of 'invisibles'
#5 courtesy of a fellow fan who chatted with you at san diego.....kind of
strange, i've never met him face to face, yet he got you to sign a comic for me
(with my real name and everything!) and i've never met you face to face
either...the wonders of technology, eh?


Guest_GrantMorrison - Sep 24, 1999 8:21 AM - 54 of 335

macavity - I remember that comic but I don't remember your real name. T.S
Elliot's as good as anything I suppose. The Invisibles being late is down to me,
really. My long-suffering editor Shelly Roeberg, (who has single-handedly kept
this book afloat for the last four years and is deserving of a bouquet of
bouquets from all Invibles fans), is doing her job as best she can but I slowed
right down to a crawl on the last volume and have only picked up speed on the
last few issues. I reckon the last arc will be done fairly quickly now - it's an
artists jam and since everyone only has a few pages to do, they'll get the books
finished much quicker. The schedule's creaky right now but it should accelerate
again after 'Karmageddon'. I had some ideas for a new Sebastian O but there are
so many steampunky Victorian things out there now it seems a little redundant.
And I don't know if I can ever do another story where what we call 'reality' is
actually a simulation inside some higher system.


jamieoni - Sep 24, 1999 9:20 AM - 55 of 335

re: BIZARRE BOYS

Grant, Vertigo may have gone "Ned Flanders," but don't forget you have friends
elsewhere. I can shamelessly say that there are some small, upstart publishers
who would love to talk to you about stuff like that (and boy, this is
shameless!).

jamie s. rich oni1@onipress.com


Guest_Mad_Messiah - Sep 24, 1999 9:42 AM - 56 of 335

grant, I just want to say that I've been following your stuff ever since I read
50+ issues of Doom Patrol in one sitting (could not put it down!!!)

Errrrggh...I have so much I've wanted to say, I had it built up in my mind (filed
under "things I will say to GRant Morrison if I ever have a chance to speak with
him"), and some imp has apparently snuck into the bureau and burnt the damn
files! Which is good, I guess, because I feel it's better to speak from the heart
about the genuine influence your comics had on me.

Doom Patrol changed everything comics for me, along with a few other
titles/mini-series (Miracleman, Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and
Dreadstar). I didn't even have the language to speak about Doom Patrol at the
time, I wasn't in the proper headspace - I had to wait until the Invisibles for
that.

Which brings me to the first question/comment. The first story arc, which is
obviously initiation rites, seems something like an apprentices' grimoire (I'm
being more metaphorical than literal here) ... it acted as such for me - I was so
impressed and well, confused about everything that was going on initially that I
was compelled to research - I consumed massive quantities of text from various
sources about Chaos Magic and more "traditional" magic schools (although since so
many of them seem designed for people of certain ethnicities/backgrounds, I never
felt truly comfortable working with them), and generally moving away from my
American notions of "me-space" and looking more at the world around me, not just
the surface, but the cracks and holes, in the sideways places, and suprisingly
enough, I found more me out there than I found "within"...Thank you, so much.

It's quite amusing to me to realize that even in a culture where subversion has
been cleaned up and soled as "lifestyle entertainment", dangerous books like the
Invisibles can still be released relatively unscathed.

Thanks again for reading my ramble and again, thank you very much for everything
you've written.


Guest_Lunar - Sep 24, 1999 10:13 AM - 57 of 335

I can't even put into words exactly what Flex Mentallo means to mean ... it's
something deep and personal, yet grandiose and exciting, everything I love and
everything I hate all in one.

I have to read it every now and again and i'm unsure why.

Needless to say every single time that ending absolutely haunts me. When reading
part one I think of it and start crying.

There's always something new to be noticed on every read.

I love that book.

Thanks for all your (and Frank Quitely's) hard work on the title. I heard it was
somewhat of a labour of love and it shows.

Along with J.M. DeMatteis you are one of the people that has changed the way I
look at life, for which I can never thank you enough.

Love, hugs and Chinese Rugs...


Guest_Sara - Sep 24, 1999 11:04 AM - 58 of 335

Now, "Mad Messiah," is it really subversion or is it something else, passing as
subversion? I mean, definitionally, can something (or someone) who says overtly
"This is / I am subverting," actually do so? If you're blatant about it, are you
really subversive?

Maybe that was your point.

Either way, it's one of my favorite conundrums.

And, shifting gears a bit: Grant, I love Edith. It's just so nifty to have a
grand old lady like her in a comic. In high school, I spent a lot of time at the
local senior center (don't ask) and got to know some teriffic old gals -- most of
whom had gotten into, and out of, more trouble than anybody I'd ever met before.
Made an impression on my young and, ahem, impressionable mind.

It's great to see a character who reminds me of my "aunties," especially because
we've really gotten to see her develop more than any of the other characters in
the book -- from young, sexy, smart and superficial, to the wise, sarcastic,
domineering old woman closing out the century.

It's almost enough to give me some hope for Helga.


Guest_Chris+ - Sep 24, 1999 11:11 AM - 59 of 335

Grant Grant Grant...

wonderful to see you online after the false laptopsmashing thing...

I think everyone already said and asked what I was burning to know.

So you liked the Bill & Ted films, and you (sorry, not you but King Mob, but
you're... er) so you reccomended The Magic Christian too and I watched that last
weekend and loved it too, so for lack of meaningful questions, what are other
cinematic suggestions?

Oh, and FYI - I'm not sure if the whole "Kansas bans evolution" uproar has hit
the UK... but for what it's worth, last spring I wrote a term paper on Lord Fanny
for an American Studies class that got an A+ and might get published in an
undergrad journal, and one of my English professors is waiting for that damnable
Flex Mentallo collection to come out so that it can be part of his contemporary
literature reading list. So as if you weren't aware, you're part of the
resistance, even in the Heartland of America.

Chris+


Guest_Mad_Messiah - Sep 24, 1999 11:38 AM - 60 of 335

I guess this one's for Sara (can't reply via e-mail, so here's a good a place as
any):

Yes, I meant to imply that the licensed "subversion" (I think I should have used
quotes last time) that seems to be popular right now is not subversion in any way
or shape -it's annoying to see GAP commercials were they tell you to be an
individual just like the people on TV wearing GAP jeans -as Grant himself
actually notes through a character in the Invisibles (I may be incorrect, but I'm
pretty confident it was),American teenagers look like billboards.

I guss I find Grant's work to be subversive because even though it is out in the
open, it has meaningful symbolism and content buried beneath, for those who
(again quoting Morrison, from this msg board) "see the moon". He could sell a
trillion comics and I'd still think it was subversive material. How poorly or
well you do commercially is not, and never was, I believe, a proper method with
which to analyze the content and meaning of art.

Erm, long answer to a very short question? Probably. I'm going to go put my head
between my legs, starting breathing again, have a beer and calm down. Sorry for
my off-tangent clutter here.

Flames and arson-notes to: super_otaku@hotmail.com


MisterJLA - Sep 24, 1999 4:20 PM - 61 of 335

Testing.


MisterJLA - Sep 24, 1999 4:35 PM - 62 of 335

Hello Grant!

First off, let me say this is quite an honor to chat with you. I've never able to
attend the conventions that you have been at, so I've got some questions and
comments for you that may be a little outdated.

Having said that, I noticed your answer to MSR77's question concerning Zauriel,
and all I can say is- I hope you're kidding!!! Zauriel has become one of my
favorite characters, and as a matter of fact,I was actually hoping that DC would
eventually give him his own book. You always handled the Z-man brilliantly(not to
mention Mark Millar's "Paradise Lost") and with the attention he has recieved in
"Judgment Day", I was under the impression that his status among fans was at a
all-time high. Again, I truly hope that you are misleading us!!! As a side note,
I'm part of a little on-line fan club over on the DC Message Boards called
S.W.O.R.D.Z.- S pecial W orld O rganization of R eaders D evoted to Z auriel, and
we have a thread over on the JLA Board. It goes to show how popular this
character is! On another side note, there is a thread over on the same JLA Board
which is a collection of mesage by many different fans, in which they posted some
very nice farewell message for you, Howard, and John- please check them out, most
of them are very good! (It's called something along the lines of "important all
JLA fans please respond" started by fuunyboy) And just to drive this Zauriel
point home, if you ever surf over to the DC Boards, check out my sig! I guess
that's all for now. In case you haven't noticed, I loved all of your work on
JLA!!!!! Take care- MisterJLA


Guest_Timmy Timmy Bang Bang - Sep 24, 1999 5:47 PM - 63 of 335

wow.. I really enjoy Justice league....It's a heck of alot of fun... I never read
the invisibles..but I might just want to give it a try.. My question is about
your afformentioned plays...I was wondering how one makes a jump from the stage
to comic books, Have you ever acted? directed? And do you ever want to get back
to playwriting


Guest_Silent Nick - Sep 24, 1999 5:59 PM - 64 of 335

Hi Grant, I'd like to say thanks for getting me back into comics. It's was JLA
#10 that got me collecting comics again. Now I collect 6 or seven books. Also, I
have a project that I think would be up your alley. It's a story that I wrote up
called Brave New World.It's like a DC version of Mutant X or as I like to call it
the DC Universe on crack. For example, Batman is a complete idoit for using the
venom the Bane uses, and Superman is in a group of hitmen with Deathstroke and
Hitman. If you're interested, or have ideas to help me. E-mail me.

Also, I run a group called BOB aka Brotherhood of the Bow. If you'd like more
info, here's the link:

http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum39/HTML/000461.html
br> Well, let me say good luck after JLA, it'll be weird reading it without you on
board.


Guest_Nick the Red - Sep 24, 1999 6:51 PM - 65 of 335

Hi from Australia Grant!

I'm new here and I just have a quick question which you might be able to answer,
being an insider and all.

OK you write Batman and you write him in Super heroic contexts and within and
interacting with the rest of th DCU. Can you explain what's going on with Alan
Scott? From all available sources Alan lives in Gotham but he NEVER seems to
interact with Bats. Do you know of any editorial views on their relationship? I
realise it would kinda ruin some of the tension if Super heroes were dropping in
to help Bats out but I'm getting sick of the claustrophobic attitude the Bat
books seem to be taking in relation to the rest of the DCU and super heroes in
general. Maybe a happy medium could be found or, and I like this one better, we
could have a mini series exploring all super heroics in Gotham and Bats reaction
to it.

Thanks Grant for some brilliant work on JLA and good luck for the future!


Guest_GOOZ - Sep 24, 1999 8:06 PM - 66 of 335

hEY GRANT,

I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT RUN YOU HAVE HAD ON "JLA", IT HAS BEEN
THE BEST WRITING IN JLA IN A LONG TIME. AND AFTER YOUR BREAK FROM COMICS IN 2000
I THINK YOU SHOULD COME BACK TO "JLA", IT WILL NOT BE THE SAME WITH OUT YOU. I
ALSO WANTED TO SAY THAT I AM ALSO A BIG FAN OF Zauriel AND IT WILL BE SAD TO SEE
HIM GO. -RITCHIE (GOOZ)


Guest_snow goon - Sep 24, 1999 8:20 PM - 67 of 335

Hey Grant,

Just a quick question about a plot point in the Invisibles. How did they get the
fear-creating technology(for lack of a better term) from the church in order to
use it in Black Science II? I assume it had something to do with that van that
was shown in the last issue of that arc but I'm not sure and would like some
clarification.

Also while I'm at it, how would destroying the Philosipher's Stone(in JLA) have
allowed Darkseid to take over the Earth?

Can't think of a new way to phrase the "I love you, think you're great" stuff so
I'll just leave that out until another time.

Thanks in advance.


Guest_Eradicator - Sep 24, 1999 10:26 PM - 68 of 335

Grant Morrison

you are the only reason i started reading JLA now you are leaving! Well i have
come to accept it. You have acually helped me in writing comics (Porter helped me
with the drawing) i plan to pursue it as a carrer! I would like to thank you for
the four years of reading(i never piked up an ivisibles). Oh and don't kill
Zauriel please!

have a nice one!


Guest_Jimmylove - Sep 25, 1999 2:07 AM - 69 of 335

Grant, So happy to have found a way to contact you now that the letters page of
the Invisibles is a thing of the past. I just wanted to let you know how much
your work has influenced me. Since reading the first issue of the Invisibles,
I've gone from thinking it was total nonsence, to utter truth. And, when I say
truth, I don't mean 'fact', but something deeper, something that I've been
exploring for the last two years, and has changed my life dramaticaly.

I'm currently engaged in Reichian analysis and finding it to be an amazing
experience, read all of Terrance Mckenna's books and took his 'monsterous'
aproach to expanding consciousness, and am about three months away from saving
enough money for an extended trip to Europe and India. At times, the whole thing
is fightning, but I've found that the deeper I delve into learning the truth
about reality, the more alive, if not necessarily secure, I feel. So, thank you
for helping kick me onto that road.

Having said that, you've often spoken about your experiences is roundabout terms,
so I'm wondering if you could be more exact. When you say you met Ragged Robin,
do you mean you met a redhead who looked like her and was perhaps similar in
personality, or do you mean you met someone named Kay who had similar experiences
to Ragged Robin? When you say that you're going to switch places with King Mob,
do you mean an exchange of conciousness or bodily? If bodily, how exactly do you
plan on doing it? And finally, what exactly was your abduction experience like?
Why do you think they chose you?

Thanks for your time, you magnificent freak.


BeefChief - Sep 25, 1999 8:45 AM - 70 of 335

First of all, isn't that "testing" message from MisterJLA a few messages ago
great? God I laughed at that - cheers, MisterJLA!

Right, howdo, Grant! Sadly, living in the remote highlands of Scotland, the
opportunity to meet you at comic conventions are few and far bet...hang on, I
tell a lie...there are NO opportunities to meet you at conventions at all, and so
God Bless Next Planet Over for providing us all with this opportunity.

Now, I could praise you for all your work, but I won't, since all these
compliments must be swelling your head no end (though I have insisted that every
one of my friends - none of whom have ever had any real exposure to or interest
in comics - read The Invisibles, and I am happy to say that the book was enough
to make a few non-believers see the woeful errors of their ways).

But I digress...

A more general question to the ones asked so far, perhaps, but one I'm very
interested in hearing your response to: What are your views on the new(ish) boom
in online comic publishing? Do you see this as something which may help the
industry as a whole, bringing the industry to a whole new audience, or do you see
it as something which may weaken the industry as a whole, perhaps eventually
spelling the death for comics as a print medium?


Guest_RedRobin - Sep 25, 1999 11:53 AM - 71 of 335

I have to tell you it's an honor to talk to you, and I really hate to see you
leave JLA. What were your and Waid's initial plans for Hypertime, and how do you
guys plan to explore it as time goes on. You don't have to give everything away,
but give me some idea. Also, will you ever work for DC again? It'd be a damn
shame if you didn't?


Guest_Ganesha - Sep 25, 1999 2:56 PM - 72 of 335

Hello Grant. Just discovered this place via The Nexus, where we're all engaged in
feverish discussion of the various sub and hyperplots of The Invisibles...

What gave you the initial idea of using comics as hypersigils? Was it your
successful ritual to boost the comic's sales towards the end of Volume 1? Was any
sacrifice (real or fictional) involved on your part?

The Invisibles has been responsible for seeding many ideas and turning me onto
all manner of new things. My favourite from your body of work has to be Flex
Mentallo, though, which I actually found deeply moving (in a strange sort of
way). I was thinking about parts of Flex's oddysey, fiction suits and your plans,
post-Invisibles, and I recalled reading somewhere that you were going to be
writing for/about the fetish scene. I've kept my eyes open but haven't seen
anything yet? Have you written anything for Skin Two? Will they be creating your
King Mob fiction suit?! What WILL you be doing after the Invisibles finishes its
run?

There's loads of stuff I want to ask you, but I'll leave it there for now. Thanks
for everything.


Guest_levon - Sep 25, 1999 3:04 PM - 73 of 335

Grant,

It wasnt until just a few minutes ago when I realized how much I missed the
letters column in The Invisibles. If only DC could print the letters in a
seperate publication in addition to the TPB, I'd never have to leave my bathroom
(where I ritualistically read all my comics). But alas, I'm drawn back to the
internet. This is the first time that I've actually found the fans of a comic to
be just as interesting as the creator of the comic.

I'd hate for this to turn into a "remember me?" message, but actually that's
exactly what it's gonna be. Remember me? I'm Levon from the SD comic con. I'm
that "other guy". I'm that guy who was also there a couple of years ago and
pissed off Mark Waid during the One Million panel. I'm glad you finally found
your way onto the internet, And I hope you havent found too many scandalous
rumors about yourself.

Actually, I really wanted to ask you a couple of questions and also ask for a
little bit of advice:

I'm currently working on a very short subversive children's book for one of my
classes. I'm writing and illustrating it. Since you're the only person who has
experience in that general field, do you have any tips for making it totally
badass?

Also, I want to have a few t-shirts printed of the heart-crossed-out shirt that
Dane wore in "London" of volume 1 so that me and my friends and whoever else
wanted one could go punk rock. Is this okay with you? and if so, would you like
one? and if so, what size?

And let me finally add how I really appreciate the amount of dedication you've
put into all of your work. I love your old Doom Patrol and Invisibles stuff, but
I've sensed a maturity in your writing these last couple of years, where the
Invisibles has grown out of simply being a "triumph for postmodernism" and into
its own living volume. Is this what you intended to happen, or is it a magical
side effect of some sort? Anyway, thanks for everything and thank Shelly for
explaining to me exactly what an editor for a comic does.


Morpheous - Sep 25, 1999 6:41 PM - 74 of 335

Hey Grant, I just wanted to say that you are the reason I read comics. If it
hadn't been for JLA I never would have read comics. I just wanted to ask, does
Mageddon have anything to do with Solaris? Well, thanks for doing such a great
job on JLA and good luck on your projects to come


Guest_iao adonai - Sep 25, 1999 8:28 PM - 75 of 335

Grant,

Wonderfull job, eh!

I discovered this board via The Nexus, as another of my mates did. I'm pleased to
be able to communicate my regards to you, directly.

I'm very taken by The Invisibles. Wish it could be a movie. But, the Wachowski
Bros. and all.. We'll see.

Your works are very cool. Been with the Invisibles since I,5, got the preceeding
issues right away, and followed your groovy spell since.

Flex Mentallo, very nice, and truly inspired. That and The Invisibles should be
required reading for any initiate into the art of awareness expansion.

Oh, and Kill Your Boyfriend. Mmm, Fun.

Thanks much for the ideas and the company. I'm looking forward to the closure of
The Invisibles, and many more years of the treats you will come up with
afterwards.

Cheers!


Guest_bigdaddybitch - Sep 25, 1999 9:18 PM - 76 of 335

hey was the Matrix actually something you participated in, or did the creators of
that just rip it off from the Invisibles? Peace bitch, and your work is freakin
awesome! see ya


Guest_Tom_Strong - Sep 26, 1999 8:31 AM - 77 of 335

'I really have no idea why someone I don't know would repeatedly try to undermine
my career so as far as I'm concerned poor Rich is strictly dark side of the
Force.'

Well, the Lord Of Sith seems to like your work and has run BUY INVISIBLES OR DIE
campaigns. He introduced me to Skrull Kill Krew, Lovely Biscuits, Sebastian O and
told me that something about Hitler you did was one of the finest comics of the
eighties. I can't find it yet but I'll keep trying. And something called Sleaze
Nation? I'll e-mail him and ask him to comment. He always loves to comment.

Tom_Strong


Guest_Josh - Sep 26, 1999 11:54 AM - 78 of 335

Yesterday, at around sunset, I was walking through a street in Philadelphia, and
looked up at the way light from the sun hit a radio tower on top of one of the
few skyscrapers in town, and thought that it was pretty. Behind the tower, a few
pieces of clouds began to move and form together. I knew this was happening,
because I could see it. I then stared at what was going on up there for a little
longer, and thought about the Earth's movement through space and around the sun,
and how this affected the way the light was hitting the moisture in the air just
above the steel tower. I then acknowledged the fact that as I stand still on
Earth, the Earth's movement in space is really causing me to move through time
and space at incredibly high speeds that I'm not aware of, because my vestibulary
system, which detects movement, is already used to the constant movement of the
Earth. So I began to wonder, if there wasn't some other type of natural, or
unnatural force being applied to be that I wasn't aware of, because my brain is
already trained to deal with it. I began, once again, to doubt reality. I had my
own personal revelation about the nature of perception, and it's message is
beyond words. Not even the McKenna brothers stated it fully, as I felt it. I
don't think anyone has. I think that Grant Morrison has had a similar experience,
and I applaud his courage to try expressing it within a fictional context. I
myself am trying to be a film maker, and I don't know if I can ever put into
words and images and sounds the exact doubts and feelings that I went through
within seconds looking at a metal tower surrounded by orangey-pink clouds. The
Invisibles is one of the most important, creative and daring works of art that I
know of. I have faith now that its end will answer its promise. It couldn't have
been executed by anyone less than the best within his field. I hope that comics
will one day be accepted into the mainstream again, because Grant Morrison will
come to be known in history as one of our greatest thinkers, and daring
storytellers.

That said, I've got some questions. How can I go about trying to make student
films from your short stories? Is it something you'd support? Is it possible?
Where can I find them? Thanks.


Guest_biffandsully - Sep 26, 1999 11:55 AM - 79 of 335

Grant! How lovely to "see" you! Anyway, on with the usual... Love your stuff to
pieces, been reading Invisibles since the start (since I was...16? 17?) and can
see that my p.o.v. has DEFINITELY been skewed in a most positive way since that
time, want to be a writer and am ever so glad that you've introduced me to the
concepts that you have, bla bla bla. I'm sure you've heard it all before, you
cultural icon, you... I -am- glad that I finally have your "ear". Like some
others on the board, though, I've thoroughly forgotten the majority of things
that I've wanted to ask you if ever the chance were to present itself. A
conversation always seemed more appealing to me than a question and answer
session, but I suppose I'll have to make due (sigh). Now, as for the questions I
-can- think of at the moment:

1) What are you listening to these days? Do you have anything (music-wise) in
your head when you write? For instance, I always thought that Guided By Voices
(from around '91 to '95, I guess) went quite well with your Doom Patrol stuff. At
any rate, I suppose I'm just curious as to where your musical tastes lie these
days.

2) What books have affected you the most? I know that this is a real "put you on
the spot" type of question, so maybe you could just list a few that have really
rocked your world lately? Or a few that have influenced your writing
significantly (from a "craft" point of view or from an "ideas" point of view)?

3) Is there a chance that we might ever get a look at some of the actual scripts
for your comics work? I've always wondered if some of your art direction has been
lost in the translation from writer to artist and that we may have missed some
details based upon that.

4) You've checked out the Nexus. Supercool. Now, the question is: have you
checked out the Invisibles mailing list (the archives are at:
www.onelist.com/messages/invisibles )? It's been around for almost a year now,
and if you perform the search function (at the given address) on a topic of
interest, you'll see that we've discussed almost everything under the bright red
sun at one time or another. People on the list are of differing opinions about
your actually -joining- the list (because they'd rather not have their
Invisibles-related predictions proved or disproved, I think, although I think
that you could be an invaluable part of most of our discussions, which really
don't have much at all to do with the Invisibles, per se), but, as you are an
autonomous individual, you may do as you see fit, my man.

And I guess that's it for now. Hopefully, you'll maintain this open line of
communication in one form or another for a long time to come. I'm sure that
everyone really appreciates it. Thanks.

Deric


Guest_BLITZY - Sep 26, 1999 2:15 PM - 80 of 335

Any chancce that the remainder of Invisibles Volume 1 will be collected in trade
paperback?


Guest_Sara - Sep 26, 1999 10:06 PM - 81 of 335

"Mad Messiah," we're not off topic, we're thinking. We're having a dialogue. This
is, one might argue, The Point. <GRIN>

That said: I swear, I can almost see the insect heads on those kids in the Gap
ads.

And besides which, if we don't talk amongst ourselves, it leaves poor Mr.
Morrison with, like, umpteen million messages to work through.


Guest_RichJohnston - Sep 27, 1999 5:27 AM - 82 of 335

Thanks for the e-mail Tom. I'd seen the piece (hell, my column should have
brought quite a bit of traffic to NextPlanetOver's Grant Morrison forum, as I
just featured it.

Anyway, point by point.

"until some of his spurious ravings led to loss of work for me."

If this is about the Superman stuff, I printed pieces that DC workers forwarded
to me, and explicitly labelled them rumour and comment. Anything I printed was
already going around DC, this gave an opening to fans to see what was being
discussed. I printed responses from Mark Waid where he gave me his side of the
story. And even so, it was all printed after the situation had resolved itself.

Now, if there's any other information that I'm not aware of, then it's because no
one has told me. Including Grant.

"As someone working inside the industry, I don't need to check the internet for
half-heard rumors or misinterpreted facts; I KNOW what's going on."

And the rest of us don't. Ramblings helps to provide an insight, and also stops
damaging rumours from spreading by unashamably placing them in the spotlight and
allowing any affected party to comment on their veracity or importance.

"I really have no idea why someone I don't know would repeatedly try to undermine
my career"

I do not repeatedly try to undermine your career. In fact, as 'Tom' alludes to, I
frequently try to support it, by recommending Morrison works, both past, present
and future. I've just given Invisibles another big plug - basically ordering my
readers to buy it. We've been plugging this JLA hardcover for ages because I
expect it to be a phenomenal piece of work. I buy copies of Crisis to send to
people who really want the Adventures Of Hitler stuff. Ditto with Zoids (probably
the hardest of the Morrison bibliography to get). What I write can only impact
favourable of the sales of your work.

And, as every column says, it's rumour. 100%. If a suit believes something
wholeheartedly then they are idiots. We've addressed this issue a number of times
and currently the Rumour Barriers are as explicit as we can get.

If you want to talk, address any issues, or basically have it out with me, Grant,
my e-mail address is twisting@hotmail.com. You've already got my work number.

For everybody else, feel free to check the Ramblings archives at
www.twistandshoutcomics.com.


Guest_macavity - Sep 27, 1999 6:33 AM - 83 of 335

hi again grant.....

must say i agree with everyone here who's happy to see this as a replacement for
the much-missed vertigo lettercols, especially, as levon said, about the fans of
the comic being as interesting as the comic (and sometimes more so!)

anyway, i wanted to ask some more about the "artists jam" you mentioned in your
reply to my first message. i read somewhere that frank quitely was going to be
doing the last arc, so is this now not so? i take it from the way you say that
"everyone only has a few pages to do" that he's not going to be the only artist.
not that i mind that, i'm just curious.

oh yeah, in regard to deric's msg i'd be careful if you check out the archives at
invisibles@onelist.com....there's this one person on the list who seems to spend
her entire life posting messages full of irrelevent bollocks, and she posts about
every damn subject too, more or less. you want to watch her...she's called
macavity....

and now she's doing it here as well. :)

incidentally, in response to jamie oni's offer, i have to say that oni are one of
my favourite publishers at the moment. i love 'jenny finn'. actually, maybe you
could clear something up for me....why are so many contemporary comics writers
into elements of the occult such as templars, magick and so forth? there's you,
gaiman, alan moore, mignola, etc. is it something to do with being british comics
writers or what?

ok, i'll shut up now

mac


Guest_biffandsully - Sep 27, 1999 8:36 AM - 84 of 335

Oooohhh yeah... Hey, Grant? There was one other thing that I wanted to ask about.
I heard somewhere (and I don't know where) that -you- would be doing some of the
art for the last issue of The Invisibles. I don't know if this was a completely
off the wall rumor or what, but if it's not...kudos to you. Anyway. I was just
kind of curious about how true this rumor really was. And macavity's full of it.
She's a wonderful person full o' wonderful ideas and insight. Trust me.

Deric


Guest_Aled_Davies - Sep 27, 1999 9:04 AM - 85 of 335

Grant,

A couple of quick questions. What were the original plans for v2 of the
Invisibles. ?? From the letter column towards the end of v1 it seemed to suggest
that Division X would play a bigger role in v2 than they did. ??

Also in the 'Rock of Ages' Darkseid future arc in JLA was Grandmother Box really
quoting from 'Barbarism Begins at Home' by The Smiths or was it just my
imagination ??


Guest_Stephen - Sep 27, 1999 9:14 AM - 86 of 335

Hi Grant,

Just wanted to say that "The Invisibles" has been invaluable to me as an
introduction to all kinds of fantastic things and i've learnt more about magick
from it than any of the text books i've ever read on the subject.

I'd be very interested to hear how your experiments in chaos magick have
influenced "The Invisibles", I read somewhere that you described the series as
the longest piece of magick that you've performed and i'd love to know more about
this from a practical perspective...

I'd also be really interested to know how much of the Invisibles mythology
(specifically Barbelith and the Magick Mirror substance) plays a part in your
personal system of magick and how you work with these concepts. Unless it's a
secret.

Thanks for writing everything you've written,

Stephen


Guest_huggybear - Sep 27, 1999 1:41 PM - 87 of 335

grant,

just want to tell you what an outstanding job you've done with the invisibles. i
remember when i was just a pup, i picked up the first issue when it hit the
stands. the fat guy at the comic book store asked me how old i was; 14, i said.
he said, there's a really nasty word on page two. i said, that's ok. he was nice
enough to let me buy it, even if it was "suggested for mature readers."

during the course of the series, i've (in no particular order)gone through high
school, lost my virginity, started writing for the local newspaper, and entered
college. when i go through the old issues, i can see them through older, wiser
eyes, and catch the little things you put in that i didn't see when i was
younger.

my point? well, you've certainly had an indelible impact on the way i see the
world. thank you, and on my writing style. thanks!

say, have you ever heard of mr. bungle? it's got mike patton (formerly of faith
no more). amazing stuff. check 'em out if you get the chance. you won't be
disappointed.


Guest_whocares - Sep 27, 1999 2:47 PM - 88 of 335

Grant, let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of your run on JLA. After
a couple of issues of it I started looking for your work on other titles as well.
I found Invisibles. WOW! What a trip. I'm still picking up back issues and can't
wait to see how it ends.

Now back to JLA. Rock of Ages, the Azmodel storyline, and the Hyperclan are some
of my favorite stories of all time. I'm a huge Batman fan and I have to tell you
that your interpretation of the Dark Knight was well received. He seemed like
James Bond (Sean Connery) mixed with Albert Einstein considering the way he so
smoothly eliminated the Hyperclan with technical precision.

I really hate to see you go and was just wondering what you'll be doing next. I
heard about a Marvel Knights project in the works (Marvel Boy). But what aobut
after that? Any offers to work on a monthly? What aobut the rumored creator owned
franchise rumored to be set in motion by Busiek and Waid? Please give a fan some
updates!

One last thing, I read a long time ago that you said when it all came down to it,
at the end of the Mageddon storyline that it would be Bats and Supes as the only
ones left standing against the ultimate war bringer. Is that still the plan? It
sounds awesome. What a way to leave the book, with the World's FInest stepping up
to the plate.

PS: can't wait for Earth II!


brainwalker - Sep 27, 1999 3:33 PM - 89 of 335

Hey Grant. Don't know if you remember me from Chicago. I got to meet you at the
DC booth. I'm sure you were handed quite a few gifts or comics or books from
fans....but i was curious to see if you read mine. I gave you a copy of my
ash-can for my comic book. It is called BRAINWALKER. I would like to know what
you think of it. The ashcan was kind of a rough draft of what the book will be.
Just wanted to say thanks for all the years of great comics and look forward to
your future work after Invisibles. Take care. Chris Riley


Guest_initiar - Sep 27, 1999 4:06 PM - 90 of 335

Hey Grant,

Great job on JLA so far.Like"who cares" I also liked the hyperclan,American
dreams and Rock of ages.I read your quote on the community page and was wondering
what kind of comics (if any)you would be doing after your "break".


Guest_mgb - Sep 27, 1999 6:11 PM - 91 of 335

London calling Grant....

it seems to me that the major religions, mystery schools, 19th century occultism,
modern magick, quantuum physics and common sense (you make your own luck) are all
telling us the same thing - you make your own reality. If you were to loosely
agree with this, I wondered if you really think a major "event" is going to occur
in 2012, and if what's happening between now and then is some kind of battle to
establish a consciouness paradigm-shift to enable whatever-it-is to happen on a
mass scale or not?

As for "comics", have you checked Steve Yeowells stuff on Devlin Waugh in 2000AD
at the moment? It just screams "Zenith" I think.

If you're ever in London on a weekend come along to our club and drink a lot on
us....


Guest_zephir - Sep 27, 1999 8:11 PM - 92 of 335

On the subject of Invisibles movies, I feel I'd be remiss in not telling all of
you to go out and see American Beauty. If the Matrix was everything Flashy and
cool about invis, this is everything poingnant and sweet and wonderful. Grant, if
you're still listening, go check it out, man.


Guest_ulysses2000 - Sep 27, 1999 9:05 PM - 93 of 335

hi grant,

i'm the fellow who got macavity her sighned comic and talked about mod music with
you in san diego. lot's o' questions, but you've got plenty to answer as it
is.... i'll keep it paired down to 3 important ones.

1. is that mason under one of the animal masks at fanny and quimper's violation
in brazil?

2. who was the cute girl sitting next to you in the vertigo booth at sand diego
comic con. (she was wearing the target shirt)

3. oh yeah, where do you stand on sporks?

thanks for a great book, i've met some cool folk because of it.

ulysses2000


Guest_LoreNz - Sep 28, 1999 4:53 AM - 94 of 335

Hello, Grant I'm a portuguese fan of your work. I think I sent a message to you
about a year ago concerning the "Barbelith debate" but I don't know if you got
it. Thing is, right now I'm in Glasgow. I'll be doing one semester at Caledonian
on the Communications and Mass Media Course. And for me this would be a one time
opportunity to meet you before Y2K. I just wante to know if you'd be interested
in having a pint some time. i swear to God I won't try to squeeze the Invisible
Last Secret from you, or anything. I just would like to have a pint. So if you're
interested maybe you can deop me a line to teh e-mail address. Thank you Paulo
Lorenzo


Guest_LorEnz - Sep 28, 1999 4:55 AM - 95 of 335

P.S. e-mail: paul_lorenz@hotmail.com LorEnz


Guest_levon - Sep 28, 1999 10:16 AM - 96 of 335

this is actually to ulysses2000:

hey, I think I remember you. Were you the guy with the colorful shirt and the
beatle haircut? I think I took a picture for you. I was wearing a green paisley
shirt.


vadge - Sep 28, 1999 10:35 AM - 97 of 335

Grant, it's good to hear that you've been hanging around the Nexus and that you
like what you see. Fingers pointing at the moon and blank badges, eh? So, John's
"hiding in plain site" behind the "Billion Masks of God" is he? And he's both
subject: a character/personality, and object: "a complex structure". We all know
what happens to the subject and the object in your stories, don't we? Cults that
become "pure thought". Thought "unemcumbered by form", maybe? The Chimera? And,
of course, one can describe the universe as a hologram, but "hologram" is also a
perfect description of "mind"/consciousness.....

I think I've got a good idea where you're going with this, and I'd just like to
say that the message is being recieved loud and clear. I've just realised that
all the themes of the Invisibles, all the clues that point to the nature of it's
conclusion, were there from the first. You've achieved the "Holographic Tapestry"
you set out to create. He's "waking up" and it's all "re-solidifying"/becoming
"real".

First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is.

Anyway, philosophical/narrative speculation aside I'd really like the answer to a
really boring question: Are we going to see Orlando again?

Oh yeah, here's another one. Rumours of death abound over in the JLA and I was
wondering if they only concerned Wildcats near departure in "Crisis times Five".

Cheers for bringing fashion and Pop back to comics. Here's to the only comic book
writer who get's coverage in both "SleazeNation" and "Wizard"!

Hurrah.

" "


Guest_zephir - Sep 28, 1999 11:50 AM - 98 of 335

You know, on the subject of pointing to the moon, the other night I was pointing
out Jupiter, I thought it might be Venus, but, well, it was right next to the
moon, and I tripped and sprained my ankle and am now hobbling around not at
school or work. So just remember kids, in the next life: be good.


Guest_fidra52 - Sep 28, 1999 12:20 PM - 99 of 335

I have to agree with the other writers. Your Doom Patrol was probably one of the
best series run ever. It was weird, innovative, very readable and best of all,
REALLY fun. Any chance you might write them again? I´d love to read another
another DP adventure (pre-Pollack era) be it a limited series or one of those
direct-to-trade gr.novels.


Guest_shirleydoe - Sep 28, 1999 2:41 PM - 100 of 335

Dear Grant,

Thanks for making me care about comics again. A quick question about Zauriel. Is
he your attempt to create a Hawkman you could enjoy writing or as Thor is a
representative and super heroic ideal of the Norse myths, an attempt to create
the super heroic ideal type of the Judeo Christian myths?


Guest_Fenris - Sep 28, 1999 4:24 PM - 101 of 335

Grant- I'm very interestend about your involvment with the medium of music. I
myself, being part of several underground bands which thrive on the raw noise and
energy created by that spark responsible for "teenage rebelion"(It realy pisses
me off the way that social institutions often function to diverts this energy
away from rectifying the cause of one's misery, pushing them toward tendencies
which hurt themselves and others), have begun to view music as another form of
language. Somewhere I read that you had been part of a noise band, which I would
like to know some more about. Also, I have been getting into the idea of
utilizing the language of music for the purposes of divination. Earlier you
mentioned doing the same thing within the medium of comics, and I was wondering
if you had made any such attempts through music. As for your literary work, such
comics as Arkam Asylum, The Mystery Play, and The Invisibles have had such a
profound effect on my fabricated identity that I won't even bother going into it
now. Thanks.


Guest_Hector Lima - Sep 28, 1999 9:04 PM - 102 of 335

man, oh man......

Another wonder of the future! Talking to Grant via Intenet! Will quit the fanboy
thing right now... Is this going to be weekly? Heard of this through The Bomb.

Grant, thanks for the work you do, for all of it. I have so many things to ask
you that I don't even know where to start from. I'm from Brasil and may you know
you have a bunch of faithfull readers here!

The Invisibles is the best Vertigo book of all. If a book should be picked up
that had to do more with everybody's life this would be it.

Can I mention I've known Chaos Magick through your texts? Okay, I said I'd quit
the fanboy thing....

Are you doing more work to Marvel? Spider Man and Fantastic Four would be well
handed by you.

Ah, can't post this without asking you: is there a web site where I can get a
script sample of anything you've written? I'm trying to start writting for comics
and would love to see how you do it so I can have a good model. The only thing
I've ever seen is the script in the monkey's typewriter from the cover of Animal
Man# 25, if I'm right.

That's it for now. I know you're busy and have to answer other posts. Thanks for
attention! Can't wait for the Invisibles#1 and Marvel Boy too.

Hector vortex09@yahoo.com


PhilipAMoore - Sep 29, 1999 8:38 AM - 103 of 335

Dear Grant I have been A fan of yours for years. In fact you got me in to mature
reader titles with Doom PatroL (sill my all time favorite comic ). I have had a
few question for you (Iknow dread words) . What ever happen to your Animal Man
six issue story arc That was supossed to come out around issue 57 ? will we ever
see it ? Karen Burger once siad in an intervew that she had three Animal Man
scripts she had shelved where you had gotten a little heavy handed (her words
)I've always assumed one of them was Gorrilas A Go Go. What where the other two?
What happened in them or did they see print ? What do you think of what happend
to Kid Eternety in JSA you one siad you would like to do sequels to him every
five years Is there A chance we will see one ? I've looked up and down this post
and Have not seen any mention of your spin off of JLA starring charicters form
the Shaggy Man story .When will we see it or is it dead on rout? will there are
My question please answer them when you get the chance HAVE A GOOD DAY


Guest_Friendlyboy23 - Sep 29, 1999 10:22 AM - 104 of 335

Dear Grunt, When do we see the Invisimobile? (And I don't mean the version from
that dumb 60's Invisibles show - you know, the one with Mickey Rooney as Dane,
and Peter Falk as Fanny). And while I'm on it what about Discordo the
invisi-hound?


Guest_vadge - Sep 29, 1999 11:58 AM - 105 of 335

Friendlyboy's my friend, and I'm with him. When are you going to reveal King
Mob's real identity: Alan Treharne?

Look! There goes NickWaddam!


Guest_PornoHolocaust - Sep 29, 1999 1:04 PM - 106 of 335

Yes, !) I once sent you a letter suggesting facial hair as a disguise for comics
conventions. Several months later King Mob showed up disguised in just such a
manner. Many other letters in Invisible Ink seem to worm their way into the
storyline, too. My question is this: Are you insane? $) Will the final issue have
a big middle finger on the cover (#1)? ?) I was in the worst car accident of my
life on August 11th this year. The car flipped (tail over head, not rolled), and
I walked away with barely a scratch or two. Did you or any readers out there have
any bizarre experiences on the 11th?


GrantMorrison - Oct 1, 1999 4:08 AM - 107 of 335

Thanks for all the messages. Can't do my usual Friday reply session but I'll be
here on Sunday to gnaw my way through the hundreds of postings which have piled
up since I turned my back last week. It's raining again in Glasgow - we have rain
like LA has sun...


Guest_Skippy the DRUNK - Oct 1, 1999 9:42 AM - 108 of 335

Hey Grant, When you were putting together your icon team of 14 members in JLA how
much pressure did you get from "editorial" on who would make up your JLA...By the
way Your handling of Orion has been the best! I wish that your contract had
stated that no one else could write him in the JLA. Would you do one
thing...would you give Steel Superman's old electropowers and the costume of
BLACK VULCAN from the old Superfriends TV show...Now that is Iconic...UR..On that
note, I must tell you that I will sorely miss waiting for JLA each month,You made
it work on so many levels,... Thank you for some great reads, even though you got
stuck with Electric Superman,John Byrne killing Wonder Woman and Huntress(ugh)...
Have a great Year... P.s. Please convince Mark Millar to take over the JLA when
they offer it to them.. your pal Skippy the DRUNK!


Guest_louisemichel - Oct 2, 1999 4:34 AM - 109 of 335

Hi, Grant, Just a question, what did you think of the french printing of The
Invisibles ?


Guest_whocares alias wellmanicuredmandead - Oct 2, 1999 12:20 PM - 110 of 335

Grant, I keep hearing you refer to theis Hypercrisis. I'm guessing it's a retcon
of some kind. Will it be along the same lines as Crisis on Infinite Earths? WIll
it have the same magnitude or maybe even more? Oh yeah, and don't kill Zauriel.
He kicks ass man. I really like the character but the rumor is that he has to go.

PS: Was wondering about what your thoughts were on John Byrne's Fourth World run
or his Genesis crossover.


Guest_louisemichel - Oct 3, 1999 2:26 AM - 111 of 335

My previous message was a little skinny...

I sent you the first issue of Les Invisibles (french edition) some monthes ago,
the second should be out now. So what do you think of it ?

Another one : ever heard the Blue Oyster Cult song called Les Invisibles ? And a
last one : are you still practising JKD/silat ?

Keep on the Work !


rakehell - Oct 3, 1999 7:01 AM - 112 of 335

Hey Grant!

We met in Australia, drinkin' 'til stupid o'clock. I'm wondering if you answer
your regular mail at all, or are you too snowed under? Also when are you coming
back here


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 3, 1999 10:50 AM - 113 of 335

jamieoni - thanks for keeping me in mind. The script was never finished and if
Jamie didn't draw it it wouldn't work.

MadMessiah - thankyou. You're right about the apprentice thing.

Lunar - I'm glad you got it. thank you.

Sara - I'm not subversive I work for Time Warner. I'm glad you like Edith - more
than any other character she blasts down from the Pleroma and onto the page with
hardly a 'me' in between. She's based on a few people I've knownin both her young
and ancient time sections.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 3, 1999 11:05 AM - 114 of 335

Chris+ - glad to hear I'm growing like a bad bloom in the corn out there. I'm
doing what I can with the Flex trade. Beats me why it hasn't been released to
coincide with EARTH 2. I always forget all my favorite movies when people ask -
Pi was good, Predator, The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer, The Experiencer, The
Final Programme...umm I'll think about this.

MasterJLA - I appreciate all the suppport for Zauriel. I've come to love the
character and I can assure you his death and its consequences will satisfy fans
of the Celestial Crusader everywhere!

TimmyTimmyBangBang - great name. I wrote comics before I did plays. I did them so
that I could prestigious awards and be taken more seriously as an artiste,
thereby raising the profile of the comics. I don't know if it worked. My work is
influenced by a number of playwrights and dramatists so it was an interesting
experiment to write the plays and see them performed to full houses but comics
was more fun and paid more money. I played 'Grant Polanski' in the film
'Strangers' by Sue Denim and appeared in several 'extra' roles in the 80s but
acting didn't come into it.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 3, 1999 11:16 AM - 115 of 335

Silent Nick - Sounds good. I can't help right now - I'm out of comics for a while
so I'm just a freelancer like you and as one to another I suggest you send your
stuff in to an editor who'll take a look at it. I f he/she likes it, you'll get a
job. Keep reading JLA. Waid and Hitch will mesmerise you into states of howling
madness.

Nick The Red - You and me both. My Batman is rooted in Denny O'Neil and Neal
Adams 70s version which I grew up on - the hairy sex god who flew highspeed jets,
ski-ed down mountains with girls in his arms and had, in Talia, the sexiest woman
in comics as his opponent and lover. Give me that guy over the weird, twisty
isolationist Batman. I thought I\d statirised that to death in 'Arkham Asylum'.

GOOZ - Thanks GOOZ. I may do some JLA related stuff in future. Anything can
happen and so rarely does...

snowgoon - the tech was in the Dulce base. Darkseid almost taking over Earth then
being beaten by Hourman and the worlogog is a story which hasn't been told yet.

Eradicator - you too. Thanks for reading.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 3, 1999 11:30 AM - 116 of 335

JimmyLove - you'll love India. Every time I've been there I vow never ever to
return and then I find I can't stop thinking about it and have to return. The
pverty is shocking beyond any western conception. Some parts of Europe will
prepare you for it. As for Ragged Robin - in 96, after I got sick and life
tumbled into an abyss, I emerged with a new understanding of magic and the
possibilities of using my comics as magical sigils. My girlfirend and I had split
and when I saw Brain Bolland;'s cover for Invisibles volume 2:3 I decided I'd
enchant for someone who looked exactly like Robin. Robin's doppelganger
materialised shortly after. When. after a month of two of tryinmg, it turned out
that we didn't get on at all, I learned that image isn't everything and shied
away from such frivolous use of the hypersigil. Strangely enough, every woman I
met that year and the next had red hair or other Robin-like qualities, including
some who directlky impacted ont he storytelling of the book itself. Life and
fiction are strange and interchangeable here. The 'aliens' didn't choose me. I
believe that everyone was 'abducted' in a period roughly covering from '92 to 97.
I'm not sure if its an emergent structure in consciousness which we're
identifying as alien and a little threatening. Or maybe it's aliens. The
experience is unmistakable and real and literally dozens of peopel I know
personally went through classic or skewed versions of the whole 'abduction'
scenario during the 90s. As for me and KM switching places - I'll see. I'm
leaving part of me in the comic and going back to martial arts and ontological
terrorism etc... Have a good time, man.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 3, 1999 12:32 PM - 117 of 335

BeefChief - here's tae ye from the bricht lichts o' Glesgae where ye micht get
lucky... ANy kind of comics is good news for comics. I still think print has a
lot of mileage - it has an organic quality that we still don't have in ouir huge
boxy terminals. Once digital paper and flexible screen scrolls become commonplace
I think we'll simply see a fusion of print and computer technology. Neither will
suffer. As a computer Neanderthal I'm intrigued to see the developments coming in
from that side of the medium.

RedRobin - I hope I'll work for DC again at some point. And the whole Hypercircus
thing is ubnfolding as we planned so just keep watching.

Ganesha - hi. I'm familair with you from the Nexus. Flex Mentallo was the
wellspring for much of The Invisibles and can be considered a shard of the
Invisibles hologram. Animal Man 5 was my first probing at the notion of the
comics as sigils - the meditative concentration that goes into the story and art
if its done well is a form of gnosis. The first magic we know of was in the form
of drawings - images designed to encode desire and make deire manifest in 3-d
reality. And the results were and continue to be spectacular. I wrote some weirdo
text for the photo spread 'The Story of Zero' - the cover's red and cyberpunky
with a bald girl wearing a silver 'Brainiac' skullcap and clutching her head.
Post-carnal version of 'The Scream'.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 3, 1999 12:43 PM - 118 of 335

levon - I remember you. Make the T-shirts if you want. I'll have a medium.
SUbversive ? Don't ask me ? Everything that's in your face but which society
prefers to ignore and not talk about will provide you with the shock of
subversion beyond that there is the option of six years zen practise for the kids
Nice to hear from you again and I'll thank Shelly whenever she can prise herself
away from her latest, hunkiest beau!!!

Morpheous - Nah, Mageddon has nothing to do with Solaris eacept one's the Tyrant
Sun and one's the Anti-Sun. IT's one of those things you don't realise you've
done when you're working fast and to deadline. I must have been crazy about suns
when I came up with those two. They're not alike however.

iao adonai - hi. Your entries in the Nexus are so frighteningly close to my own
thinking that it's a pleasure and a horror to meet you here. Which is not to
slight all the other brilliant minds revolving in the neitherworld of the Nexus -
all versions are the 'real' version - but sometimes you alarm me.


Guest_ulysses2000 - Oct 3, 1999 12:55 PM - 119 of 335

hey grant, me again...

what is the difference between a sigil and a hyper-sigil. is this to denote
multiple intents or merely the way it's appearance and storyline shifts over time
during the working?

also, havyou read any jack sarfatti? i think you'd enjoy him. he's taking chaos
and quantum theory and attempting to link it up with the human consciousness. it
winds up sounding quite majical and poetic... heres a link to some of his stuff.

http://www.qedcorp.com/pcr/index.html

and i still need to know who that little moddette next to you at comic con was
;-)

ulysses2000


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 3, 1999 1:10 PM - 120 of 335

bigdaddybitch - nah, it had nothing to do with me.

TomStrong - I'm sure Rich means no harm and any of his efforts to boost my work
are appreciated by me. However, despite the sternest of talking-tos, Rich decided
to run another ludicrous story - about Marvel Boy - which has now been sanctioned
as news by Comics International. For the record, Marvel Boy is a completely new
creation - in the spirit of Bill Everett and using the name only of one of his
characters. It is a direct progression from my work on JLA. I'd love to love Rich
as he deserves but this stuff hits hard andf he should learn fast that with great
power comes great responsibility. Rich has no source for me - the only people in
the industry I speak with regularly are Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. Anything
you read about me on Rich's Ramblings will be false and I'd ask Rich again, in
softer tones this time, not to write anything about me in his columns. None of it
will be true and most of it seems to be actively damaging.

RichJohnston - see above. Just keep me out of it, Rich. I'm not doing anything
weird or interesting and whatever you hear is bollocks.

Josh - you got it. As for the short stories, they're collected in 'Lovely
Biscuits' see information somewhere else I'm sure. Let me know what you'd like to
do and I look forward to you getting 'it' down on film.

biffandsully - hi. 1) right now, I'm listening to the Gentle People. Kool Keith,
Atari Teenage Riot. Nothing to start revolutions yet I'm afraid. If someone could
marry the digital hardcore sound with Chris Morris lyrics, we'd almost have the
new punk rock.

2) Books: all the Enid Blyton mystery stories. Alan Garner - particularly
'Elidor' and 'red Shift'. T'The Lord of the Rings', a compendium of every classic
adventure story trope - indispensable for a comics writer. Michael Moorcock,
especially the 'Jerry Cornelius' stories. 'Illuminatus'. And otherwise
non-fiction and dramtists, plus all the other things I"ve forgotten to include.
And yes, I'm hoping to draw a couple of pages in the orgy.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 3, 1999 1:18 PM - 121 of 335

ulysses - quick one here to sign off, My connection's terrible. I call it a
hyper-sigil because the abstracted desire is not simply a spooky 'Blair Witch'
style witchy figure familiar from the traditional Austin Spare sigil technique.
The 'hyper-sigil' idea unfolds into virtual dimensions which include 'story',
'character' etc. I'm sure I'll explain it more clearly as I work with the idea
further. I'm familiar with Sarfatti's name via Robert Anton Wilson etc. but it
sounds like I should check that stuff out. Thanks.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 3, 1999 1:19 PM - 122 of 335

Oh - and the 'modette' is my glamorous editor the aformementioned and sainted
Shelly Roeberg. You may have to fight Philip Bond for her however.


Guest_AustinArmatys - Oct 3, 1999 9:31 PM - 123 of 335

Grant-

There have been several scenes in The Invisibles that take place in my home
country, Australia. One week ago I visited Uluru for the first time in my life
and found it a truly powerful place (just as KM described it back in Vol. 1).
What experiences have you had with Australia, the aboriginal culture and Uluru in
particular? Cheers,

Austin


Guest_SaintMolotov - Oct 4, 1999 3:17 AM - 124 of 335

Always wanted an opportunity to have a word with you Grant....Love your work in
the Invisibles, it changed my life. I began reading it in a time of my life where
I was looking for something, something more than I was being fed by the
Consensus, and you and the Ivisibles were there for me. I can't say enough how
much I appreciate that.

Now that I'm done being sycophantic, I'd like to know your opinion on a little
theory I have. Don't really have the space or time to fully outline it here, but
I'll give ya the short-short version.

We exist in two realities...the inner and the outer, or "consenus" reality. The
outer is often a false mirror of the inner, and thus is a cause of great stress
as we learn more and more that the consensus does not want us to be our inner
self. Often we lose sight of the inner, and create all sorts of barriers and
filters between the inner and outer. I believe the trick is to circumvent these
filters and achieve symmetry between inner and outer reality, actualizing the
true self in a sense.

That's the beginning of true revolution, for myself at least, not sure if it
applies to all. Let me know your thoughts, if you care to, I'd appreciate it.

SM saintmolotov@disinfo.net


Guest_Jack Frost - Oct 4, 1999 8:28 AM - 125 of 335

Grant,

What's happening?!

Invisibles V.3#6 is excruciatingly late and I just saw that there is no issue
solicited for December...

Has DC made you alter the spell? What, if any, are the ramifications of the
series not ending in January 2000? I was told by DC you wouldn't be at San Diego,
and you were, but I still missed my opportunity to ask you in person.

I'm very suspicious of DC lately. I don't like some of the corporate decisions
they've been making. I think they're compromising some of the titles, too. I
think they've made you and Garth change your books, and that's why Invisibles is
late and Preacher seems empty. I don't like the Transmet merchandise, especially
the 'prop' sunglasses with UV coated lenses. I don't like the fact that they
remove the letters pages from the Vertigo titles, thus cutting you and us off
from each other, telling me it's because they need more space for all the ads
they receive. Then they tell me that nothing can be done about the cover
prices... Does this not make sense to you either?

I hate corporations...


Guest_Jack Frost - Oct 4, 1999 8:30 AM - 126 of 335

Grant,

Just in case you need it, my e-mail is:

chaoseight@yahoo.com

Here's hoping that you reply...

jack


Guest_JHunter - Oct 4, 1999 11:39 AM - 127 of 335

Grant, I've been reading you since I got back into comics with your version of
the Doom Patrol, the thrilling (but awfully reprinted) Steed and Mrs Peel,
Sebastion O, ... everything really.

I'm very confused with the status of Book 3. It seems trhat there are so many
ideas thrown into the air. There are lots of vbery air-headed guesses on what is
going on and that you intend the comic to be nonsensical being that the end is
near.

I don't agree. I've seen a vast rise and fall of quality in your work both in
Invisibles and JLA. It seems that you get gripped by an idea, then forget why you
used it in the first place. Very unCapricorn, but I do commend you on listening
to your unconscious inspirations. That is what has kept you my favorite writer
over the years. You seem to be very intune with your mind and your imagination.
You let ideas out, but they're always appropriate (certain threads in the
monumental Rock of Ages make no sense and the rather bad Crisis Times Three is
nonsense).

I have been argued with over the nature of your current lack of cohesiveness with
others who say I don't "get you." I've been "getting you " since way back, Grant.
Your writing speaks to me unlike any other. I've decided to not touch the new
issues of Invisibles until New Year's. I doubt if it makes enough sense to be
satisfying in a monthly basis to read it otherwise.

In any case, thank you for truly original comics and thank you for Dane.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 4, 1999 1:49 PM - 128 of 335

Aleddavies - no, Division X were always intended to return in Volume 3, ALed. And
yes - you're the only person who's pointed out the Smiths quote - one of many
with which I've been littering my scripts over the years. You win this delicious
Morrissey Omelette!

Stephen - thanks for reading Stephen. I don't have sdpace or time here to go very
deeply into my personal approach to magic. I've worked with a number of The
Invisibles entities to remarkable and sometime life-threatening effect. The
Invisibles speel was partly designed to undo the knots of the Age of Osiris and
track the pyschic seismograph trails of the century's end. I'd love to go into
this more and will if I write the story of the story of The Invisibles.

huggybear - good to hear from you huggy and I'm glad to have been along for the
ride somewhere in the background leering. I've had a pretty wild few years too
and I thinks there are more and stranger fireworks to come. I'll check out mr.
bungle, thanks.

whocares - you're dead on with the Batman analysis. I'm taking a break after
Marvel Boy but I'll be back with some big new projects in 2001 I hope. And yes,
IT's Bruce and Clark against the mind-devouring, world-exterminating Annihilator
in the final chapter.


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 4, 1999 2:00 PM - 129 of 335

mgb - there's some kind of self-referring, self-correcting communal system at
work beyond the simple notion of 'you make your own reality'. There is an element
of large scale collaboration involved in the maintenance of what we call reality.
Magic in one sense is the serial establishing of what Hakim Bey describes as
Temporary Autonomous Zones - moments of personal freedom and self-responsibility
wrenched from consensus-tolerance. 2012 is an intriguing myth at this stage. My
own wacko experiences have imprinted in me a gut belief that some unusual
upheaval of thought and perception is beginning to occur and I've tried to
explore through the fictional context of Invisibles the 'information' I was
presented with by apparent '5th dimensional complexes' in a hotel in
Kathman-bleeding-du...I'm not sure I can be trusted but I'm convinced it will
inevitably be mass scale. I have no idea what 'It' is. It may be some 20th
century analogue of the modernist impulse whoich will seem brutal or dissonant or
terrifying to we of the decadent postmodern 20th century. I saw Steve's art for
Devlin it lookd brilliant. He's done a bunch of pages for the final Invisibles
arc. Thanks for the invite!


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 4, 1999 2:08 PM - 130 of 335

vadge - yes. The secret of Invisibles is in every volume on every page and in
every word written in the letter columns and on the Nexus and everywhere else.
Orlando is back immediately. And I should maybe say here that the next issue of
INVISIBLES - #6 - missed an edit stage and has glaring gaps where important
information should be. I apologise to everybody who's trying to put the jigsaw
together - the gaps are clearly obvious and contain information about the Billy
Chang character. I'll put the dialogue as it should read up when I do my next
message board here and maybe some of the Nexus people could transfer it there
until we fix it in the trade. Deaths in the JLA will occur at an alarming rate.
Hip Hip...


Guest_Brainwalker - Oct 4, 1999 2:34 PM - 131 of 335

Hey Grant. Don't know if you remember me from Chicago. I got to meet you at the
DC booth. I'm sure you were handed quite a few gifts or comics or books from
fans....but i was curious to see if you read mine. I gave you a copy of my
ash-can for my comic book. It is called BRAINWALKER. I would like to know what
you think of it. The ashcan was kind of a rough draft of what the book will be.
Just wanted to say thanks for all the years of great comics and look forward to
your future work after Invisibles. Take care. Chris Riley P.S. Have you ever read
about Intelligence Agents?


Guest_Sergey - Oct 4, 1999 2:59 PM - 132 of 335

Not to mention that a 16 year old is writing this (I can write! Look ma! I can
write!) my brain hardwired into permanent theta (although I still have to
schedule that appointment with the neurologist). A good friend of mine was
speaking to my friends and I and I believe at the exact time when I left for
bladder relief he mentioned something about some kind of ritual done here at the
world trade center. I really dont know the specifics (better call up Nick again)
but September's been quite a strange month for some if not all my friends. What's
it done to you? On a lighter note my TV "talked" for the first time, a message
(command) in bold white capital letters upon a black background appearing for a
second and a half CLOSE THE DOOR which was promptly done by my father who did not
see the TV. Spirits? Witches? All the electronic devices in the world, connected
and talking making one huge growing collective consciousness. But then again is
anything truly dead? The synchronicities are not dying down. Theta is kicking in
even more, I'm sleepy most the time... What did that have to do with comics?
Invisibles, great comics. It's not everyday you learn something from a comics.
And it's not one of those one reads either if you know what I mean. But then
again no one knows anything, we just pretend and say "this is so". I guess this
is the spot where I (Batman) insert one of those clever one liners, so here is my
very own feeble attempt:

QUESTION REALITY They should put that on a tshirt, eh? a picture of a toilet bowl
in the back with the words NOTHING IS REAL (although I have no idea why put the
toilet bowl there. it's all random junk. like the voices you hear if you've woken
up at 4:30 am your mind somewhere between waking and sleeping consciousness and
they seem to come from not the outside (as percieved by one's ears) but from
within).

Peace, Love, and Alcohol

MonkeyKing@PunkAss.com


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 4, 1999 3:38 PM - 133 of 335

zephir - good advice. This cartoon bites.

fidra52 - I loved the DOOM PATROL characters but I wouldn't want to go back to
them. I ended it as I wanted it to end with Cliff and Jane on the bridge to
everywhere and that was it really.

shirleydoe - Zauriel started out as an attempt by Mark Millar and I to create a
completely new and updated Hawkman. Instead of the science fiction origin of
Katar Hol, we gave him a heavenly background to explain the wings and the
crusading. He was originally intended to appear in the JLA under the name Hawkman
and I imagined a sense-strangling battle of the Hawkmen between Zauriel and Katar
Hol at some point down the line. The Hawkman name was seen as a biohazard after
the numerous continuity maulings the character had sustained. We were asked to
retain the angel concept and simply call him Zauriel. I felt it took away the
mythic power of the name Hawkman from the team but I grew to like Zauriel and
when, as you say, I decided to write him as DC's Thor but with a
Judaeo-Christian/Muslim background to replace the halls of Asgard etc.

Fenris - hi. I'd be interested to hear more about your experiments. My bands were
pretty poppy. It was the 80s and we were into the Sex Pistols and the Beatles and
the Velvet Underground. Feedback pop. That was it. Later stuff is a little more
sophisticated but I've never specifically used the music for magic. I know of
many people who've had interesting results. I a always felt words and pictures
were my natural medium for sorcery.

HectorLima - nice to hear from you. I once had an invite to Rio but missed the
flight. I'm hoping to get an Invisibles script up on the Bomb site sometime.
Otherwise there are plans to make scripts available which I'll let everyone know
about as soon as they're reality.

PhilipAMoore - the Animal Man story is unlikely to ever happen but Buddy does
appear in my final JLA doorstop. I'm sure there were only two rejected Animal Man
scripts. One was the infamous Gorillas-A-G0-Go (the later attempt to sell the
script as a one-shot without A-Man but with all the 60s romance and pop
characters had a much twistier and funnier caper movie story). The other story
was a really heavy grim animal rights tract. All the characters I threw into JLA
will reappear when I do.

FriendlyBoy23 - wait for the cartoon.


Guest_Melanie_astrogirl - Oct 4, 1999 3:39 PM - 134 of 335

Hey Grant-

First off, I want you to know that you are absolutely my favorite "big name"
artist working today. As a writer and an artist myself, I truly admire the risks
you take, the intelligience and originality of your work and what seems like true
artistic integrity. You are definitely one of my role models and influences - and
I really can't tell you how much I appreciate that. I had never even heard of you
just over a year ago when my ex-boyfriend turned me on to "The Invisibles," which
has oozed its way into my conciousness to become my favorite comic. I'm still
making my way through a lot of your older stuff (half of which is of course out
of print and impossible to find), but I have to say that I've never read an
"Invisibles" without being introduced to a new theory or idea - which aside from
the fact that the book's so well-written makes every time an issue comes out a
sheer pleasure for me!! So thanks for that as well!

OK, done with the shameless flattery, on with the questions.

1. You've said in this forum, as you have in several other interviews I've read,
that the "Invisibles" is a concept that's decidedly 90s. While I see what you're
saying - and I agree with you that we've seen quite a few changes in the world
since the Invisibles started in 94 compared to now, I'm wondering what you would
consider a story idea for the new millennium? I can't believe I'm the first
person to think about this - have you thought about it? I know you're taking a
break from writing comics, but do you have plans in mind to do a similar "epoch -
themed" book for the millennium? Or does that idea seem redundant to you?

2. What sort of obsessive, well-organized vitriolic letter-writing campaign do I
need to organize in order to get DC to compile the rest of Volume 1 into a trade
paperback(and therefore stop my lazy-arse search for back issues)?

3. I agree with you about "The Matrix" - when I was watching it I remember
thinking, "This is like watching 'The Invisibles' on screen!" Here's the question
for you, tho, Grant. Is it just me or Switch = Jolly Roger? They look an awful
lot alike n'est-ce pas?

4. The 'Invisibles' mailing list was talking about the significance of flies
appearing in your work. Apparently there have been recurring flies in
"Invisibles," and two other comics you've written (I think I know which two but
I'm not remembering which- Doom Patrol and Animal Man?). My personal take on the
fly in "The Invisibles" - with the many-eyed fly - is a myriad of interpretations
- many different ways of "seeing" the story. ANother theory is the fly on the
wall is me (the reader). Am I close? Or is it all just a coincidence?

Well, that's it! Thanks a lot for reading this and responding, Grant!! I cannot
wait to see what you produce next!


Guest_Dr.Zaius - Oct 4, 1999 3:40 PM - 135 of 335

Grant,

I have really enjoyed you JLA work. It has had some great stuff. I'm really
interested in the crime syndicate graphic novel. However my favorite work of
yours was your Flash issue featuring a day in the life of Jay Garrick. That was
an amazing story and is one of my favorite comic stories of all time. It made me
cry and made me smile. It also made Jay Garrick my favorite DC character. Thanks,
again Any chance of you writing Jay again in the future?I would love to see a
one-shot or a mini-series.

Thanks, Dr.Z


Guest_mgb - Oct 4, 1999 3:55 PM - 136 of 335

hi grant,

thanks for the reply. I've not come across Hakim Bey, but will check him/her out.
the relation between personal and consensus reality seems to me to be the
battlefield history has and is being played out upon. 9 to 5, anyone?

One of my current frontrunners for 2012 is the magnetic pole shift thing. Lots of
interesting material implications, (magnetic media of all kinds being wiped), and
magenetic effects on organisms...well, who knows?

that's excellent news about steve yeowell doing invisibles stuff - I always
wondered how you felt about his visions of your work, as Zenith just seemed so
kind of complete, and up 'til his current devlin thing I've felt he hasn't really
cracked into anything with real feeling.

and the drunk clubland offer for London visits can be accessed through
mgb@coolweb.co.uk

take care,


Guest_GrantMorrison - Oct 4, 1999 4:18 PM - 137 of 335

I'm going to write for a bit and reply to more stuff later until I'm blind with
the milligauss blasting of it - going backwards on this page...

Dr Zaius - love those monkeys. I'm glad you enjoyed the Jay Garrick story. It's
one of my favorites and was really only plotted by me with a little dialogue
assist. The issue's brilliance was down to my collaborator Mark Millar, a man
wanted for war crimes in five countries. My only other input was an idea for the
splash page - Jay painting a bowl of fruit he's just tossed in the air -
capturing them at superspeed in watercolors before breakfast. The reflective
splash that was used was much better for the mood of the story. I don't know if
I'll ever write Jay again. Not for a while certainly

MelanieAstrogirl - thanks. I look forward to seeing your work at large in the
world. 1) I definitely do have an idea for the new century and the
post-post-modern age that is coming. There are hints of some of this new stuff in
the last Invisibles but I intend to expand the ideas into the book I'm writing
between now and whenever. I've made a start and it's...um a superdense black
satire about the world beyond Individuality. 2) Whatever you can do... 3) First
thing I thought when she came onscreen. I did like the women in the Matrix though
- they had chopped hair and lines at the corners of the mouths - the first screen
hint of the Stormer anti-Pammie archetype or whatever it'll be called. 4) Flies.
Beats me. It embarrasses me to say that a lot of what goes down on paper is
purely unconscious. I often read comics I've written, with no memory of having
been involved at any level. It's like the elves cobbling your shoes at night.
THis isn't a way of sliding out of admitting that sometimes things which don't
necessarily appear meaningful can hide in narrative cracks but it often seems
that my conscious mind does nothing but wrestle with the dreamlike aspects of
Invisibles etc and more than often loses the scuffle. Much of it is beyond
explanation but not beyond contemplation. Which is to say - flies ? I've noticed
them and they're never fully intentional or important to the plot. Beelzelbub ?
THE LORD OF THE FLIES himself perhaps ? I have no idea why my literary droppings
are covered in bluebottles, astro...

Sergey - you too, man. Speaking of televison and according to Rudy Rucker, you
can tune your TV to a white noise station and pick up regular five minute washes
of signal emitted by a pulsar in the Crab Nebula. Who needs HBO ?


Guest_rory - Oct 4, 1999 4:42 PM - 138 of 335

Grant: on question that's been bugging me since fifth year at school. (Hermitage
Academy, Helensburgh 1988) - In Zenith Phase 3part4: 'Facts and Figures', did you
seek cut and pastage from a book called New York Trilogy (City of Glass) from a
character called Stillman for Maximan's strange language structure? I happened to
be reading that book round about the same time and I was