The Invisibles

The Invisibles
Title	The Invisibles
Publisher	DC Comics/Vertigo
Date	1994–2000
Creator	Grant Morrison
Writers	Grant Morrison
Artists	Stephen Bissette, Paul Johnson, Jill Thompson, Phil Jimenez, Chris Weston
Genre	Occult fiction, science fiction, conspiracy fiction

The Invisibles is a comic book series created by Grant Morrison and published by DC Comics under the Vertigo imprint from 1994 to 2000. The series interweaves elements of occultism, countercultural movements, literary theory, and esotericism into a metafictional narrative that spans settings such as London, New York City, Paris, and Moscow. Its cast and plot intersect with real-world events and cultural figures, engaging with sources ranging from Aleister Crowley and William S. Burroughs to Marshall McLuhan and Michel Foucault.

Overview

The Invisibles centers on an international group of covert operatives opposing a hidden authoritarian force across temporal and spatial planes. The text references movements and organizations such as Situationist International, Beat Generation, Black Power movement, Yippies, and Surrealist movement while drawing on the work of individuals like Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Jung. Settings include cultural nodes such as Soho, Chelsea, Camden Town, Greenwich Village, and institutions like Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern, and British Museum.

Publication history

The series debuted in 1994 with art by contributors including Steve Dillon, Jill Thompson, Philip Bond, Paul Johnson, Chris Weston, Phil Jimenez, and Stephen Bissette. It ran through 1999–2000, overlapping with contemporary comics such as Sandman, Preacher, Hellblazer, and Transmetropolitan. The title was edited within DC Comics by figures such as Karen Berger and intersected with editorial and market forces influenced by publishers like Image Comics, Marvel Comics, and distributors including Diamond Comic Distributors. Collected editions were issued as trade paperbacks and omnibuses that circulated in bookstores alongside works by Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, and Frank Miller.

Characters and teams

Primary operatives in the narrative include protagonists aligned with cells reminiscent of CIA black-ops tropes and guerrilla collectives. Key characters are drawn with allusions to historical and cultural figures: identities echoing John Lennon, William S. Burroughs, Marianne Faithfull, Aleister Crowley, and poets of the Beat Generation. Supporting roles reference personalities and organizations such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Che Guevara, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Thomas Paine, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Ralph Nader, Gloria Steinem, and Betty Friedan. The narrative structure evokes ensembles comparable to those in works featuring teams from X-Men, Watchmen, Justice League, and Suicide Squad.

Themes and influences

The series synthesizes esoterica, counterculture, and postmodern theory. It explicitly cites occultists and mystics including Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Austin Osman Spare, and Gerald Gardner while invoking literary precursors such as William Blake, Arthur Rimbaud, T. S. Eliot, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and Franz Kafka. Political and social theory influences include Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Guy Debord, and Marshall McLuhan. Music and popular culture touchstones such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Joy Division, Sex Pistols, and Ramones inform tone and iconography. The work engages with events and concepts like Cold War, Vietnam War, Watergate scandal, May 1968 protests, and McCarthyism.

Plot summary

Over its run, the storyline follows recruitment, initiation, field operations, betrayals, and metaphysical confrontations between insurgent cells and an oppressive intelligence. Incidents take place amid locales such as London Underground, Soho, New York Subway, Paris Métro, Moscow Metro, and remote sites evoking Tibet, Bhutan, and Siberia. Episodes reference historical incidents and figures including Irish Republican Army, Provisional IRA, Anti-Apartheid Movement, Solidarity, and the Iranian Revolution. The narrative incorporates sequences reminiscent of dissident literature like Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World, and the hallucinatory prose of William S. Burroughs.

Adaptations

Although not adapted into a major motion picture, the series influenced and intersected with creators and media across film, television, music, and theatre. Filmmakers and showrunners inspired by the work include names connected to productions such as The Matrix, Twin Peaks, Fight Club, Donnie Darko, and Mr. Robot. Musicians and bands citing the comic’s influence include members of Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Portishead, and Massive Attack. The title’s motifs appear in stage productions at venues like Royal Court Theatre and festivals such as Edinburgh Festival Fringe and influence video game narratives from studios comparable to BioWare and Valve Corporation.

Reception and legacy

Critical reception combined acclaim for its ambition with criticism for perceived convolution; reviews appeared alongside critiques of contemporaries including Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore. The series is frequently discussed in academic contexts with citations in studies relating to cultural studies, media studies, and occultism at institutions like University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Columbia University, New York University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Warwick, and Goldsmiths, University of London. Its legacy is evident in the work of subsequent comic writers and in references across popular culture, including creators affiliated with Vertigo alumni and independent presses such as Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics. The title is often archived and collected in library systems alongside landmark series like Watchmen, Maus, V for Vendetta, and The Sandman.

Category:Vertigo comics