Anarchy for the Masses: An Underground Guide to 'The Invisibles' [Paperback]

Patrick Neighly (Author), Kereth Cowe-Spigai (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002

An uncensored look at one of the most ground-breaking and controversial comic book series of the last decade, including:

* All-new, exclusive interviews with creator Grant Morrison and many of the series' artists and editors, including Philip Bond, Phil Jimenez, Stuart Moore, Sean Phillips, Jill Thompson, Chris Weston, Steve Yeowell and more.

* Immensely detailed annotations and analysis of every issue of The Invisibles, including ancillary materials such as Hexy and And We're all Policemen, with running commentary by Grant Morrison and others.

* A detailed exploration of the series' themes, iconography and cosmology.

* A date-by-date timeline on the series and linear biographies of its characters.

* How The Invisibles is a spell to create Invisibles!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a stunning achievement ... just fabulous, both a fitting exegesis and tribute to the series ... don't miss it." Steven Grant -- Comic Book Resources 6/5/02

About the Author

Journalist Patrick Neighly wrote his contributions for this book while on a year-long sabbatical in Bangkok, Thailand, which is almost, but not quite, as strange as the series itself. He is currently working on an original graphic novel integrating some of his observations from that time.

Author Kereth Cowe-Spigai refused to get into Buffy: The Vampire Slayer until her commitment to this book was completed, so rabid is her appreciation of the works of Grant Morrison. She is now writing her first comic book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Mad Yak Press (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971799504
• ISBN-13: 978-0971799509
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #451,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars All and nothing at all, September 17, 2002

By 

Fabio Rossi (Milano, MI Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anarchy for the Masses: An Underground Guide to 'The Invisibles' (Paperback)

...or almost.

Fact is, this very well-designed book is divided up in small chapters - one for each Invisibles issue. Every chapter is in its turn composed of small interviews (the bulk of them being with artist Jimenez), two separate fan-like comments from the curators and an occasional small quote from Grant Morrison himself.
Finally, in the sidebars of each page, there is a very detailed comment to each relevant panel or phrase. "Very detailed" meaning that the authors even go to the lenghts of reminding the reader that "Marylin Monroe was a big sex symbol in the late Fifties and onward..." etc etc.

I actually liked this "take nothing for granted" approach, but with it come a number of problems. First and foremost, there are no visual references, so you have to keep the orginal Invisibles book at hand to follow the notes. Then, this much detail means lots of text, which in turn had to be printed very small to fit on the sidebars - reading it might be tiring to many.

The final interview with Grant Morrison is priceless, altough it replicates much stuff that you can easily find on the sites devoted to The Invisibles.

So is this book worth the buying? My answer is maybe not if you're already heavily into fringe counterculture, as you'll already know about everything there's to know. In any other case, go for it as it can make your Invisibles reading experience much more layered and interesting.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Okay...but..., July 9, 2002

By 

"bryan_krol" (tempe, az USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anarchy for the Masses: An Underground Guide to 'The Invisibles' (Paperback)

I was hoping for a more "traditional" style dissection of the themes and events in 'The Invisibles'. Or at least some more in-depth interviews regarding the series. To be fair, the new Grant Morrison interview is pretty good, and it is nice to have the annotations in one volume (opposed to the online sources like Jaybabcock.com and Barbelith.com), but I guess I was expecting a more serious, perhaps even literary, view of the series.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs more critical depth, August 31, 2005

By 

Lucien the Librarian (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anarchy For The Masses: The Disinformation Guide to The Invisibles (Paperback)

This guide is better than no guide at all, given the (probably intentionally) confusing nature of many chapters within Grant Morrison's non-linear magnum opus. However, the page-by-page annotations are repetitive (I don't need *constantly* to be told that "Life as film is a recurring theme") and often assume the readers have spent their entire lives in a cave (I *know* who Ringo Starr and Richard Nixon are, thanks!). At the same time, missing from the annotations is any serious discussion (beyond brief mentions) of chaos magic, anarchist theory or other key themes and influences. The authors' one-paragraph reviews of each issue occasionally contain genuine insight, but more often focus on praising or nitpicking the artists' work, fanboy-style. Surely in such a profound work as *The Invisibles* it's the writing that's of primary importance?

This guide merits two extra stars: one for the helpful, editorially neutral issue-by-issue plot summaries which clear up many ambiguous moments in the series; and one for the engrossing Morrison interview at the end. Interested readers should consult the Invisibles section of Barbelith online and the Grant Morrison pages on Disinformation online; you'll find much more intelligent discussion than found in this guide.