The Invisibles volume 1 issues 11 to 16

-- These issues are:

The Invisibles volume 1...

Royal Monsters (#11), Best Man Fall (#12), the three-parter SHEMAN (#13, #14, #15) and London (#16).

-- Collected edition:

These six issues are the last six (of the eight) of the second collected edition "Apocalipstick" -  pictured.

(A note on the cover. While the first collected edition is currently being published, with a re-use of, oddly, Brian Bolland's cover for an issue of volume 2 of The Invisibles, this is a wholly new Bolland cover not on any issue of the series.

Another note - just announced - the omnibus edition will be published in August 2012!)


ANALYSIS

-- Quote of the month:

Edith, on Dane being “spirit” of the five elemental roles of the team...

 “Spirit? Oh well, it's dazzlingly obvious then. The spirit's role's always unpredictable, you know that. It exits to galvanize and revitalise the elements around it. Here's a boy whose hatred of authority is such that he even rebels against us, against the Invisibles. I think he's here to test you to your limits, Gideon. That's what I think. He's here to shake you to the core.

To get him back, you're going to have to enter the labyrinth and face the beast. You must brave the jaws of the dragon, dear.

Each of you in turn, I shouldn't wonder."

(Issue #13, page 20.)


-- Panels of the month:

Issue #13, page 2 - King Mob and Lord Fanny discuss the eschaton.

The Invisibles volume 1 issues 5 to 10

-- These issues are:

The Invisibles volume 1...

The four-parter ARCADIA (#5, #6, #7, #8, a time-travel adventure to the turn of the 19th Century and back) and 23: Things Fall Apart (#9, the escape from the windmill) and Season of Ghouls (#10, the character Jim Crow is introduced).

-- Collected edition:

These six issues are the second half of the first collected edition "Say You Want a Revolution" and the first two issues of "Apocalipstick" - both collected editions pictured.


ANALYSIS

-- Quote of the month:

King Mob - "Welcome to the revolution, Jack."


-- Panel of the month:

Issue #8, page 17 - the date of the apocalypse, the transformation: December 22nd, 2012.

The Invisibles volume 1 issues 1 to 4

-- These issues are:

The Invisibles volume 1...

Dead Beatles (#1, Dane meets King Mob with Lennon in the background) and the three-parter DOWN AND OUT IN HEAVEN AND HELL (#2, #3, #4 Dane is prepared by Tom O'Bedlam to join The Invisibles with a magickal mystery tour of London).

Welcome to "Counting to 2012"! There will be 12 blogposts across 2012, each published on the 22nd of each month. Each blogpost will cover 4 or 5 or 6 issues of the 59 issues of the 3 volumes of Grant Morrison's meisterwerk The Invisibles.

Originally published from 1994 to 2000, this "comic about everything" is being re-read in 2012: because that year is part of the fabric of the story; because 2012 is turning out to be a year of revolutions (also part of the fabric of the story); because it seems a fascinating exercise to re-read now that many of the ideas of The Invisibles are mainstream in 2012. I should say this will be for me a re-read for the first 30 issues, and I'll be reading the second half of the 59 for the first time.

These 12 blogposts with their 12 sections should be self explanatory - if you fancy reading along then note the sidebar which explains which collected editions will be read and talked about when.

-- Collected edition:

(FIRST HALF)

These four issues are the first half of the first collected edition "Say You Want a Revolution" - pictured.


ANALYSIS

-- Quote of the month:

King Mob - "You joined a long time ago. But if you don't want to come with us now, if you don't want to find out more about what this is all about, you're free to go your own way."

-- Panels of the month:

One of the two pages of the Lennon godhead (art by Steve Yeowell) of issue #1.