This Was the Best Vertigo Comics Series (And You Won’t Change My Mind)

Vertigo is one of the most venerable publishing imprints in the history of comics. Everyone knows the story of Vertigo — Alan Moore was brought to the US to write comics in the early ’80s and was a huge success, along with artists like Brian Bolland and Dave Gibbons. DC decided to get more British creators and the British Invasion, as it was called, gave DC weird books like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, Shade the Changing Man, Hellblazer, and The Sandman. These books were eventually sold just to mature readers, and in 1993, DC decided to start an imprint where it could put all of its mature reader comics, while also publishing creator owned books. That was how Vertigo was born. Vertigo gave readers the best comics of the ’90s and beyond, creating a legendary catalog of stories that resonates to this day with readers.

Vertigo is coming back and that got me thinking about my favorite Vertigo comic. I was a teen in the ’90s, and knew all about the Vertigo books, but I wouldn’t find the best Vertigo book of them all until the early ’00s — The Invisibles. Grant Morrison’s magnum opus is easily the greatest Vertigo series ever, and there’s no way to change my mind on that fact. The Invisibles is an amazing work, and it’s unlike nearly anything else out there.

The Invisibles Was the Wildest Book of the ’90s

When people think of Vertigo in the ’90s, they usually think of two kinds of books; either the goth weirdness of comics like The Sandman or the over the top insanity of Preacher. The Invisibles is nothing like either of them; it’s pure Grant Morrison. Grant Morrison is one of DC’s greatest talents, and their late ’80s/early ’90s series Animal Man and Doom Patrol helped set the scene for Vertigo, even joining the imprint after they had left the books. Their books were mind-blowing fiction, with Morrison dumping many of their ideas and beliefs into it. Morrison started The Invisibles right around the time that Vertigo came together, and it was one of the first creator owned books the imprint put out. Instead of playing into the goth aesthetic that was such a huge part of mid ’90s pop culture, The Invisibles lived in the raves and bondage clubs, in the gay bars and the cabarets.

It was also very much a story of the ’90s. The X-Files tapped into the conspiratorial vein that came to the fore in the decade, and The Invisibles took that to the next level. The X-Files posited that aliens were part of a grand conspiracy that linked the governments of the world. The Invisibles was similar, but also completely different. The titular Invisibles were ontological freedom fighters, fighting against the forces of the Outer Church, the ultimate conspiracy. The Outer Church were run by the Archons, who came from another universe, one of frightening order. The Invisibles, trained in magic and terrorism at the Invisible College, fought a war against the servants of the Outer Church, who controlled every government in the world.

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The Invisibles focused on one cell of Invisibles — King Mob, Lord Fanny, Ragged Robin, and Boy — as they recruited Dane McGowan, a Liverpudlian, who happened to be the reincarnation of the Buddha and the most powerful human being alive. The early issues of the books dealt with Dane’s training and the road he took to becoming Jack Frost, his magical name, as the Invisibles and the Outer Church both tried to get him to join them. Things really kick into high gear when the group moves to America after escaping the British servants of the Outer Church, as the Invisibles meet other cells, and get ready for the new millennium and a plan that the Outer Church have been readying for hundreds of years.

The Invisibles was a stylish, smart book that felt like the ’90s. The characters were brilliant; Morrison based both King Mob and Lord Fanny, a trans bruja, on themself, and they are two of comics’ greatest characters. Dane is hilarious and watching his journey of discovery and seeing him grow up is amazing. Robin and Boy are both much more than they appear, and the other characters — Mr. Six, Sir Miles, Jim Crow, Jolly Roger, Mason Lang, Mr. Quimper, and many, many more — are all entertaining, deep characters. The art was amazing, with legends like Jill Thomas, Phil Jimenez, and Chris Weston doing the lion’s share of the work, while Morrison alums like Steve Yeowell, Frank Quitely, and others also turned in beautiful issues. The Invisibles also contains one of the greatest single issue stories I’ve ever read — The Invisibles (Vol. 1) #13, titled “Best Man Fall”. It has to be experienced to be believed. It’s an complicated book, and it rewards constant re-readings.

The Invisibles Pushed the Envelope

The Invisibles took advantage of the freedom of the Vertigo line; while DC had been publishing “mature readers” books, none of them were as profane or sexual as The Invisibles. Preacher gets all the credit for being the most violent, profane Vertigo book ever, but The Invisibles gives it a run for its money. However, that’s not why The Invisibles is so amazing to me. No, what makes The Invisibles so brilliant is the way it pushed what a comic could be and expanded my mind.

The Invisibles takes occult ideas from across the 20th century and beyond and puts them on the page. The Invisibles is a book that will teach its readers so much, and change the way they look at the world. It has a little bit of everything — action, adventure, drugs, dancing, sex, comedy, love. It’s not the kind of comic that one just reads, it becomes a part of your life. It makes you want to know more about the ideas inside it, and it makes you think about the nature of reality in new ways. It’s more than a comic, and it will enrich anyone who gives it a try.

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