Grant Morrison

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Grant Morrison

Grant Morrison in 2006.
Born January 31, 1960 (age 47)
Glasgow
Nationality
Scottish
Area(s) Writer
Notable works Animal Man
Invisibles
The Filth
JLA

Grant Morrison (born January 31, 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. He is best-known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings.

Contents

Morrison was born in Glasgow.

His first published works were Gideon Stargrave strips for Near Myths in 1978, one of the first British alternative comics. Although his work only appeared in three issues of Near Myths, he was suitably encouraged to find more comic work. This included Captain Clyde, a Captain America-type superhero based in Glasgow, for a local newspaper, plus various issues of DC Thomson's Starblazer, a science fiction version of that company's Commando title.

Steve Yeowell's cover to Zenith Book one.
Steve Yeowell's cover to Zenith Book one.

Morrison spent much of the early and mid-1980s struggling to find work with a major comic publisher. However, after writing The Liberators for Dez Skinn's Warrior in 1985, he started work for Marvel UK the following year. There he wrote two three-part and one one-part eight-page comic strips for Doctor Who Magazine (his final one a collaboration with a then-teenage Bryan Hitch as well as a Zoids strip in Spider-Man and Zoids. 1986 also saw Morrison start to write several Future Shocks (normally short two- or three-page comic strips) for 2000AD.

Morrison, however, wanted to write a continuing strip rather than short stories. He got his wish in 1987, when he and Steve Yeowell created Zenith, an early example of deconstructing the superhero genre.

Morrison had been sending proposals to DC Comics for revamping various minor characters during this time. He had several proposals rejected, including one for the Phantom Stranger and for Flash, but his work on Zenith got him noticed by DC. They accepted his proposal for Animal Man, a little-known character from DC's past whose most notable recent appearance was a cameo in the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series.

Animal Man placed Morrison at the head of the so-called "Brit Wave" invasion of American comics, along with such writers as Neil Gaiman, Peter Milligan, Jamie Delano and Alan Moore (who had launched the invasion with his work on Swamp Thing). Morrison had himself a hit with Animal Man, even writing himself into the story as a character in his final issue, #26.

Morrison's uniquely surreal take on the superhero genre proved such a success that he was given Doom Patrol to write, starting with issue #19 in 1989. Previously, Doom Patrol had been a fairly formulaic superhero title. Morrison introduced more surreal elements, inserting concepts such as dadaism into his first several issues.

1989 was also the year Morrison wrote Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. Painted by Dave McKean, Arkham Asylum was a Batman graphic novel that featured uses of symbolic writing not common in comics at the time. (The story was to have included a transvestite Joker, an element toned down by DC.) The book cemented his reputation as a major talent in the industry. Morrison also wrote various other titles for DC at this time, most notably issues 6-10 of Legends of the Dark Knight called Gothic, another of DC's Batman titles.

He also kept working for smaller publishers, most notably writing St. Swithin's Day for British publisher Trident Comics. St. Swithin's Day proved to be controversial due to its anti-Margaret Thatcher themes, even provoking a small tabloid press fury and complaints from Tory MPs such as Teddy Taylor.

He was also still writing for the 2000AD spin-off title Crisis. It was in Crisis he would experience controversy again with The New Adventures of Hitler — a strip that started life in Cut magazine in 1989 — due to its use of Adolf Hitler as its lead character. He also experimented in storytelling with artist Daniel Vallely on Bible John-A Forensic Meditation, telling the story of the Glaswegian serial killer of the same name.

The early 1990s saw Morrison revamping another old DC character, Kid Eternity, with artist Duncan Fegredo, and updating Dan Dare to be set in the era of Thatcherism in Revolver.

In 1993 Morrison and fellow Glaswegian comic writer Mark Millar were "given" 2000AD for an eight-week run called "The Summer Offensive". Morrison wrote Judge Dredd and co-wrote with Millar Big Dave, a highly controversial strip that helped give Morrison and Millar some brief fame outside the world of comics.

1993 also saw the start of DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, which published several Morrison titles, such as the steampunk mini-series Sebastian O and the graphic novel The Mystery Play. Later Morrison would write Flex Mentallo, a Doom Patrol spin-off with art by Frank Quitely, and Kill Your Boyfriend, with artist Philip Bond, for Vertigo. He also returned briefly to DC Universe superheroics with the critically acclaimed but short-lived Aztek, co-written with Mark Millar.

Cover of Invisibles volume 1, #1
Cover of Invisibles volume 1, #1

In 1996, Morrison was given the Justice League of America to revamp as JLA, a comic book that gathered the most powerful superheroes of the DC universe into one team. This run proved to be hugely popular, returning the title back to its former best-selling status. It also proved to be influential in creating the type of "widescreen" superhero action later seen in titles such as Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch's The Authority. He also handled DC's crossover event of 1998, DC One Million, a four-issue mini-series with multiple crossovers, as well as several issues of The Flash with Mark Millar.

It was with The Invisibles, a work in three volumes, that Morrison would start his largest and possibly most important work. The Invisibles combined political, pop- and sub-cultural references. Tapping into pre-millennial tension, the work was influenced by the writings of Timothy Leary and Morrison's practice of chaos magic.

At DisinfoCon in 1999, Morrison said that much of the content in The Invisibles was information given to him by aliens that abducted him in Kathmandu, who told him to spread this information to the world via a comic book. He later clarified that the experience he labeled as the "Alien Abduction Experience in Kathmandu" had nothing to do with aliens or abduction, but that there was an experience that he had in Kathmandu that The Invisibles is an attempt to explain.[1]

The title was not a huge commercial hit to start with. (Morrison actually asked his readers to participate in a "wankathon" while concentrating on a magical symbol, or sigil, in an effort to boost sales).[2] The first issues were critically acclaimed, but many readers found them too confusing or lacking in action. The title was canceled and relaunched as volume two — intentionally more "American" — featuring more action while still maintaining Morrison's ideas and themes.

Volume three appeared with issue numbers counting down, signaling an intention to conclude the series with the turn of the new millennium in 2000. However, due to the title shipping late, its final issue did not ship until April 2000. The entire series has been collected by Vertigo into trade paperback.

In 2000, Morrison's graphic novel JLA:Earth 2 was released with art by Frank Quitely. It was Morrison's last mainstream work for DC for a while, as he moved to Marvel Comics to take over the writing of X-Men (which was renamed New X-Men for his run), with Quitely providing much of the art. Again, Morrison's revamping of a major superhero team proved to be a critical and commercial success. However, his penultimate arc, 'Planet X', is the subject of much controversy due to his depiction of the classic villain Magneto as a raving lunatic (the result of a drug addiction). This has since been retconned by other writers and Morrison's Magneto is now identified with a more minor character named Xorn.

Morrison had one more project for Vertigo during this time: The Filth, drawn by Chris Weston and Gary Erskine. The Filth actually started out as a Nick Fury proposal for Marvel, which had turned the idea down. Morrison adapted it into a 13-part mini-series, said to be heavily influenced by Chris Morris's Blue Jam radio series.

WE3#1, cover art by Frank Quitely.
WE3#1, cover art by Frank Quitely.

Morrison also wrote the six-part Marvel Boy series, as well as Fantastic Four 1234, his take on another major superhero team. Morrison helped challenge Marvel's reputation for being closed to new ideas, but after finishing his New X-Men, he returned to DC Comics to work on several titles and help revamp the DC Universe.

Starting in 2004, Vertigo published three Morrison mini-series. Seaguy, WE3 and Vimanarama involve, respectively, a picaresque hero in a post-utopian world that doesn't need him; cyber-enhanced pets running from their captors in what Morrison calls his "western manga"; and ancient Hindu/Pakistani myths translated into Jack Kirby-style adventures. WE3 came in for particular praise for its bold storytelling techniques and artwork by Frank Quitely. Morrison also returned to the JLA with the first story in a new anthology series, JLA: Classified, tales set within the JLA mythos by various creative teams.

All-Star Superman #1 cover art by Frank Quitely.
All-Star Superman #1 cover art by Frank Quitely.

In 2005, DC Comics started publishing what was dubbed the first ever "megaseries". The Grant Morrison-scripted Seven Soldiers of Victory features updated versions of older, mostly obscure DC characters: the Guardian, Mister Miracle, Klarion the Witch Boy, Bulleteer, Frankenstein, Zatanna and Shining Knight. The maxi-series consists of seven interlinked four-issue miniseries with two "bookend" volumes — 30 issues in all.

Dan DiDio (current editorial vice president of DC Comics) was impressed with Morrison's ideas for revamped characters. Giving him the unofficial title of "rewrite guy", DiDio asked him to assist in sorting out the DC Universe in the wake of the Infinite Crisis. Morrison is also one of the writers on 52, a yearlong weekly comic book series that started in May 2006.

In November 2005, DC started publishing a new ongoing Superman series, starting with a 12-issue story arc by Morrison and Frank Quitely. Called All Star Superman, the series will not so much revamp or reboot Superman, but present an out-of-continuity "iconic" Superman for new readers. Morrison and Quitely have also worked on pop star Robbie Williams' album Intensive Care, providing designs for the packaging and cover of the CD.

As of 2006, Morrison is writing Batman with art by Andy Kubert & Jesse Delperdang, for DC. As well, he is authoring the relaunches of The Authority and Wildcats (with the art of Gene Ha and Jim Lee respectively) for DC's Wildstorm imprint.

Since 2003, writer and journalist Craig McGill has been working on an authorised biography of Morrison. [3]

Grant Morrison first appeared as a comics character with a cameo in Animal Man #14. He made a full appearance at the end of issue #25, and spent most of #26 in a lengthy conversation with the comic's title character, particularly on the topic of how realism has to be part of comic books somewhere. Nevertheless, in the end, Animal Man's family returned from the dead due to 'his' influence.

Shortly afterwards, a Morrison-resembling character called "The Writer" appeared in issue 58 of the DC Comics title Suicide Squad (written by John Ostrander).[4] This issue was part of the War Of The Gods storyline. He was seen protesting that other "writers" had taken control of his fate now that he was part of "the continuity". He demonstrated his skills by writing down dialogue onto a laptop. This text was attributed to specific, gathered, super-hero allies. Moments later, the allies then said those very words. He then participated in the attack on the stronghold of Circe. He eliminated a few enemies by writing of their deaths, which then happened. Writer's block then hit and he was killed by a bestial humanoid.

Morrison would later be counted among the Seven Unknown Men of Slaughter Swamp, the body of "reality engineers" seen throughout the Seven Soldiers miniseries event.[5]

He has also appeared in an issue of Simpsons Comics, where he is seen fighting with Mark Millar over the X-Men titles.[6]

In the notes to the Absolute Edition of DC: The New Frontier, writer Darwyn Cooke mentioned that this version of Captain Cold was visually based upon Morrison.

Morrison occasionally involves himself in screen writing and has written numerous scripts and treatments for several different projects, including Sleepless Knights, a film for director Ridley Scott, and sequels to The Lawnmower Man. None of his screen writing projects has yet been produced.[7]

He will also be writing an adaptation of the viedo game Area 51 home console game. [8]

Brian Bolland's cover to Animal Man #5
Brian Bolland's cover to Animal Man #5

  • Near Myths (providing both art and script):
    • "Time is a Four-Lettered Word" (in Near Myths #2, 1978)
    • "Gideon Stargrave" (in Near Myths #3-4, 1978-1979)
    • "The Checkmate Man" (in Near Myths #5, 1980)
  • Starblazer (both writing, drawing and occasional inking):
    • "Algol the Terrible" (script and art, #15, 1979)
    • "Last Man on Earth" (with Keith Robson, #28, 1980)
    • "Operation Overkill" (with Enrique Alcatena, #45, 1981)
    • "The Cosmic Outlaw" (with Jose Ortiz, #86, 1982)
    • "The Death Reaper" (with Enrique Alcatena, #127, 1984)
    • "Gateway to Terror" (with unknown author; Pencils: Tony O'Donnell, #142, 1985)
    • "Doom World!" (with script: Ray Aspden; Pencils: Tony O'Donnell, #152, 1985)
    • "Mind Bender" (with Enrique Alcatena, #167, 1986)
    • "The Midas Mystery" (with Enrique Alcatena, #177, 1986)
    • "The Ring of Gofannon" (with Garijo, #209, 1987)
  • "The House of Hearts Desire" (with Dom Regan, in A1 #3, 1989)
  • The New Adventures of Hitler (with Steve Yeowell):
    • "What Do You Mean, Ideologically Unsound?" (in Crisis #46, 1990)
    • "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" (in Crisis #47, 1990)
    • "Mr. Hitler's Holiday" (in Crisis #48, 1990)
    • Part 4 (in Crisis #49, 1990)

  • Tharg's Future Shocks:
    • "Doing Time" (with Geoff Senior, in 2000 AD #463, 1986)
    • "The Alteration" (with Alan Langford, in 2000 AD #466, 1986)
    • "Alien Aid" (with John Stokes, in 2000 AD #469, 1986)
    • "Some People Never Listen" (with Barry Kitson, in 2000 AD #475, 1986)
    • "The Shop that Sold Everything" (with John Stokes, in 2000 AD #477, 1986)
    • "Wheels of Fury" (with Geoff Senior, in 2000 AD #481, 1986)
    • "Curse Your Lucky Star" (with Barry Kitson, in 2000 AD #482, 1986)
    • "Return to Sender" (with Jeff Anderson, in 2000AD Annual 1987, 1986)
    • "Maniac for Hire" (with Johnny Johnstone, in 2000 AD #507, 1987)
    • "Fruitcake and Veg" (with Colin MacNeil, in 2000 AD #508-509, 1987)
    • "Fair Exchange" (with Colin MacNeil, in 2000 AD #514, 1986)
    • "The Invisible Etchings of S. Dali" (with John Hicklenton, in 2000 AD #515, 1986)
    • "Big Trouble for Blast Barclay" (with Art: Mike White; Colours: Clive McGee, in 2000 AD #516, 1986)
  • One-Off:
    • "Danger: Genius at Work" (with Steve Dillon, in 2000 AD #479, 1986)
    • "Candy and the Catchman" (with John Ridgway, in 2000 AD #491, 1986)
  • Zenith:
    • "Phase One" (with Steve Yeowell, in 2000 AD #535-549, 1987) (also tpb)
    • "Interludes 1 & 2" (with Steve Yeowell, in 2000 AD #558-559, 1988) (reprinted in Book Two)
    • "Phase Two" (with Steve Yeowell, in 2000 AD #589-606, 1988) (also tpbs, Books Two and Three)
    • "Interlude 3" (with Steve Yeowell, in 2000 AD Winter Special, 1988)
    • "Maximan" (with M. Carmona, in 2000AD Winter Special 1988)
    • "Mandala: Shadows & Reflections" (with Jim McCarthy, in 2000AD Annual 1990, 1989)
    • "Phase Three" (with Steve Yeowell, in 2000 AD #626-634, 650-662 & 667-670, 1989-90) (also tpbs, Books Four and Five)
    • "Phase Four" (with Steve Yeowell, in 2000 AD #791-806, 1992)
    • "zzzzenith.com" (with Steve Yeowell, in 2000 AD prog 2001, 2000)
  • Big Dave (with Mark Millar):
    • "Target Baghdad" (with Steve Parkhouse, in 2000 AD #842-845, 1993)
    • "Young Dave" (with Steve Parkhouse, in 2000AD Yearbook 1994, 1993)
    • "Monarchy in the UK" (with Steve Parkhouse, in 2000 AD #846-849, 1994)
    • "Costa del Chaos" (with Anthony Williams, in 2000 AD #869-872, 1994)
    • "Wotta Lotta Balls" (with Steve Parkhouse, in 2000 AD #904-907, 1994)

The cover of JLA:New World Order collecting the first four issues of Morrison's run. Art by Howard Porter.
The cover of JLA:New World Order collecting the first four issues of Morrison's run. Art by Howard Porter.
  • Flash:
    • "Flash of Two Worlds" (Secret Origins #50, 1990)
    • Flash #130-138 (with co-writer Mark Millar, 1997)

  • Doom Patrol (DC, #19-63, 1989-1993):
    • Crawling From the Wreckage (tpb collects Doom Patrol #19-25, 2000 ISBN 1-56389-034-8)
    • The Painting That Ate Paris (tpb collects Doom Patrol #26-34, 2004 ISBN 1-4012-0342-6)
    • Down Paradise Way (tpb collects Doom Patrol #35-41, 2005 ISBN 1-4012-0726-X)
    • Musclebound (tpb collects Doom Patrol #42-50, August 2006 ISBN 1-4012-0999-8)
    • Magic Bus (tpb collects Doom Patrol #51-57, January 2007)
  • Swamp Thing: "Bad Gumbo" (with co-writer Mark Millar and artist Philip Hester, Vertigo, #140-143, 1994)

  • Nick Fury: "Nick's World" (in Marvel Knights: Double Shot #2, 2002)

  • Vampirella (Harris Comics, Vampirella Monthly #1-6 and "Blood Red Game" collected in Vampirella: the Morrison Millar Collection, 176 pages, March 2006)[17]
    • "Blood Red Game" (with Michael Bair and Kevin Nowlan, in Vampirella 25th Anniversary Special, 1996)
    • "Ascending Evil" (with co-writer Mark Millar, with art from Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, in Vampirella Monthly #1-3, 1997)
    • "Holy War" (with co-writer Mark Millar, with art by Louis Small Jnr, in Vampirella Monthly #4-6, 1997)
    • "Queen's Gambit" (with co-writer Mark Millar, with art from Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, in Vampirella Monthly #7-9, 1997)

  1. ^ http://www.barbelith.com/old/interviews/interview_4.shtml
  2. ^ http://www.barbelith.com/old/interviews/interview_9.shtml
  3. ^ http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=36&t=001597
  4. ^ Grant Morrison. "Pre Ink". grant-morrison.com. Retrieved on February 11, 2007.
  5. ^ "Seven Unknown Men". Barbelith. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
  6. ^ http://www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/images/gm_simpsons.jpg
  7. ^ http://www.grant-morrison.com/screenlist.htm
  8. ^ http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=9601 "Grant Morrison Goes Hollywood"
  9. ^ http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=8684
  10. ^ http://homepage.ntlworld.com/fish1000/index/lostandfound.htm#granbretan
  11. ^ http://www.bloodforthebaron.com/Blood/Action%20Force/Meditations%20In%20Red.htm
  12. ^ http://www.bloodforthebaron.com/Blood/Action%20Force/Action%20Force%20310.html
  13. ^ http://homepage.ntlworld.com/fish1000/index/lostandfound.htm#catwoman
  14. ^ http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=6220
  15. ^ http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=7290
  16. ^ http://homepage.ntlworld.com/fish1000/index/lostandfound.htm#catwoman
  17. ^ http://vampirella.com/issues/morrison_millar/

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