Surfing the net is one viable option for jolting up your brain. Especially when you're trapped in a very mechanically routine job as mine. The work environment is the usual its just me and the awful admin page othe site that I maintain. But thankfully there is free unlimited access to the internet here at the office thus enriching my skill at the 'Alt-Tab'routine but still true enough it still manages to give me the much needed distraction from the eye aching sight of that lousy boring admin page.
I accidentally stumbled upon a site that contains links to various web sites that carry information about the DC Vertigo line of comics which I am really fond of. So what I did is I surfed the site.

True enough the site was a goldmine of links and one in particular link there got me the link to sites containing a goldmine of information about this opus called The Invisibles authored by the Brit writer Grant Morrison whom I have earlier written a post about in this blog along with his fellow Brit writer Alan Moore. The comic is basically a psychedelic epic that details the adventures of a group of anarchist freedom fighters who battle against physical and psychic oppression using time travel, magic, martial arts, guns and transcendental meditation. It may well have influenced The Matrix trilogy of films or might have been influenced by this old anime entitled Akira.
The story of the comic focuses on a particular cell of Invisibles lead by a skinhead named King Mob whose character is based on the persona of author Grant Morrison among its other characters are that of Dane McGowan aka Jack Frost, a young street punk from Liverpool who could very well be the next Buddha; as well as Lord Fanny, a Brazilian shaman and transvestite; Boy, a former NY City police officer and Ragged Robin, a telepathic time-traveller.
The book intimately distilled Morrison's notion on 1990s conspiracy culture and just about every fringe notion he could find into the book, whether or not he believed in it, creating a hypersigil with the intention of jumpstarting the culture in a more positive direction.
It deals with issues ranging from The French Revolution (which apparently was instigated by the said group); Marquis de Sade (whom they hired to wage their war of psychic revolution); as well as other references to several counter-cultural flora and fauna that has been collectively interwoven by Morrison to create this grand tale about how the human race is caught up ignorant about the real happenings in the world that they live in and the quest of the Invisibles to liberate the minds of the people from that erg of ignorance which has been all throughout history utilized by the powers that be to subdue humanity into constant submission to all heirarchial forms of government, however tyranical they may be.
Its about anarchy for the masses it dispels a lot of references to revolutionary anarchism and its adherence to direct action and the like.
On a personal note it was one of those comic books that have really got me to think about a lot of things. It was an influential book during my transition from high school to college.
The very first copy of it is still read constantly ever since I've brought it home from a comic book shop's sale bin. It was one of the few comic books that have molded me into deciding to take part in student activism in college and not to mention mold my political inclinations. It's what brought me to understanding the true nature of anarchism which is bent on self-control and self-organization as well as personal initiative in making society habitable. And for that reason I take up this space so as to give a fitting tribute to such a work of art that has played its role in my life.
Its comforting to know that every once and a while you'd stumble into something in the net and be reminded of the things that you've valued in the previous years that have come and gone and that reminder was that of the Invisble's contribution in my life.

I may no longer totally adher now to what the comic book may dispel or incite but true enough it has been a positive channel of youthful angst during those years of idealism in the university. This may not be a very well written tribute to such an influential book but I truly hope that this would vindicate my long neglect for its real worth in molding me into what I am today.
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For further information on the book feel free to visit the links below
The Invisibles Links
The Bomb - a collection of anotations as well as a detailed introspection of the book and its inner workings.

posted by m35b @ Friday, November 12, 2004

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