BERKELEY PLACE’S TOP 10 GRANT MORRISON COMICS!

Because I don’t want to kill the suspense, I’ll post my “honorable mentions” at the end, and dig right in…

10. New X-Men (2002) (Marvel)

What’s the best written X-Men series of all time? If you’re talking accessibility, consistently beautiful art, and wonderful character work, it’s Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men. Hands down. But if you’re talking about the concepts of mutation-as-the-future-of-our-species, ethnic cleansing, and racism—all the central themes of the X-books from day one—my vote goes to Grant Morrison. And it’s impossible for me to pick out and list a single or few story arcs—something I easily could do with his Batman stuff.

From the beginning, with “E is for Extinction” (#114-116), Morrison completely rebooted the X-Men: Their costumes, Beast’s very appearance, the rapid development of the mutant gene, Emma Frost no longer being a bad guy…The whole thing was explosive, and disturbing to many X-fans at the time. He brought us true teen rebellion—something every “school” should always have, but didn’t for decades. Then he took us through the Xorn saga, which was brilliant. If you hate it, it’s probably because of what Marvel did with the Xorn character years later—not because of Morrison. And finally, he cleared the deck with a shocking twist at the end that forced readers to go back and re-read it again.

9. Animal Man (1988) (DC)

Although the series suffered from uneven artwork, it never stopped being challenging and wild. It used a lot of concepts similar to what Alan Moore was doing with Swamp Thing at the time, but also had Morrison’s playful experimentation with the 4th wall. It’s like reading the current Animal Man stuff, only good. The current series takes a lot of Morrison’s ideas and…Well, frankly, doesn’t really do much at all with them.

8. Seven Soldiers (2005) (DC)

Any Marvel or DC editor will tell you that the hardest thing to do is launch a new series with a new hero, or a hero who hasn’t been in a movie or TV show. But to make an entire event about it is just impossible. Unless you’re Grant Morrison. (It helps that Morrison got to work with the greatest DC artists around, including J.H. Williams, Simone Bianchi, Cameron Stewart, Ryan Sook, Yanick Paquette, etc.) A group of miniseries and one-shots that all tied together in a confusing, multi-universe tribute to comic books of all eras, Seven Soldiers is the best example of everything that’s right about great superhero events. It’s not clean, it’s not clear—it’s a sprawling, fists and capes filled mess of a story told at breakneck speed with nothing but joy and delight. Grant Morrison has sung the praises of the Batman: Brave and Bold cartoon, and this is like a more adult comic book version of that show. Absolute balls-out fun.

7. The Filth (2002) (Vertigo)

This is one I know I need to revisit. I read it once, years ago, and never wanted to read it again. Not because it was bad, but because it left me feeling so…Dirty. It’s an unflinching look at cruelty and evil, and it takes a strong, focused mind to read it. It’s a lot like The Invisibles, only more compressed and, in my view, more readable: A back-magic version of Nick Fury (mystical super-agent Doctor Strange type) goes against wild, Grant-Morrison-Doom-Patrol kind of stuff, to save the world. Even though he doesn’t want to.

6. We3 (2004) (Vertigo)

In the hands of anyone else, this would be a children’s book. In fact, it has been. “Animals on the run trying to get home and forming familial-like bonds in the face of adversity. It’s probably been over a hundred kids’ books, TV shows, movies, etc.

But in the hands of Morrison and Frank Quitely, it’s a powerful protest for animal rights, and the only Morrison work that ever made me cry. (I wasn’t sobbing like a little girl. I just got choked up. Don’t revoke my man card.)

5. Joe the Barbarian (2010) (Vertigo)

This is another one that people forget, but I love. When it came out in hardback I immediately bought three copies to give away. I’ve written about it before, here. I can’t praise it enough, and I wish to hell it could be made into a movie. Also, it elevated the career of artist Sean Phillips, who is now making brilliant indie comics of his own (see Punk Rock Jesus).

4. Flex Mentallo (1996) (Vertigo)

This goes into the “weird” Grant Morrison pile. He does here a lot of what he did at the end of his Animal Man run—he deconstructs comic books by telling a story about how important comic books are, and why the worlds of magic and super are critical to surviving the so-called “real” world we live in. Lines between the real and surreal often blend in Morrison’s work, and this comic is the best example of it.

3. Kill Your Boyfriend (1995) (Vertigo)

Flat out the most punk rock underground comic I have ever read. I remember the first time I read it, whipping through the pages as fast as I could—breathless. And then realizing it was too damn short and over far too soon. Like every great Ramones song. There are lessons in here for days about how to write a fast-paced book without sacrificing character or content—or insight. It’s hardcore and mature, and recognizes the real meaning of—and need for—teenage rebellion and anarchy, without glamour or apology. Warts and all. And Phillip Bond’s artwork, by the way, is tremendous. It’s a hard book to find, but you can get online copies fairly easily. It’s worth digging for.

And like I said earlier, I couldn’t get through The Invisibles because it was just too…Dense. This has some similar themes, and a similar message, but he tells the tale like a quick punch in the face.

And next, my favorite…And some other choice books….

2. Batman, Batman and Robin, Batman Inc. (2006-2013) (DC)

I’ve written extensively about Morrison’s Batman run on my old site, and eventually I’ll reprint those posts here. Morrison’s Batbooks are some of the best Batman stories ever. The best of his Batman books, I’d say, are: Batman And Son (#655-658), The Island of Mister Mayhew (#667-669), Joe Chill in Hell (#673), and Batman and Robin Volume 1, issues #1-3.

1. All-Star Superman (2005) (DC)

Yes, it’s an obvious pick for #1, but for good reason. This is probably the most romantic superhero comic I’ve ever read. All the blurbs you’ll read say it’s about the last days of Superman, but really it’s about how a mortal can love a God, and vice-versa, and the sacrifices each makes for the other. Most of Morrison’s work is mystical or cerebral, and there’s quite a bit of that here, too (Frank Quitely’s artistic style accentuates this—he eschews the buxom and overly muscled for a more “everyman” feel), but there’s an unusual sense of warmth and love throughout this book that you don’t really see in comics very often. Relationships in superbooks are usually used to create motive (revenge for the death of a loved one or desperation to save one). They usually aren’t the focal point.

A grittier, more violent version of The Invisibles—and one that works much better. In many ways, Morrison is the anti-Garth Ennis. Ennis likes to spit in the eye of superhero conventions, and (like Frank Miller) often seems to hate the very medium he makes great. Morrison spits in the eye of convention as well, but he does so out of a desire to elevate the medium, not to shatter it. ASS is Morrison’s love letter to superbooks.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

A top 10 list means some things don’t get listed, particularly when your bibliography is as extensive as Morrison’s. Below are works of GM that I love, but just couldn’t fit on the list ‘cause I just didn’t love them enough:

• Doom Patrol (1989) (Vertigo). Not on the list because I found it uneven, but when it was great, it was stellar.
• The New Adventures of Hitler (1990) (Crisis Comics). An early work that showed how weird Morrison could be.
• Action Comics #1-18 (2013) (DC). Misunderstood and hamstrung by awful editorial policies, this run showed how great a Superman comic could be if the publisher would just let him off the leash.
• Batman: Gothic (1990)(DC).
• Happy (2012) (Image). Dismissed by many as gritty fare that would be better done by the likes of Warren Ellis or Garth Ennis, I found this story—about a reluctant-but-relentless detective looking for a lost child, who is recruited by a cartoonish blue animal that only he can see—to be deep and provocative.