Quotes are like perfect diamonds, formed and cut from the coal of another's experience, freely discovered yet infinitely priceless. Each of us, of course, determines the value or benefit of a quote by how it speaks to us specifically. It's no surprise that many of the best words ever said came from individuals whose voice spoke to the most people.
I'd left comics behind through high school and college, and may never have returned to them if not for 1996's JLA #1, written by Grant Morrison. Grant returned the Justice League to the stature its members deserved, while closer to home, he rekindled a passion and challenged my dreams. Ten years later, a 2006 Comic Book Resources survey of its readers 100 all-time favorite comic book writers placed Grant in the Number-Two spot, out-voted only by Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta). Clearly, Grant's voice has been heard by many. In the three years since, he hasn't slipped an inch.
Industrial Vigilante begins its blog run with a quotation from my favorite comic book writer, Grant Morrison.
Born in Scotland, Grant Morrison is one of the foremost writers in comics today. His body of work is known for its non-linear narratives, counter-cultural leanings, deconstructed superheroes, metaphysical motifs, metafictive interpretations, and widespread fan appeal.
To narrow his list of notable works in next to impossible. Except for 1996's JLA, Morrison's 90's decade characterized the mainstream fringe. He established new boundaries for comics storytelling and new understandings of the super-heroic in titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, Flex Mentallo, and his unparalleled opus, The Invisibles. His original Batman: Arkham Asylum coincided with the release of Tim Burton's film, and has since become one of the best-selling graphic novels ever written as well as the inspiration for the award-winning 2009 video game of the same name.
The major franchises at both DC and Marvel Comics became Grant's creative playground post-Y2K. His three-year stint on Marvel's New X-Men ended in a brouhaha of scandal and bewilderment that's now remembered as a one of the titles few highly regarded classic runs. At DC, Morrison's influence has carried beyond any one group of characters and instead has affected the DC Universe as a whole. Recognized as the individual with perhaps the greatest imaginative reach at DC, Grant was given the deity's challenge of restructuring DC's fictional geography, as evidenced by Final Crisis, Seven Soldiers, 52, and his rewiring of the company's biggest property, Batman. Along the way, he's resequenced the essences of Superman, Batman, and Robin the Boy Wonder for a legion of new readers with his All-Star Superman and DC's current top-selling title, Batman and Robin.
Grant Morrison's complete biography can be found here, and a DC Comics interview with Grant can be found on YouTube here. For more on Grant's interview with Wizard Magazine try here.
Our Amazon.com store offers abbracadabblers an extensive collection of Grant Morrison's many collected creations. Scroll down the blog and take a look.
We'll be seeing a lot of Grant Morrison on abbracadabbling -- so stay with us, dabblers!
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