The Invisibles really seems to be Morrisson's signature book - it has the anarchic bravado of Zenith, the automatic writing nonsense of Doom Patrol, all his obsessions with chaos and the ruling class and the lizard/insect lords pulling the strings (do he and Pat Mills get together and talk about this stuff?), psychedelia, magic, politics. And he pulls it together in a way that he seemed to stop bothering with later on. I took these on as a bit of a chore, and found the first volume a little tedious overall, but I'm really starting to get into it now.

Also really enjoyed the Luter Arkwright pastiche - that was a lot of fun. ( )

Really liked this - exciting and weird in all the right ways. ( )

Volume 3 of The Invisibles and the last volume before the new first issue and second installment.

What a blast!

More Jim Crow, a character I seriously adore. The leanings towards Voodoo are something I am particularly fond of in this series, along with the sheer opaque nature of it all. Teasing the reader with switches in time, perspective, and who knows what else - I'm loving it, though I can understand why [a:Grant Morrison|12732|Grant Morrison|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1311378308p2/12732.jpg] is an author that severely polarizes readers in general.

The evolution of Jack Frost is something that I'm terribly interested in. The bits and pieces that fill in the blanks of his time with Tom O'Bedlam are something I'd love to see further explored. While we're on the subject of fleshing out characters further, I am also terribly interested to see more of Ragged Robin. She's one of the characters I particularly love in this series, so imagine my join when she was paired up with Jim Crow during the exploration of the House of Fun. Great stuff there, seriously great.

The Lovecraftian leanings of the Archeons twigged the proper amount of disgust. I was also happy that the final issue in this volume, dealing with Mister 6, brought back the Monster of Glamis in uh.. some sort of form. How bloody disgusting was that tape? The mere thought of that is enough to turn my stomach. Thus: wonderful writing, wonderful plot, and a good gross-out factor that didn't quite overdo it for me.

I am incredibly happy that I picked up this series, and it has certainly gained a place upon my list of favorites. I'll be happy to read just about anything [a:Grant Morrison|12732|Grant Morrison|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1311378308p2/12732.jpg] has put out at this rate, and shall shamelessly stalk [a:David Katzman|793892|David David Katzman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1295747426p2/793892.jpg]'s recommendations for the remainder of my life.

If that isn't appreciation and admiration, then what is? ( )

The plot accelerates quite a bit in this volume, and the metaphysical portions of the story come into greater focus. I almost expected some sort of Philip K. Dick Valis moment when King Mob states that one of his names is Morrison, but that appears (at least now) to be a red herring.

The characters seem more likable now, but honestly some still seem crudely drawn (from a narrative, not art point of view) and function primarily for convenience more than anything. For example, King Mob: why do I care what happens to him or what he's doing? Yes, he's there to STOP THE BAD GUYS, but I don't really know enough about him to care. Certainly, not enough to care that he's the central figure in peril.

Speaking of characters, lets look at Dane McGowan who if you believe the casting text at the beginning of the volumes is supposed to become the next Buddha despite being one of the most unlikeable bastards in the books. That being said, there's some character growth here, and enough information to pique my interest in some of the other characters.

Honestly, if I hadn't bought the first three volumes at once I wouldn't have come this far in the series, but now I have to say I'll probably eventually buy the next book to see how things develop. That being said, if that one doesn't knock my socks off, I'll probably call it quits with this series. ( )

Now we're cooking with alien dimension gas! ( )