Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Chris Weston, Ivan Reis, Ray Kryssing, John Stokes, Mark Pennington
Colorist: Daniel Vozzo
Letterer: Todd Klein
Trade paperback
Published by DC Vertigo 2000
$19.95

Reviewed by Antony Johnston

This collection is the final stage of Volume 2 of THE INVISIBLES. So it's ironic that this collection, even standing alone, could work equally as well as Volume 1 as an introduction to the series, and a setting of the stage for the story that is to come.

It's also a sign of Morrison's genius, and a reflection on THE INVISIBLES as a whole; the full story is so hyperlinked, twisting back and forth through space, time and narrative, that any of these collections will give you an equal piece of the puzzle. Until THE INVISIBLES is fully completed (which isn't far off at time of writing), no one single volume can encompass the whole thing. You could read them out of order, and you'd still have as much clue what was going on as anyone else at one particular time.

KISSING MISTER QUIMPER is, in a way, the same as the other collections... only more so. Does that make sense? It travels back and forth in time, ejecting fragments of story and plot at lightspeed, falling almost randomly around the reader's brain, waiting to be put in their "proper" order. Every page, something is revealed which makes you go back and check something you read previously. And on the same page something else is set up which will have you turning back to this page at some stage in the future. Or is it the other way around?

Isn't that the point? That time is one object, and everything is interconnected? A dimension which can be traversed, just like space? This book is a work of magic, in the most literal sense. Stories within stories, where everything that happens, has happened or will happen is linked through hyperspace.

OK. If you've read this far, you either already read THE INVISIBLES or you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, but are intrigued. If you already read the series, you probably don't need to read this review: anyone who has stuck with the series and puzzled over it for this long isn't about to give up now. If, on the other hand, you've never stepped into the world of THE INVISIBLES, have a quick round-up on us:

The Invisibles are interdimensional (in every sense of the word) freedom fighters, struggling to keep the world out of the clutches of the Outer Church. The Invisibles, organised like terrorist groups into Cells, thrive on change, chaos and choice. The Outer Church - the Old Gods, the Archons, the Forgotten Ones - are attempting to return the world to a state of order, control and stasis. Change vs No-change, Subjective vs Objective, Freedom vs Predestination. That's what it's all about.

The Cell we primarily follow are centered around King Mob, a latter-day psychedelic action man; Ragged Robin, a psychic visitor from the future and a product of the very actions they're now undertaking; Lord Fanny, a transvestite witch and all-round glamourpuss; Boy, an ex-New York cop out for revenge; and Jack Frost, a Liverpudlian lout who may or may not be Buddha.

There you are. Told you it wouldn't matter. Don't worry, no-one else has a clue what's really going on either.

That's the beauty of THE INVISIBLES; nothing is what it seems. Literally, nothing. Not the world, or the characters... not even the comic itself. Nothing.

There's also an inherent irony that the very circumstances in THE INVISIBLES suggest that Predestination does exist, and without it the Invisibles would never have been; yet it's the very thing they're fighting against.

What, you want to know the "plot"? Then you haven't been listening. There is no plot. Sure, I could tell you that in this collection we get to see Mr. Quimper, the alien-controlled psychic dwarf, unmasked; the Roswell mythology is seamlessly interwoven into the concept of hyperspace and information theory; that Robin begins to learn exactly why she's here; that Jack and Boy finally kiss.

So what? None of that is going to make you more or less inclined to pick up this book. It's about everything. THE INVISIBLES is a glimpse into the mind and philosophy of Grant Morrison, a modern shaman to rival or even surpass Leary and Burroughs. The ideas are far more important here than any notion of "plot", and there are ideas in abundance. Leaping at you from every page, every panel, every balloon, every word.

Has this made you curious? Do you want to know more? What it's like to be INVISIBLE?

Antony Johnston is a writer and graphic designer, and long-time contributor to PopImage.

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