Major Works

       

Grant Morrison’s work has established him as one of the most successful and esteemed writers in the comic book world. His first major success came with the graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. Arkham Asylum was a collaboration with illustrator Dave McKean, who would become well known for creating the covers for Neil Gaiman’s popular Sandman series. Together, Morrison and McKean created a rich, stylistic word heavy with symbolism and psychological exploration. In Arkham Asylum, Morrison tells the history of the facility where the villains of the Batman universe are detained. The facility’s administrator frees the inmates of the asylum in an attempt to lure Batman in and defeat him. At the time, Batman’s portrayal in comics had taken on an extremely dark and borderline psychotic tone. Arkham Asylum flouted these dark themes and with its innovative approach to the character achieved success as the bestselling original graphic novel of all time.

       His next major work was The Invisibles, a personal exploration of the themes and ideas that he was discovering in his personal life. He pushed the limits of comic book storytelling and managed to create a work of art that advanced the concept of comics as a true literary format. His major work in mainstream superhero comics has been on the titles JLA(Justice League of America), New X-Men, All-Star Superman, Batman, Batman and Robin, Batman Incorporated, and Action Comics. His work on all of these titles has been well received, achieving outstanding commercial and critical success.

       In 2005, Morrison’s series Seven Soldiers saw publication. It features seven obscure characters from the DC Comics universe coming together to fight off a mysterious invasion by creatures called the Sheeda. A knight from King Arthur’s court, Frankenstein’s monster, a young magician, a descendant of the lost colony of Roanoke with Sheeda ancestry, an in-house superhero for a tabloid newspaper, a reluctant superhero with power gained from her husband’s failed science experiment, and a modern day Houdini with the ability to escape black holes and even death are manipulated by mysterious forces to combat the Sheeda invasion. Each of their stories are presented separately and then woven together to create and overarching narrative that defies traditional narrative styles.