Writer Grant Morrison is known for his belief in the magic of sigils, and one of his comics was reportedly saved from cancellation thanks to a collective fan ritual.
Scotsman Grant Morrison is one of the greatest comic book writers and, in addition to an enviable catalogue of classics, such as Batman: Arkham Asylum AND Big Stars: Supermanis also known for his true belief in magic, something he shares with his long-time rival, Alan Moore. And, in the 90s, one of his seminal comics, The invisible oneswould have avoided cancellation thanks to a collective fan ritual.
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It may seem crazy, but Morrison truly believes in magic and even provided a practical example of how to create a sigil, a symbol of concentration that brings together the main points of an idea transformed into sentences.
And in the mid-nineties Morrison made a request to fans that many considered scandalous: to avoid the cancellation of the monthly title. The invisible onesThe writer, along with artist Jill Thompson, colorist Daniel Vozzo, and letterer Clem Robbins, encouraged readers to perform a collective “sex magick” ritual on Thanksgiving Day.
And many agreed to do so and, coincidence or not, the magazine was saved from cancellation.
What is The Invisibles about?
The invisible onesOR The invisible onesdebuted on DC Comics’ adult imprint, the now defunct Vertigo, as one of publisher Karen Berger’s boldest gambles in 1994. After fostering an “artistic renaissance” in comics in the late 1980s with her wild, authentic, and complex titles The Animal Man AND Patrol of Destinyhis new proposal seemed even more stimulating to the public, even to readers already accustomed to the disconcerting plots of the alternative line of comics.
In 1995, just over a year after its debut, The invisible ones still faced some resistance from most readers, who were unable to follow what the series was really about. Morrison delved into an ambitious attempt to “explain existence,” based on a shamanic epiphany induced by illegal substances consumed during a trip to Kathmandu.
The comic follows the trajectory of the Unseen, a terrorist group dedicated to the fight for Timeless Freedom against the forces of Total Control, led by the extradimensional Archons of the Outer Church. Morrison has mixed up all the conspiracy theories that existed at the time and has defined in his magazine that they are all true and part of a Universal Conspiracy directed by religious extremists.
After initial commercial success, however, readership declined dramatically as casual readers fled the complexity of Morrison’s ideas. With the prospect of cancellation, the writer then decided there was only one thing left to do to save his story: use magic.
Morrison is a practitioner of chaos magick and cites the ideas of Austin Osman Spare, Howard Bloom, Richard Metzger and Alistair Crowley as inspiration for his work, such as Patrol of Destiny.
And did the tactic work?
So, in November 1995, with The invisible ones At risk of cancellation, Morrison decided to use the magic of sigils to save it and involve readers in the process. In the letters page of issue #14, they described the basic principles of building a sigil, but to “charge” them would require holding that image while the mind clears all other thoughts, to bypass consciousness and release the mystical energy into the universe.
Achieving perfect concentration is no easy task, but according to Morrison, there is a trick that increases concentration: masturbation. At the moment of orgasm, according to the writer, “the consciousness flashes”, and in that blink of the eyelids a sigil can be charged and released. They kept the secret based on the request to increase comic book sales and asked readers to perform the ritual on Thanksgiving night.
While readers will never know for sure whether the Thanksgiving ritual was a publicity stunt, an example of Morrison’s signature humor, or a genuine request, the fact remains that sales of The invisible ones recovered and cancellation was avoided. The title ran for a total of 59 editions and concluded its storyline in June 2000, with the Scotsman’s promised revelation of the “truth of existence”.
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Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
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