Grant Morrison
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Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer,
screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...
, and producer. Their work is known for its
nonlinear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many oth ...
narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional ( memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc ...
s,
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...
philosophy and
countercultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
leanings. Morrison has written extensively for the American comic book publisher
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...
, penning lengthy runs on ''
Animal Man Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" th ...
'', ''
Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...
'', '' JLA'', ''
Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications ...
'', and '' The Green Lantern'' as well as the graphic novels ''
Arkham Asylum The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane (), commonly referred to as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital/prison, named after the city of Arkham which appeared first in the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, and later appear ...
'' and '' Wonder Woman: Earth One'', the meta-series ''
Seven Soldiers ''Seven Soldiers'' is a 2005–2006 comic book metaseries written by Grant Morrison and published by DC Comics. It was published as seven interrelated mini-series and two bookend issues. The series features a new version of the Seven Soldiers of Vi ...
'' and '' The Multiversity'', the mini-series '' DC One Million'' and ''
Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...
'', both of which served as centrepieces for the eponymous company-wide crossover storylines, and the maxi-series ''
All-Star Superman ''All-Star Superman'' is a twelve-issue American comic book series featuring Superman that was published by DC Comics. The series ran from November 2005 to October 2008. The series was written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Quitely, and digita ...
''. Morrison's best known DC work is the seven-year
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...
storyline which started in the ''
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...
'' ongoing series and continued through ''Final Crisis'', '' Batman and Robin'', '' Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne'' and two volumes of '' Batman Incorporated''. Morrison's creator-owned work, the bulk of which was published through DC Comics'
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
imprint, includes ''
Flex Mentallo Flex Mentallo is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Richard Case in 1990, during their run on ''Doom Patrol''. Flex is in part a parody of Charles Atlas' long ...
'' and ''
We3 ''We3'' is a three-issue American comic book mini-series by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, who describe its kinetic style as " Western Manga". It was published in 2004 by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, with a trade paperback r ...
'' with Scottish artist Frank Quitely, '' Seaguy'' with artist
Cameron Stewart Cameron Stewart (born 1975) is a Canadian comic book creator. He first came to prominence when he collaborated as an illustrator with writer Grant Morrison, and he went on to illustrate ''Catwoman'' and co-write ''Batgirl''. He won Eisner and ...
, '' The Filth'' with Chris Weston, and the three-volume series '' The Invisibles''. At Marvel, Morrison wrote a three-year run on '' New X-Men'' and created '' Marvel Boy'' for the publisher's
Marvel Knights Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles (''Black Panther'', ''Punisher'', '' Daredevil ...
imprint. Between 2016 and 2018, Morrison served as the Editor-in-Chief of the '' Heavy Metal'' magazine. Morrison's work has drawn critical acclaim. They have won numerous awards, including Eisner, Harvey, and
Inkpot An inkwell is a small jar or container, often made of glass, porcelain, silver, brass, or pewter, used for holding ink in a place convenient for the person who is writing. The artist or writer dips the brush, quill, or dip pen into the inkwell ...
awards. In 2012, Morrison was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) for services to film and literature.


Early life

Grant Morrison was born in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
in 1960. They were educated at Allan Glen's School where their first portfolio of art was rejected by their careers guidance teacher, who encouraged them to work in a bank. Their first published works were '' Gideon Stargrave'' strips for '' Near Myths'' in 1978 (when they were about 17), one of the first British alternative comics. Their work appeared in four of the five issues of ''Near Myths'' and they were suitably encouraged to find more comic work. This included a weekly comic strip, ''Captain Clyde'', an unemployed superhero based in Glasgow, for ''The Govan Press'', a local newspaper, plus various issues of
DC Thomson DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing ''The Dundee Courier'', '' The Evening Telegraph'' and '' The Sunday Post'' newspapers, and the comics ''Oor W ...
's ''
Starblazer ''Starblazer - Space Fiction Adventure in Pictures'' was a British small-format comics anthology in black and white published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. History The comic book magazine was launched in response to the popularity of science fi ...
'', a science fiction version of that company's '' Commando'' title.


Career


1980s

Morrison spent much of the early 1980s touring and recording with their band The Mixers, occasionally writing ''Starblazer'' for D. C. Thomson and contributing to various UK indie titles. In 1982, Morrison submitted a proposal involving the
Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...
and
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
's
New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...
entitled ''Second Coming'' to
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...
, but it was not commissioned. After writing '' The Liberators'' for Dez Skinn's ''
Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...
'' in 1985, Morrison started work for
Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Di ...
the following year. There they wrote comic strips for ''
Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the follo ...
'', the final one a collaboration with a then-teenage Bryan Hitch, as well as a run on the Zoids strip in ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...
and Zoids''. 1986 also saw publication of Morrison's first of several two- or three-page '' Future Shocks'' for '' 2000 AD''. Morrison's first continuing serial began in ''2000 AD'' in 1987, when they and Steve Yeowell created ''
Zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction ( plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location ( nadir). The zenith is the "high ...
''. Morrison's work on ''Zenith'' brought them to the attention of DC Comics, who asked Morrison to work for them. They accepted Morrison's proposals for ''
Animal Man Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" th ...
'', a little-known character from DC's past whose most notable recent appearance was a cameo in the ''
Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Mar ...
''
limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
, and for a 48-page
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...
one-shot that would eventually become '' Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth''. ''Animal Man'' put Morrison in line with the "
British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" o ...
" of American comics, along with such writers as
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gra ...
, Peter Milligan,
Jamie Delano Jamie Delano (; born 1954) is an English comic book writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers which started to feature in American comics in the 1980s. He is best known as the first writer of the comic book s ...
, and
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...
, who had launched the "invasion" with his work on ''
Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...
''. After impressing with ''Animal Man'', Morrison was asked to take over ''Doom Patrol'', starting their surreal take on the superhero genre with issue No. 19 in 1989. Morrison's ''Doom Patrol'' introduced concepts such as
dadaism Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
and the writings of
Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...
into the first several issues. DC published ''Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth'' in 1989 as a 128-page graphic novel painted by
Dave McKean David McKean (born 29 December 1963) is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art, and sculp ...
. Comics historian Les Daniels observed in 1995 that "''Arkham Asylum'' was an unprecedented success, selling 182,166 copies in hardcover and another 85,047 in paperback." While working for DC Comics in America, Morrison kept contributing to British indie titles, writing '' St. Swithin's Day'' for
Trident Comics Trident Comics was a comic book publishing company based in Leicester, UK, specialising in black and white comics created by new British talent. It was formed in 1989 as an offshoot of the comics distributor/wholesaler Neptune Distribution, ...
. ''St. Swithin's Day''s anti-
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
themes proved controversial, provoking a small tabloid press reaction and a complaint from
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) Teddy Taylor. The controversy continued with the publication of ''
The New Adventures of Hitler "The New Adventures of Hitler" is a creator-owned British comic story. It was initially partially published in the magazine ''Cut'' in 1989, and then in its entirety in the adult-orientated comic ''Crisis''. Written by Grant Morrison and drawn b ...
'' in Scottish music and lifestyle magazine ''Cut'' in 1989, due to its use of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
as its lead character. The strip, unfinished when ''Cut'' folded, was reprinted and completed in Fleetway's ''2000 AD'' spin-off title '' Crisis''. Two plays staged by Oxygen House at the
Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
had scripts by Morrison. One, ''Red King Rising'' (1989) concerned the fictionalized relationship between
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...
and Alice Liddell. The other, ''Depravity'' (1990) was about British
occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
ist
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
. The plays won between them a Fringe First Award, the Independent Theatre Award for 1989 and the Evening Standard Award for New Drama.


1990s

Morrison returned to Batman with the "
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
" story arc in issues 6–10 of the Batman title '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight''. The early 1990s saw Morrison revamping Kid Eternity for DC with artist Duncan Fegredo, and
Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repr ...
, with artist
Rian Hughes Rian Hughes is a British graphic designer, illustrator, type designer, comics artist and novelist. Overviews Hughes has written and drawn comics for '' 2000 AD'', Vertigo CMYK and Batman: Black and White, and designed for DC Comics and Mar ...
. Morrison coloured Dare's bright future with Thatcherism in Fleetway's ''
Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that has at least one gun barrel, barrel and uses a revolving cylinder (firearms), cylinder containing multiple chamber (firearms), chambers (each holding a single ...
''. In 1991 Morrison wrote '' Bible John-A Forensic Meditation'' for Fleetway's ''Crisis'', based on an analysis of possible motivations for the crimes of the
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
Bible John. Covering similar themes to Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's '' From Hell'', the work utilised cut-up techniques, a Ouija board and
collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...
rather than conventional panels to tell the story. In 1993 Morrison, fellow Glaswegian comic writer
Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written e ...
and John Smith were asked to reinvigorate ''2000 AD'' for an eight-week run called "The Summer Offensive". Morrison wrote Judge Dredd and Really and Truly, and co-wrote the controversial '' Big Dave'' with Millar. DC Comics launched its
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
imprint in 1993, publishing several of Morrison's creator-owned projects, such as the
steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian ...
mini-series ''
Sebastian O ''Sebastian O'' is a comic book series written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Steve Yeowell and published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics in 1993. Publication history ''Sebastian O'' was originally commissioned by editor Art Young for Disney ...
'' and the graphic novel '' The Mystery Play''. 1995 saw the release of '' Kill Your Boyfriend'', with artist
Philip Bond Philip J. Bond (born 11 July 1966, in Lancashire) is a British comic book artist, who first came to prominence in the late 1980s on '' Deadline'' magazine, and later through a number of collaborations with British writers for the DC Comics impr ...
, originally published as a ''Vertigo Voices'' one-shot. In 1996 Morrison wrote ''
Flex Mentallo Flex Mentallo is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Richard Case in 1990, during their run on ''Doom Patrol''. Flex is in part a parody of Charles Atlas' long ...
'', a ''Doom Patrol'' spin-off with art by Frank Quitely, and returned briefly to DC Universe superheroics with the short-lived '' Aztek'', co-written with Mark Millar. In 1996, Morrison was given the ''
Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...
'' to revamp as ''JLA'', a comic book that gathered the "Big Seven" superheroes of the
DC universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green L ...
into one team. This run was hugely popular and returned the title to best-selling status. Morrison wrote several issues of ''
The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
'' with Mark Millar, as well as DC's crossover event of 1998, the four-issue mini-series '' DC One Million'', in addition to plotting many of the multiple crossovers. With the three volumes of the creator-owned '' The Invisibles'', Morrison started their largest and possibly most important work. ''The Invisibles'' combined political, pop- and sub-cultural references. Tapping into pre-millennial tension, the work was influenced by the writings of
Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilso ...
,
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
and William Burroughs, and Morrison's practice of
chaos magic Chaos magic, also spelled chaos magick, is a modern tradition of magic. It initially emerged in England in the 1970s as part of the wider neo-pagan and magical subculture. Drawing heavily from the occult beliefs of artist Austin Osman Spare, ...
in
Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth, abbreviated as TOPY, was a British magical organization, fellowship and chaos magic network founded in 1981 by Genesis P-Orridge, lead member of multimedia group Psychic TV. The network, including later members of ...
. In 1998 Morrison published the prose piece "I'm A Policeman" in Sarah Champion's millennial short story collection '' Disco 2000''; though no explicit connection to ''The Invisibles'' is made, there are strong thematic links between the two works. At DisinfoCon in 1999, Morrison said that much of the content in ''The Invisibles'' was information given to them by aliens that abducted them in
Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
, who told them to spread this information to the world via a comic book. They later clarified that the experience they labelled as the "Alien Abduction Experience in Kathmandu" had nothing to do with aliens or abduction, but that there was an experience that they had in Kathmandu that ''The Invisibles'' is an attempt to explain. The title was not a huge commercial hit to start with. (Morrison actually asked their readers to participate in a " wankathon" while concentrating on a magical symbol, or sigil, in an effort to boost sales). When the title was relaunched with volume two, the characters relocated to America. Volume three appeared with issue numbers counting down, signalling an intention to conclude the series with the turn of the new
millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
in 2000. Due to the title shipping late, its final issue did not ship until April 2000. The 1999 film '' The Matrix'' has numerous elements which have been attributed by critics to the influence of Morrison's '' The Invisibles''. Morrison was immediately struck by the similarities to their own work upon first seeing the film.


2000s

In 2000, Morrison's graphic novel '' JLA: Earth 2'' was released with art by Frank Quitely. It was Morrison's last mainstream work for DC for a while, as they moved to
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...
. While at Marvel, Morrison wrote the six-part '' Marvel Boy'' series, and '' Fantastic Four: 1234'', their take on another major superhero team. In July 2001, they began writing the main
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
title, renamed '' New X-Men'' for their run, with Quitely providing much of the art. Again, Morrison's revamping of a major superhero team proved to be a commercial success, with the title jumping to the No. 1 sales spot and established Morrison as the kind of creator whose name on a title would guarantee sales. Their penultimate arc "
Planet X Following the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, there was considerable speculation that another planet might exist beyond its orbit. The search began in the mid-19th century and continued at the start of the 20th with Percival Lowell's ...
" depicted the villain Magneto infiltrating and defeating the X-Men in the guise of new character Xorn and developing an addiction to the power-enhancing drug "Kick". In 2002, Morrison launched their next creator-owned project at Vertigo: '' The Filth'', drawn by Chris Weston and Gary Erskine, a 13-part mini-series. That same year, Morrison sold the screenplay ''Sleepless Knights'' to DreamWorks with
Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and '' The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for ...
attached to direct. Around the same time, Morrison was working on the script for the sequel to the ''Marvel Boy'' mini-series, but the project ultimately failed to materialize. In 2004, Vertigo published three Morrison mini-series. '' Seaguy'', ''
We3 ''We3'' is a three-issue American comic book mini-series by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, who describe its kinetic style as " Western Manga". It was published in 2004 by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, with a trade paperback r ...
'', and '' Vimanarama''. Morrison returned to the JLA with the first story in a new anthology series, ''
JLA Classified The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...
''. In 2005 Morrison wrote ''
Seven Soldiers ''Seven Soldiers'' is a 2005–2006 comic book metaseries written by Grant Morrison and published by DC Comics. It was published as seven interrelated mini-series and two bookend issues. The series features a new version of the Seven Soldiers of Vi ...
'', which featured the Manhattan Guardian,
Mister Miracle Mister Miracle (Scott Free) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Mister Miracle'' #1 (April 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby. Publication history Mister Miracle debuted in ...
, Klarion the Witch Boy, Bulleteer,
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...
,
Zatanna Zatanna Zatara () is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman'' #4 (November 1964). Zatanna is a stage magician with actu ...
and
Shining Knight Shining Knight ( cy, Marchog Disglair) is the name of multiple fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #66 (Sep ...
. The series consists of seven interlinked four-issue
mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...
with two "bookend" volumes – 30 issues in all.
Dan DiDio Dan DiDio (; born October 13, 1959) is an American writer, editor, and publisher who has worked in the television and comic book industries. From February 2010 until February 2020, he was the co-publisher of DC Comics, along with Jim Lee. '' Wizar ...
, the editorial vice president of DC Comics, was impressed with Morrison's ideas for revitalising many of DC's redundant characters. Giving them the unofficial title of "revamp guy", DiDio asked them to assist in sorting out the DC Universe in the wake of the '' Infinite Crisis''. Morrison was one of the writers on '' 52'', a year-long weekly comic book series that started in May 2006 and concluded in May 2007. Starting in November 2005, DC published ''
All-Star Superman ''All-Star Superman'' is a twelve-issue American comic book series featuring Superman that was published by DC Comics. The series ran from November 2005 to October 2008. The series was written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Quitely, and digita ...
'', a twelve-issue story arc by Morrison and Frank Quitely. Not so much a revamp or reboot of Superman, the series presents an out-of-continuity "iconic" Superman for new readers. ''All-Star Superman'' won the Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2006, the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 2007 and several Eagle Awards in the UK. It won three Harvey Awards in 2008 and the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series in 2009. In the same year, Morrison and Quitely worked on pop star
Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
' album ''
Intensive Care Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes pro ...
'', providing intricate
Tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...
card designs for the packaging and cover of the CD. Morrison provided outline story and script work for two video games, ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...
'' (2003) and '' Predator: Concrete Jungle'' (2005), both by Vivendi Universal. In 2006,
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...
optioned ''We3'' as a film project with Morrison attached as screenwriter. The following year, Morrison wrote the adaptation of the video game ''
Area 51 Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport ...
'' home console game for Paramount in development with CFP Productions producing. In 2006 Morrison was voted as the No. 2 favourite comic book writer of all time by
Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
. That same year, Morrison began writing ''
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...
'' for DC with issue No. 655, reintroducing the character of
Damian Wayne Damian Wayne, also known as Damian al Ghul (Arabic: دميان الغول), is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert, commonly in association with Batman. He is the son o ...
and signalling the beginning of a seven-year-long run on the character across multiple titles. They wrote the relaunch of '' The Authority'' and '' Wildcats'', with the art of
Gene Ha In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
and
Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...
respectively, for DC's
Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wild ...
imprint. ''WildC.A.T.S.'' went on hiatus after one issue, ''The Authority'' was discontinued after two. The scheduling of ''The Authority'' conflicted with ''52'' and Morrison was unhappy with the reviews: "And then I saw the reviews on issue one and I just thought 'fuck this'.". It eventually concluded without Morrison's involvement in
Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their '' Legion of Super-Heroes'' and '' Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo. Biograp ...
's '' The Authority: The Lost Year''. At the 2007
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...
, DC Comics announced that Morrison would write ''
Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...
'', a seven-issue mini-series slated to appear in 2008 with J. G. Jones handling the art. Morrison announced that 2008 would see publication of the follow-up to 2004's ''Seaguy'' called ''Seaguy 2: The Slaves of Mickey Eye'', the second part of a planned three part series. At the 2008
New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a ...
, Morrison announced they would be working with Virgin Comics to produce "webisodes" (short animated stories) based on the
Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...
; it would not be a direct translation but, "Like the Beatles took Indian music and tried to make psychedelic sounds... I'm trying to convert Indian storytelling to a western style for people raised on movies, comics, and video games." In August 2009, Morrison and Frank Quitely launched the '' Batman and Robin'' series.


2010s

''Batman'' No. 700 (Aug. 2010) saw the return of Morrison to the title and a collaboration with an art team that consisted of Tony Daniel, Frank Quitely,
Andy Kubert Andrew Kubert (; born February 27, 1962) is an American comics artist, letterer and writer. He is the son of Joe Kubert and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists, and the uncle of comics editor Katie Kubert. He is a graduate of an ...
, and David Finch. The separate stories tied together to illustrate that the legacy of Batman is unending, and will survive into the future. At
San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...
2010 it was announced that Grant Morrison would be leaving ''Batman and Robin'' with No. 16 and launching a new series entitled '' Batman Incorporated'' with revolving artists starting with Yanick Paquette. A more team-oriented Batman book inspired by the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' animated series, ''Batman Incorporated'' builds on Morrison's work dating back to " Batman and Son" and ''
Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...
'', with Bruce Wayne creating an international Batman franchise all over the world. The series suffered from slow scheduling and was ended after eight issues while the DC Universe was rebooted in 2011; to bridge the gap a prestige book was released that featured two issues together along with a synopsis that recapped the story so far. In mid-2012, a second volume of the comic was launched with
Chris Burnham Chris Burnham is a comic book artist known for his work on ''Batman Incorporated'' with Grant Morrison, as well as the creator-owned books such as Officer Downe and ''Nixon's Pals'', which were published by Image Comics. Early life Born in Connec ...
on artwork, scheduled for 12 issues. Morrison left the Batman titles in 2013. They killed the
Damian Wayne Damian Wayne, also known as Damian al Ghul (Arabic: دميان الغول), is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert, commonly in association with Batman. He is the son o ...
character in ''Batman Incorporated'' No. 8 (April 2013) and their final issue was No. 13 (Sept. 2013). Morrison returned to creator-owned work in 2010 with the eight issue Vertigo series '' Joe the Barbarian'', launched in January with artist Sean Murphy. Originally a six issue series, Morrison felt that the story would benefit from an extra two issues. The titular Joe is a diabetic young boy who begins to hallucinate a fantasy world populated with his toys and other fantasy characters when he stops taking his medication. Following the closure of Virgin Comics, Dynamite Entertainment and
Liquid Comics Liquid Comics is an Indian comic book Publishers company, founded in 2006 as Virgin Comics LLC, which produced stories (many of which are Indian-culture related) for an international audience. The company was founded by Sir Richard Branson and his ...
announced a partnership to publish a hardcover of illustrated scripts of Grant Morrison's Mahābhārata-based, animated project ''18 Days'' with illustrations by artist Mukesh Singh, that was released in August 2010. They are the subject of a feature-length documentary titled '' Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods''. The documentary features extensive interviews with Morrison as well as a number of comic artists, editors and professionals they have worked closely with. ''Talking with Gods'' was produced by
Sequart Organization Sequart Organization (; also known as Sequart Research & Literacy Organization) is an online magazine that focuses on the study of popular culture and the promotion of comic books as an art form. Sequart also publishes books and produces document ...
and was released in 2010 at the San Diego Comic Con. Another 2010 project was ''Bonnyroad'', a science fiction television series pitched by Morrison to the BBC with director Paul McGuigan and
Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
. In June 2011, as part of DC Comics' massive revamp of its entire superhero line, Morrison was announced as the writer on the new ''
Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications ...
'' No. 1, teaming with artist
Rags Morales Ralph "Rags" Morales () is an American comic book artist known for his work on various books for DC Comics, including ''Identity Crisis'', ''Countdown to Infinite Crisis'', ''Batman Confidential'', and The New 52 reboot of then Superman-centric '' ...
, marking Morrison's return to the Superman character after the end of '' All Star Superman''. In July 2011, Morrison's analysis of superheroes, ''Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero'', was published by
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
Spiegel & Grau Spiegel & Grau was originally a publishing imprint of Penguin Random House founded by Celina Spiegel and Julie Grau in 2005. On January 25, 2019, Penguin Random House announced that the imprint was being shut down and the two founders were lea ...
in the United States and
Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
in the UK. Morrison has written a screenplay for a film entitled ''Sinatoro''. In 2011 they worked on the screenplay ''Dinosaurs vs Aliens '' for Sam Worthington's production company, Full Clip Production, and said they planned to work with them again on a screenplay based on the ''2000 AD'' story "
Rogue Trooper ''Rogue Trooper'' is a science fiction strip in the British comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'', created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons in 1981. It portrays the adventures of a "Supersoldier, Genetic Infantryman" named Rogue ...
". Morrison was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to film and literature. In September 2012, Morrison published their first ever
Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-o ...
creator-owned work: Happy! with Darick Robertson. In the same month, MorrisonCon was held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas). This small-scale convention, curated by Morrison, featured a number of comics industry guests, including
Robert Kirkman Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known ...
,
Darick Robertson Darick W. Robertson is an American artist best known for his work as a comic book illustrator on series he co-created, notably ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002) and '' The Boys'' (2006–2012; 2020). Robertson has illustrated hundreds of comic ...
, Jason Aaron,
Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...
, Gerard Way, Jonathan Hickman, Frank Quitely,
J. H. Williams III James H. Williams III (born 1965), usually credited as J. H. Williams III, is an American comics artist and penciller. He is known for his work on titles such as '' Chase'', ''Promethea'', '' Desolation Jones,'' '' Batwoman'', and '' The Sandman ...
, and Chris Burnham. In September 2014, as part of
Legendary Comics Legendary Comics is an American comic book publisher founded in 2010. The company is owned by Legendary Entertainment, a media company located in Burbank, California. The company publishes both original works and licensed ones based on films pr ...
' big foray into the industry, Morrison launched another key creator-owned book: ''Annihilator'' with Frazer Iving. A six-issue mini-series, Annihilator was informed by the writings of Thomas Ligotti, and other nihilistic philosophers, and played with the idea of the satanic archetype. A work of cosmic horror, it stars a monstrous Hollywood screenwriter named Ray Spass in his attempts to finish the script for the next tentpole blockbuster, while coming into contact with the character he's writing about: the diabolical Max Nomax, The Devil himself. In February 2015, Morrison's second
Image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensio ...
project ever launched in the creator-owned title ''Nameless'', with frequent collaborator
Chris Burnham Chris Burnham is a comic book artist known for his work on ''Batman Incorporated'' with Grant Morrison, as well as the creator-owned books such as Officer Downe and ''Nixon's Pals'', which were published by Image Comics. Early life Born in Connec ...
. A tale of apocalyptic cosmic horror, Nameless sought to approach the genre from a new lens, with different influences, rather than lean to its iconic founder H.P Lovecraft, drawing on everything from the Tarot to The Qlippoth. In November 2015, Morrison began their biggest creator-owned project of the decade, collaborating with
BOOM! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in ...
for the very first time to do '' Klaus'' with Dan Mora and Ed Dukeshire. Set around revamping Santa Claus as a sprawling superhero saga, it's proven to be Morrison's longest creator-owned work, one they've returned to every year since to do a story in. Morrison's '' The Multiversity'' project for DC was published in 2014 and 2015. A metaseries of nine one-shots set in some of the 52 worlds in the DC Multiverse, it included the main ''Multiversity'' title which involves the return of President Calvin Ellis, the black Superman from Earth 23 originally seen in ''Action Comics'' vol. 2 No. 9, which was the framing for the whole series. Other issues include ''The Society of Super-Heroes'' a pulp version of the DC characters; ''The Just'' – set on a world of celebrity youngsters; ''Pax Americana'', drawn by Frank Quitely, ''Thunder World'' – a Captain Marvel book; the ''Multiversity Guidebook''; ''Mastermen'' – which includes a fascist version of the Justice League. and ''Ultra Comics''. In 2016, Morrison became editor-in-chief of the science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, '' Heavy Metal'' for 2 years, lasting up to 2018. During the period, they penned such strips as ''Industria'', ''The Rise and Fall of Empires'', both with frequent collaborator and old friend Rian Hughes. Other strips included ''The Smile of the Absent Cat'' with artist Gerhard, as well as ''Mythopia'', ''Beachhead'', ''Option 3'', ''Nihilophilia'', ''Ten Sounds That Represent a Kind of Person: A Historical Parody, The House of Heart's Desire, and Beyond the Word and the Fool,'' with many others. Morrison also penned several editorials for the magazine during this period, whilst writing occasional prose stories for Ahoy Comics' backups. In 2017, Morrison co-created the
Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. La ...
TV series '' Happy!'' starring Christopher Meloni and
Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom '' The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...
, which aired its second season in 2019. In November 2018, Morrison and artist Liam Sharp launched a new
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
book titled ''The Green Lantern'', for DC Comics. Following the success of the first season of ''The Green Lantern'', a second season was announced, to be published in 2020 but beforehand there was a Blackstars mini-series dealing with the ending of ''Season One'', launched in November 2019.


2020s

"Season Two" of Morrison's ''Green Lantern'' series with Liam Sharp began in 2020 and completed in March 2021 alongside the release of their third and final volume of the ''Wonder Woman: Earth One'' series. Morrison co-created and worked as a writer and producer on the 2020 TV series ''Brave New World'' for the Peacock Streaming Service, having developed it for adaptation. In early 2021, it was announced that a new comic called ''Proctor Valley Road'' would be released, developed by Morrison in partnership with NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal's UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, will also adapt the series for television. The first issue was published by
Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in ...
in March 2021. In March 2021 it was announced that Morrison would write a four issue series entitled ''Superman and the Authority'', illustrated by artist Mikel Janin to be published by DC in late 2021. In a 2022 newsletter, Morrison revealed they had pitched ideas for potential episodes of
Series 8 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...
of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' to Steven Moffat. These included a story featuring a child version of The Doctor, as well as a new potential villain. None were commissioned, though the BBC offered to buy the rights to Morrison's villains (which they declined). Later that year, Morrison published their first fiction novel, entitled ''Luda.''


Personal life

In a 2011 interview, Morrison stated that they and their wife Kristan had no children. When asked if they regretted this, Morrison replied, "Slightly but I don't know. Every time I think of it I think of the reality of it. I really like kids and I get on with them and it's that aspect of it but I see people with actual kids. The trauma and the trouble. And if I'm worried that my cat is sick it's the thought of everyday worrying about a kid would be even more hellish." Morrison uses
singular they Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentenc ...
pronouns. In a 2020 interview with ''Mondo2000'', Morrison mentioned that they "had been non-binary,
cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...
, ' gender queer'", from the age of 10 years old, "but the available terms for what I was doing and how I felt were few and far between". Speaking later of the article, Morrison said that they hated being perceived as only recently
coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
: "I'm 62 years old — I had my sexuality shit figured out a long time ago!" Morrison has said that while they never requested they/them pronouns, they have nevertheless come to accept them as a "badge of honor." Morrison later said they rejected labels and that "I said that if I had been doing now what I was doing back in the 1990s I would be viewed as non-binary or gender queer. Suddenly it was taken up by the fan press and I was awarded the label 'they/them'. I never asked for it. I come from a generation where that just doesn't matter, even being labelled at all is anathema to me. I can't live in a box. I'm going to let down anyone who sticks a label on me. It will drop off quite naturally."


Awards

* Inkpot Award *
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(MBE)


Bibliography


Appearances as a comics character

Grant Morrison first appeared as a comics character in cameos in ''Animal Man'' Nos. 11 and 14. They made a full appearance at the end of issue No. 25 in 1990, and spent most of issue No. 26 in a lengthy conversation with the comic's title character. The character appeared the next year in ''Suicide Squad'' No. 58, written by John Ostrander, as one of several minor characters killed in one of the series' trademark
suicide mission A suicide mission is a task which is so dangerous for the people involved that they are not expected to survive. The term is sometimes extended to include suicide attacks such as kamikaze and suicide bombings, whose perpetrators actively commit s ...
s. They were depicted in an issue of '' Simpsons Comics'', fighting with fellow X-Men writer Mark Millar. In Morrison's 2005–2006 ''
Seven Soldiers ''Seven Soldiers'' is a 2005–2006 comic book metaseries written by Grant Morrison and published by DC Comics. It was published as seven interrelated mini-series and two bookend issues. The series features a new version of the Seven Soldiers of Vi ...
'' miniseries and its tie-ins, Morrison appears as the renegade member of eight "reality engineers" and transforms into Silver Age character Zor, then back into a character resembling Morrison in a magician's costume, though with dark hair and a beard. After the renegade's defeat, Morrison, wearing a DC Comics-logo tie clip, becomes the narrator for the final chapter. The miniseries '' Tales of the Unexpected'' features Morrison along with their ''52'' co-writers
Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serv ...
, Greg Rucka and
Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', '' Fantastic Four'' and ''Da ...
. In Darwyn Cooke's '' DC: The New Frontier'', Morrison was the physical model for Captain Cold.


Adaptations of Morrison's work


References


Further reading

* ''Disinformation: The Complete Series'' Disc 2: DisinfoCon. (1999) Speech by Grant Morrison. Distr. Ryko Distribution. * Morrison, Grant (2003) "Pop magic!" in ''Book of Lies'', pp. 16–25 * Callahan, Timothy (2007
''Grant Morrison: The Early Years''
Masters of the Medium. Sequart Research & Literacy Organization. * Meaney, Patrick (2009
''Our Sentence is Up: Seeing the Invisibles''
Sequart.com. * Meaney, Patrick (2010
''Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods''
Documentary film. * Singer, Marc (2012
''Grant Morrison: Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics''
. University Press of Mississippi. * Greene, Darragh; Roddy, Kate (eds.) (2015
''Grant Morrison and the Superhero Renaissance: Critical Essays''
McFarland & Co. * Greene, Darragh (2020
"'Who Is That Knocking on Your Door?': Authorship, Print, and the Multimodal Comics of Grant Morrison in the Digital Age", in The Birth and Death of the Author, ed. by Andrew J. Power (London: Routledge), pp. 156–172


External links

* * * *
Grant Morrison
at Barney * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Grant 1960 births Living people Chaos magicians Contactees DC Comics people Genderqueer people Harvey Award winners for Best Writer Inkpot Award winners LGBT writers from Scotland Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Allan Glen's School Postmodern writers Science fiction fans Scottish comics writers Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish science fiction writers Weird fiction writers Writers from Glasgow Writers from Los Angeles