Siddhartha, Journey to Ixtlan and Walden I was struck with the similarities
between. Invisibles and ... with Jack Frost's growth and his journey to
enlightenment.
Lauren Miller Humanities 2130 Richard Jensen What if reality was an illusion? What if every conspiracy theory you ever heard was true? If you can wrap your mind around these ideas, Grant Morrison’s influential mind-bending series, The Invisibles, might be the story for you. The Invisibles is an epic story that encompasses an astonishing number of themes but at its core it challenges you to remember that reality is a multiple choice question. Have you always dreamed of traveling to Tibet? Go ahead no one is stopping you. You want to be the next great spiritual leader? Take a risk, start a religion. The world is what you make of it and just as we discussed that idea in class it is a central theme in The Invisibles that ties it to many philosophies and makes it a stand out piece in the world of philosophical literature. The Invisibles by Grant Morrison (1996) is a ground breaking graphic novel series that was published in the late 90s early 00s that had a defining role in Grant Morrison’s career as an author. The series follows a group of superspies who call themselves the Invisibles (whose group name represents their role as a ‘secret’ society). But don’t be confused – this is no James Bond story. The Invisibles spans 7 books and covers enough philosophical ideas to make your head spin. The main story follows King Mob and his band of misfit superspies, Ragged Robin, Boy, Lord Fanny, Jack Frost and Jolly Rodger as they wage a war between ‘the outer dimension’ a group of occultist otherworldly entities who seek to destroy the world. While reading novels such as Siddhartha, Journey to Ixtlan and Walden I was struck with the similarities between Invisibles and the ideas presented in those novels.
In The Invisibles we are introduced to Jack Frost, a foul mouthed teenage boy from Liverpool who may or may not be the next Buddha. The Invisibles deals very much with Jack Frost’s growth and his journey to enlightenment. In the beginning of The Invisibles we are introduced to Jack and his mentor Tom O’Bedlam. Their relationship reminded me very much of Don Juan and Carlos Castaneda’s student-teacher relationship in Journey to Ixtlan. Tom O’Bedlam’s straight forward, sarcastic and magical approach to teaching Jack is very much like Don Juan’s method in Journey to Ixtlan. Jack comes to Tom O’Bedlam after much strife and initially Jack dismisses the magic that Tom O’Bedlam introduces him to as a result of the hallucinogenic blue mold that Tom O’Bedlam had given him. This is much like in Journey to Ixtlan when Carlos is convinced that all of his experiences are a result of peyote laced power meat. Later Carlos accepts that he does have the power to ‘stop the world’ and everything is just as real as you make it. Jack comes to a very similar conclusion after he learns that “there’s no such thing as blue mold (book 1, pg. 119).” Both Jack’s and Carlos’s dismissal of real magic is a direct result of their hubris; they both believe they know everything there is to know. They have the same attitude that they lose as their mentor takes them on a journey. One of the central themes in The Invisibles is the idea of karma and losing self importance. King Mob, who is the original and quintessential leader of the rag-tag spy team, begins the series pretending to be James Bond. He wears gaudy clothes and charges into every situation with guns blazing. He is not stranger of death and is not afraid to take a life to get what he wants. He has very little patience and does not believe in karma, even at one point blowing off the head of a Buddha statue while screaming "My Karma's a bloody minefield (Book 4, pg. 204)." Later King Mob denounces his old ways and
declares that he will be penitent for his old ways of killing others to get what he wants. He declines to wear the gaudy clothing and begins a life of meditation and penance in India. He sits atop a hill in a temple in India and does so for a year, hardly leaving, until he feels that he has lost his self and can continue his life free of guilt. In a great way this reminds me of Siddhartha’s journey in Siddhartha. Siddhartha begins his journey with all of the hubris of youth only to be changed entirely by his journey, it his story of joining the Samana’s that reminds me most of King Mob. Siddhartha joins the Samanas believing that it will be the true road to happiness but as he moves on he realizes that “of all the Samanas out there, perhaps not a single one, not a single one, will reach nirvana”. At this point he completely abandons his old journey to start a new one. King Mob also follows this path – he spends the entire series following one selfish journey to find himself but abruptly stops and starts over when he realizes that he will never read his true potential in this manner. Another potent scene with King Mob that reminds me so much of Siddhartha is King Mob’s reattachment to the world following contemplation on suicide. Siddhartha also contemplates suicide but changes his mind when he sees Om in the water and is reminded of the “indestructibility of life…about all that is divine, which he had forgotten (pg. 204).” In The Invisibles King Mob is reminded about the importance of life from an old woman, Edith Manning, who finds him on the edge of the Ganges River and asks him why a young man would sit on the edge of the river and contemplate death, she encourages him to open up the world and remember why his journey is important. Another scene in The Invisibles that stands out to me as relating very much to what we read in class is about halfway through the series when we are introduced to
millionaire playboy Mason Lang who funds the Invisible’s exploits. He is a man jealous of the Invisibles free flowing and non directional life and is constantly complaining that he has too many responsibilities to ever be as free and spiritual as they are. King Mob challenges him to answer the question, “How would you know if you were free? What would you actually feel in your body that would be different?” to which Mason Lang replies, “I’d lose that dead wait in my chest…my blood would rush through my veins (Book 6, pg. 204).” Mason Lang’s fear of responsibility prevents him from being free but King Mob has a solution: he blows up Mason Lang’s mansion leaving Mason Lang with nothing left to attach him to his sense of responsibility. This important scene in Invisibles reminded me very much of Walden. Thoreau argues that we “lead lives of quiet desperation (student packet, pg. 79)” and that the best way to break this cycle is to simplify our lives. King Mob forces Mason Lang to simplify his life and thus he becomes “free”. Thoreau encourages in a similar manner to become unattached from this world and when Mason Lang’s loses his home he becomes unattached, free from any unnecessary burdens of life. When I began reading The Invisibles I was told it would change my life. It is hard to believe such a grandiose claim and when I read Invisibles the first time through I was not impressed. I thought it was confusing, boring and too over the top but I gave it a second chance and I can definitely say that it changed my entire outlook. I have always felt that graphic novels are not as well respected as classic novels but The Invisibles breaks stereotypes and does it’s best to expose you to the metaphysical world in a new and groundbreaking way. The Invisibles changed my life and I hope that with a little
finesse I could convince you too to take a journey into the ultra dimensional, ontological, occultist world of Grant Morrison.
