The Invisibles: Apocalipstick book 2 by Grant Morrison, Jill Thompson, Chris Weston, John Ridgeway, Steve Parkhouse and Paul Johnson (graphic novel review).
Something is still very odd about ‘The Invisibles’ with the second volume, ‘Apocalipstick’. We quickly move away from the main team and see the police trying to arrest rich Mr Dollimore, only to find him and his rich colleagues dying. I’m still confused about why the English riders scenario was repeated in this volume. If it had to be used to fill a deadline gap, it didn’t need to be repeated again in these volumes.
A lot of it feels like a mosaic following different lives. If there is a focus, it is on the cross-dresser Fanny, whose mother forced him into a role typically reserved for women who pass on ancient knowledge. In some respects, society has moved on somewhat since the time when Grant Morrison wrote it in the mid-1990s, but probably not the viciousness associated with it in this storyline. It jumps from Fanny’s childhood to the events today.
I’m still puzzling over what is a spoiler and what to say. With seven volumes, there’s a lot of territory. Don’t expect an easy read, and I suspect it’ll be a lot easier to go with the flow than judge what is going on by how you normally read comic books, although I do think I ought to read some normal stuff to settle my head a bit.
GF Willmetts
September 2025
(pub: DC/Vertigo, 1995-1996 released in this format 2002. Page graphic novel softcover. Price: varies. ISBN: 978-1-56389702-3).
check out website: www.dc.com/graphic-novels/the-invisibles-1994/the-invisibles-vol-2-apocalipstick
