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A Guide to Grant Morrison comics at DC Comics

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If you have read American superhero comics or searched for unconventional indie titles over the past three decades, you will certainly have come across Grant Morrison’s work.

Born in 1960 in Glasgow, Scotland, Morrison emerged in the British comics scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s, gaining recognition with comics such as Zenith (1987-1992) for 2000 AD before following Alan Moore‘s steps and joining the “British Invasion” of writers recruited by DC Comics who reshaped American superhero comics during the 1980s and 1990s.

Morrison began in 1988 with Animal Man, which quickly earned acclaim for its postmodern take on the superhero genre, combining environmental themes with metafictional commentary. This was followed by Doom Patrol, where Morrison’s surreal and avant-garde storytelling redefined the series and solidified their reputation for revitalizing obscure characters. By the early 1990s, Morrison had become central to DC’s publishing strategy, contributing both to mainstream superhero titles and the emerging Vertigo imprint.

After a period at Marvel in the early 2000s, Morrison returned to DC to lead a new era of high-profile projects, ambitious narratives, and large-scale crossover events, consolidating their reputation as one of the publisher’s most innovative and influential writers. Today, Morrison’s work is regarded as essential to the modern DC canon, with their influence visible across the company’s most notable publications.

And now, let’s take a closer look at Morrison’s works at DC Comics!

Grant Morrison at DC Comics: A Retrospective

  1. Reinventing The Heroes (1988-2000)
  2. The Vertigo Experimentations (1993-2011)
  3. Building Multiverses (2004-2015)
  4. The Last Ride (2018-2023)

Reinventing The Heroes (1988-2000)

During the late 1980s and 1990s, Grant Morrison emerged as one of DC Comics’ most distinctive voices by reimagining neglected characters, revitalizing long-running series, and introducing ambitious new concepts to the superhero genre. Morrison demonstrated a unique ability to balance postmodern experimentation with mainstream accessibility, transforming minor titles into acclaimed runs and elevating the Justice League to mythic prominence. This period established the foundation of Morrison’s reputation as a writer who could both honor tradition and reinvent it for new audiences.

Initially considered a minor property, Animal Man became Morrison’s breakthrough at DC. The series combined superhero adventure with environmental and animal rights themes, while gradually developing into a metafictional exploration of comics storytelling itself, culminating in Morrison’s direct insertion into the story. However, it was with Doom Patrol that Morrison’s name truly became known. They transformed the title into a surrealist exploration of identity, trauma, and the absurd, making the series an unexpected avant-garde superhero comic. It was launched the same year as his first Batman comics, the now-classic graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, which is first and foremost a showcase of Dave McKean’s expressionistic art–while his Batman: Gothic is more traditional with art by Klaus Janson, but the story mixed crime noir with supernatural elements in an unusual way for the time.

  • Animal Man Compendium
    Collects Animal Man #1-26, and Secret Origins #39 (art by Chas Truog).
  • Batman: Arkham Asylum
    Collects Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (art by Dave McKean).
  • Doom Patrol Omnibus
    Collects Doom Patrol Vol. 2 #19–63, Doom Force #1 (art by Richard Case and others).
  • Batman: Gothic
    Collects Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #6-10 (art by Klaus Janson).

For a while, Morrison’s American work became exclusive to Vertigo, but he came back to the main DC line and transitioned to a more classic style of superhero storytelling. First with writer Mark Millar on Aztek, the Ultimate Man, and The Flash, then came the work that established them as a master in the genre: JLA. Morrison’s relaunch of the Justice League famously returned the team to its core roster of iconic heroes and redefined them as modern mythological figures. Thanks to Howard Porter’s dynamic art, JLA focused on large-scale threats and cosmic storytelling. This approach worked so well that it revitalised the book and established the League as the centrepiece of the DC Universe, making it one of the publisher’s flagship titles after years of being relegated to the background.

Other works from that time: Secret Origins vol. 2 #46: “Ghosts of Stone” (with Curt Swan, anthology, 1989), Hellblazer #25–26 (with David Lloyd, 1990), Kid Eternity (with Duncan Fegredo, 1991), and Fast Forward #1: “A Glass of Water” (with Dave McKean, anthology, Piranha Press, 1992).

The Vertigo Experimentations (1993-2011)

Parallel to their reinvention of mainstream superheroes, Morrison became one of the defining figures of DC’s Vertigo imprint. From the early 1990s through the 2000s, they used the line as a laboratory for experimentation, blending counterculture, esotericism, and metafiction into some of their most personal and formally ambitious projects. This period is often described as Morrison’s most experimental, anchored by what they termed the “hypersigil trilogy.” They are comics that functioned as extended magical texts intended to reshape both fiction and reality (and rewired the reader’s brain!). 

The “Hypersigil” Trilogy

Considered Morrison’s most important work at Vertigo, the book you should read to get a greater understanding of them as a writer, The Invisibles is a sprawling, multi-volume series mixing conspiracy theory, anarchism, mysticism, and pop culture. Structured as a war between reality-controlling archons and a libertarian secret society, the work is partly autobiographical and represents the clearest example of Morrison’s concept of the hypersigil. Then came Flex Mentallo, a four-issue miniseries that is both a parody and a celebration of superhero comics. It uses the character of Flex from Doom Patrol as a vehicle for exploring the evolution of the superhero genre itself, from pulp origins through Silver Age optimism to grim modern deconstruction. And finally, The Filth is a dystopian, fragmented story about control, pornography, and surveillance, featuring an agent of a secret organization policing the edges of reality. Bleak and challenging, it represents Morrison at their most transgressive and abstract.

The Invisibles (vol. 2)

His other notable works at Vertigo include We3, a three-issue miniseries about three domestic animals transformed into cybernetic weapons by a military programme, and Seaguy, a series following an ordinary superhero as he navigates absurd, satirical adventures in a world where evil has ostensibly been defeated.

  • We3
    Collects We3 #1-3 with art by Frank Quitely.
  • Seaguy
    Collects Seaguy #1-3 with art by Cameron Stewart.

Other works from that time: Sebastian O (with Steve Yeowell), Swamp Thing vol. 2 #140–143 (co-written by Morrison and Mark Millar, art by Phil Hester), The Mystery Play (with Jon J. Muth), Kill Your Boyfriend (with Philip Bond), Vimanarama (with Philip Bond), Joe the Barbarian (with Sean Murphy), and Weird War Tales (vol. 2) #3: “New Toys” (with Frank Quitely).

Building Multiverses (2004-2015)

After several years at Marvel, where they oversaw a landmark run on the X-Men, Morrison returned to DC Comics in the mid-2000s to produce their most narratively ambitious body of work. This period is defined by interconnected projects that reshaped the fabric of the DC Universe. Taken together, these works form a thematic whole, exploring legacy, myth, and the idea of superhero fiction as a shared imaginative world.

It started outside of continuity with All-Star Superman, this twelve-issue series distilled Superman to his essential qualities, blending Silver Age whimsy with modern emotional depth. Widely regarded as one of the definitive Superman stories, it celebrates the character’s enduring optimism and humanity.

Then came narratively ambitious projects with Seven Soldiers, a metaseries composed of seven interlinked miniseries and two bookend issues reintroducing lesser-known DC characters such as Zatanna, Klarion, and Mister Miracle; and the 52 maxiseries written with Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid–a year-long weekly series chronicling the DC Universe in the absence of its major heroes. 

  • Seven Soldiers by Grant Morrison Omnibus
    Collects Seven Soldiers #0-1, Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight #1-4, Seven Soldiers: Guardian #1-4, Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1-4, Seven Soldiers: Klarion The Witch Boy #1-4, Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #1-4, Seven Soldiers: Bulleteer #1-4 and Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1-4. (with J. H. Williams III, Cameron Stewart, Simone Bianchi, Frazer Irving, Ryan Sook, Yanick Paquette, Doug Mahnke, 2005–2006)
  • 52 Omnibus
    Collects 52 #1-52 (co-written by Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid and Geoff Johns, art by Joe Bennett, Chris Batista, Ken Lashley, Eddy Barrows, Shawn Moll, Todd Nauck, Dale Eaglesham, Pat Olliffe, Drew Johnson, Phil Jimenez, Tom Derenick + Joe Prado, Dan Jurgens, Jamal Igle, Andy Smith, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Darick Robertson, Justiniano and Mike McKone from layouts by Keith Giffen, 2006–2007)

Morrison’s extended run on Batman and bat-family series, from 2006 to 2013, redefined the Dark Knight for a new generation, integrating decades of continuity into a single story and adding defining new elements to the world of the Bat, including the introduction of Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s son, the global-scale organization Batman Incorporated, and the ambitious crossover Final Crisis. This is the work that made Grant Morrison one of the most notable comic book writers of the period.

  • Batman by Grant Morrison Book One
    Collects Batman #655-658, #663-675, and material from 52 #30 and #47. (with art by Andy Kubert, John Van Fleet, Tony Daniel, J. H. Williams III, Ryan Benjamin, and Lee Garbett)
  • Final Crisis Omnibus
    Collects Batman #676-683, #701-702, Birds Of Prey #118, Dc Universe #0, Dc Universe: The Last Will And Testament #1, Final Crisis #1-7, Final Crisis: Legion Of 3 Worlds #1-5, Final Crisis: Requiem #1, Final Crisis: Resist #1, Final Crisis: Revelations #1-5, Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #1-3, Final Crisis: Secret Files #1, Final Crisis: Submit #1, Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1-2, The Flash #240-241, Justice League Of America #21, Superman/Batman #76, Teen Titans #59-60 And Terror Titans #1-6. (with art by J. G. Jones, Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy, and Doug Mahnke)
  • Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus Vol. 2
    Collects Batman & Robin #1-16, Batman #700-70,2, and Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1-6. (with art by Frank Quitely, Philip Tan, Cameron Stewart, Andy Clarke, Dustin Nguyen, Frazer Irving, Chris Burnham, and others)
  • Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus Vol. 3
    Collects Batman Incorporated #1-8, Batman: The Return #1, Batman Incorporated #0-13, Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes #1, Batman Incorporated Special #1. (with art by Yanick Paquette, Chris Burnham, Jason Masters, and many others).

As part of DC’s “New 52” initiative, Morrison relaunched Action Comics with a younger, socially conscious Superman. The run explored the early years of the character while integrating broader themes of myth, science fiction, and identity.

Finally came The Multiversity, a nine-issue event series exploring DC’s multiverse through a collection of interlinked one-shots and a framing story. Each issue highlighted a different alternate Earth, experimenting with genre and form while meditating on the nature of comics themselves. The project served as both a culmination of Morrison’s fascination with continuity and a metafictional exploration of shared storytelling. It was built to become a blueprint for the multiverse, but DC Comics took another direction.

  • The Multiversity Deluxe Edition
    Collects The Multiversity #1 And 2, The Multiversity Guidebook #1, Multiversity Issues: The Society Of Super-Heroes #1, The Just #1, Pax Americana #1, Thunderworld #1, Mastermen #1, and Ultra Comics #1. (with Ivan Reis, Chris Sprouse, Ben Oliver, Frank Quitely, Cameron Stewart, Jim Lee, Doug Mahnke, 2014–2015)

Other works from that time: DC Comics Presents: Mystery in Space: “Two Worlds” (with Jerry Ordway)

The Last Ride (2018-2023)

Morrison’s last period at DC Comics was marked by a selective return to isolated major projects, focusing once more on reinterpreting iconic characters and experimenting with new tonal approaches. There’s Wonder Woman: Earth One, which presented a revisionist take on the character’s origins and world; The Green Lantern with artist Liam Sharp, which took the form of a mixture of space opera, psychedelic fantasy, and detective fiction; and the miniseries Superman and the Authority, originally conceived as a bridge into DC’s broader continuity, which paired an older Superman with a new incarnation of the Authority.

Other works from that time: Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt (co-written by Morrison, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Joshua Williamson, art by Howard Porter, Jorge Jiménez, and Doug Mahnke), DC Pride: “Love’s Lightning Heart” (with Hayden Sherman). 

And right now… Marvel and DC Comics recently collaborated, and Grant Morrison wrote a Batman/Deadpool story penciled by Dan Mora on this occasion, in DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool #1, on sale November 19.

 

Grant Morrison in Animal Man
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