You may have seen the ghoulish green hand on the cover flashing the "peace" sign (Ha! If only you knew the sinister origin behind this!) and been tempted to pick this book up, but thought you'd never figure out what is going on. Don't worry. You won't be that far behind those of us who've read it for years. It's a book about secret societies, conspiracies, the occult--you know, daily American life. Inspired by such classic fiction as Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminatus Trilogy and Philip K. Dick's paranoid masterpieces, JLA scribe supreme Grant Morrison has put together a most unusual and engaging comic book experience. If you aren't reading INVISIBLES you are missing out big-time and this latest issue is as good a place to start as any.

This is the most incredible issue yet (who you think you are is fiction--just let it go). There is enough meaty weirdness (The Invisible Alphabet) and fevered paranoia (The Empire Never Died) to chew on for at least a month. This is the story of an agent who is lost under multiple layers of cover stories and who has been programmed to steal an occult artifact of immense power from our heroes The Invisibles (a very secret organization)--but forget the plot (if you can)! The twisting dialogue coils around you like a writhing serpent (EVERYTHING is mind control; can you deny the reality of your own thoughts?) and the concepts constrict you in those coils (The city is hardware and the people software). The room you are in will seem a lot smaller by the time you are done--as if the walls were closing in (23 detention camps in the US).

Grant Morrison has successfully transcribed the illuminations onto the comics page. Just when I think the INVISIBLES can't get any better, he puts out a better issue than the last. I look forward to this comic like no other these days. I don't even miss SANDMAN anymore.

This issue is dedicated to the memory of William S. Burroughs. I don't know how intentional that is, but Morrison definitely conjures his spirit here.