Zenith

by Grant Morrison, Steve Yeowell (Illustrator)

Zenith is the world’s first “Superbrat” – a vain, self-obsessed, egotistical pop singer whose only interests are girls, partying, and where he is in the charts. Yet he does not realise that there are mighty forces at work which seek to enslave the Earth – and use him to do it!

This collection features all four series, or ‘phases’, including material that had never been reprinted before, plus sketches, covers and pin-ups.

The edition includes both B&W and colour work, as they appeared at their original time of printing. The Complete Zenith includes: Phase 1: Tygers (Grant Morrison, Steve Yeowell) Phase 2: The Hollow Land (Morrison, Yeowell) Maximan (2000 AD Winter Special 1988) (Morrison, M. Carmona) Phase 3: War in Heaven (Morrison, Yeowell) Mandala: Shadows & Reflections (2000 AD Annual 1990) (Morrison, Jim McCarthy) Phase 4: Jerusalem (Grant Morrison, Steve Yeowell) zzzzenith .com (2000 AD Prog 2001) (Morrison, Yeowell) A Night 2 Remember (2000 AD 25th Anniversary, Prog 1280) (Morrison, Yeowell) Tales of the Alternative Earths (Mark Millar text story, 2000 AD Winter Special 1990).

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

480 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2013

About the author

Grant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.

In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

MAD MENTAL CRAZY! Rereading all this in one sitting brings home the sheer ambition of the thing, which prefigures many of the concerns in Morrison's later work - and in some cases is still his most successful use of them (Final Crisis' devastated Earth was a rerun of Rock of Ages, but even Rock of Ages didn't have quite the chill factor of Phase IV here). A shame it's only available in this ludicrously expensive limited edition - comics and computer games seem nowadays to be the only fields where acknowledged classics are frequently unavailable to the general public - but hopefully that will change.

[Jimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Zenith' by Grant Morrison is very dear to me, in many ways. As a character, I loved Zenith's attitude and nonchalant acceptance of superpowers when I was entering my teens. The idea that someone could get these powers and not bother with fighting petty criminals but in fact use them to bolster a career as a pop star seemed subversive and beyond cool to me. Literary references to William Blake appealed to me, too, as Blake was one of the few classical poet/artists I could actually stand at such a young age.

Over the years, I began to appreciate more of the world Morrison and Yeowell had created(with help from Milligan & McCarthy) and recognise in it many cultural touchstones such as the clear Lovecraft reference in the main series antagonists, The Lloigor. I also got a pretty good insight into the creative process as I came to realise Zenith's manager was clearly inspired by Richard Wilson's similar character from the immensely popular 80's Scottish tv drama, 'Tutti Frutti'. Even years later, I would notice little things that brought me a knowing smile, such as the name of the US Agent, Phaedra Cale whose name was no doubt taken from the song 'Some Velvet Morning' by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood as well as the viola/piano/bass player of the Velvet Underground, 'John Cale'.


It's great to finally see the entire saga available in many forms again these days, also, as for a lot of years I had a typically piecemeal collection that was missing most of Phase 1 & 3. Of course, back issue bin collections are part of the creative fuel of comic collecting as some fans are left to guess what has happened in those issues they're not yet lucky enough to have chanced upon, but its still good to know that legal issues are no longer barring publication of one of my all-time favourite comics.

[Socialite · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never spent so much on a book in my life and I know deluxe editions of books can be a let down. You can sometimes find that they seem larger but the comics in the book themselves take up a standard comic space which can be disappointing. As my most expensive buy I don't think I'm disappointed.
The 5 arks were brilliant with this great world, universe and even a multiverse fleshed out as you go along. The weird thing is, I don't think the strongest point of the series is Zenith. He is great as this reluctant hero/ douchebag but I find the array of characters and the history they bring like st James (whose back story is really interesting) are what make this book great. It can't be denied though that Zenith's origin also has such a good to play as the story goes along.
I think that's what I like about this book. It drops you into a "superhero" world that has existed for several decades and as you watch that world change, you get to see snippets of how this world came to be. This is obviously not a new style of story telling but I think it's done well here.
Obviously as I bought this book in a limited print, expecting people to buy this book based on my recommendation may be pointless based on its 1000 print run HOWEVER there is a reprint of the series in it's separate phases coming out and if you have the money to spare, I say go for it!!!
Also, even though I love all the art in the book, Steve Yeowell's use of black and white to display the horror the character's see is sublime!!!

[Gary Varga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten just how amazing this is. The protagonist is a useless [insert insult] dragged through a serious set of situations where rarely do you feel anything positive towards him. It is so in your face 80's/90's crossover time period UK it is scary. Post-Thatcherite British youth culture: very selfish, very introspective.

WARNING: Adult themes and humour. This is not Spidey ;-)

I haven't done this justice. Even with more effort I seriously doubt I could.

Why isn't this a film? (Rhetorical question: a copyright disagreement has had this gem hidden in the shadows for some time.)

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madly ambitious while avoiding so many standard pitfalls and a clear preview of where Morrison would take superheroes.

This should be talked about in the same breath as Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns and Miracle Man as a post superhero thing.

[Adam Cresswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Greatest comic book story ever. Nuff said. Great to see it finally in a single issue although I'll be holding onto my original 2000ad's and graphic novels for posterity.

[Chris Maurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read for any Morrison fan

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A early Morrison masterpiece. Many of the themes prevalent in his later works are on display here. Great presentation on the book as well, it looks great on display.

[Raphael Clayette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it because:
- it is in england which i love (despites i am french).
- great stories and characters.
- nice World War 2 story line (imlove WW2 stories).

[Bernard O'Leary · Rating 5 out of 5]

MAD MENTAL CRAZY

One of the real high points of 2000ad.

[Variaciones Enrojo]

Tomo integral con todo el Zenith de Morrison y Yeowell.