What do you think?
Rate this book
Zenith: New Edition #4
Zenith: Phase Four
Zenith Phase 4, Grant Morrison's comics masterpeice with unforgetable art by Steve Yeowell, has been unavailable to trade for twenty years, but part four is published here for the first time!
With the Lloigor defeated nothing can stand in the way of the superhumans and universal domination! The remaining members of the original British super-team Cloud 9 with some additional powered affiliates (including Zenith’s infant son) have destroyed America in retaliation for an attempt on their lives. Now they plan to incubate in the sun and evolve to the next level of existence, destroying the Earth as they do so.
Once again Zenith and St. John must make a stand for humanity and this time it’s personal! Grant Morrison (WE3) and Steve Yeowell (Devlin Waugh) bring you the mind-blowing fi nale to one of the most celebrated series in British comics.
With the Lloigor defeated nothing can stand in the way of the superhumans and universal domination! The remaining members of the original British super-team Cloud 9 with some additional powered affiliates (including Zenith’s infant son) have destroyed America in retaliation for an attempt on their lives. Now they plan to incubate in the sun and evolve to the next level of existence, destroying the Earth as they do so.
Once again Zenith and St. John must make a stand for humanity and this time it’s personal! Grant Morrison (WE3) and Steve Yeowell (Devlin Waugh) bring you the mind-blowing fi nale to one of the most celebrated series in British comics.
116 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2015
3 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Grant Morrison
1,784 books4,578 followersGrant 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 9, 2015
This fascinating conclusion to Grant Morrison's formative superhero saga finishes laying the groundwork for everything he'd later attempt in the genre, making his point more clear and perhaps even best. It is absolutely essential reading for his fans, and for superhero fans in general.
And now that Zenith is once again in print, Morrison's legacy can once again be reconsidered. There's a subset of comic book fans that has followed his rivalry with Alan Moore and even taken Morrison's side in the debate. Which to readers in general is nonsense, because Moore has managed to become more or less a household name, and Morrison has not. But don't let that trouble you. Watchmen, named to Time's list of the hundred best novels of the previous century, certainly deserves its acclaim, but Zenith tells a more complete story. For all its cleverness, Watchmen is more a series of brilliant character sketches than complete story. Now you can judge for yourself, see for yourself, what Morrison did with Zenith.
The funny thing is, the title character remains a cypher throughout the whole thing. Like the reader, like anyone, he's just living life and experiencing this big story happening around him, sometimes doing what he can but more often going for the ride. At this point, the backstory that led to him has reached its logical, fantastic conclusion (there's the crucial difference with Watchmen right there; this is to say, aside from Ozymandias hatching a diabolical scheme that is doomed to be completely undone, what else does Moore do with his narrative beyond theatrics?), and in a quick follow-up Morrison even skirts with the real world when Tony Blair drops in. Mark Millar, who at one point was Morrison's close friend and frequent collaborator, includes a clever prose piece.
Anything further, and you would really have had to have read the preceding volumes to know what I'm talking about. Suffice to say, this is a generous payoff. It's arguably even the best material in the whole Zenith saga. And enough to help make it a classic.
Move over, Watchmen.
And now that Zenith is once again in print, Morrison's legacy can once again be reconsidered. There's a subset of comic book fans that has followed his rivalry with Alan Moore and even taken Morrison's side in the debate. Which to readers in general is nonsense, because Moore has managed to become more or less a household name, and Morrison has not. But don't let that trouble you. Watchmen, named to Time's list of the hundred best novels of the previous century, certainly deserves its acclaim, but Zenith tells a more complete story. For all its cleverness, Watchmen is more a series of brilliant character sketches than complete story. Now you can judge for yourself, see for yourself, what Morrison did with Zenith.
The funny thing is, the title character remains a cypher throughout the whole thing. Like the reader, like anyone, he's just living life and experiencing this big story happening around him, sometimes doing what he can but more often going for the ride. At this point, the backstory that led to him has reached its logical, fantastic conclusion (there's the crucial difference with Watchmen right there; this is to say, aside from Ozymandias hatching a diabolical scheme that is doomed to be completely undone, what else does Moore do with his narrative beyond theatrics?), and in a quick follow-up Morrison even skirts with the real world when Tony Blair drops in. Mark Millar, who at one point was Morrison's close friend and frequent collaborator, includes a clever prose piece.
Anything further, and you would really have had to have read the preceding volumes to know what I'm talking about. Suffice to say, this is a generous payoff. It's arguably even the best material in the whole Zenith saga. And enough to help make it a classic.
Move over, Watchmen.
Read
September 18, 2019Wow, what a great ending to Zenith. This story is wildly ambitious, and went places I didn’t expect at all. At first, I figured it would be a rather simple hero’s journey, where Zenith goes from reluctant, arrogant pop star to savior of the world. But it ended up being an epic (and fun!) meditation on superhumanity replete with multiversal craziness and dark gods plus political critique. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised considering the author. Regardless, the whole thing is really well done. I recently read Alan Moore’s Miracleman, and found striking similarities between this book and the “Olympus” story; both feature the onset of a superhuman apocalypse interspersed with narration from the future. I think I prefer Moore’s story, but Morrison’s execution is better.
If you like Grant Morrison you will like Zenith. A lot of his trademark ideas are present, and the story is both entertaining and fascinating. It’s pretty amazing that this was published in the late 80’s/early 90’s, as much of what’s here is ahead of its time. But that’s Morrison for you.
If you like Grant Morrison you will like Zenith. A lot of his trademark ideas are present, and the story is both entertaining and fascinating. It’s pretty amazing that this was published in the late 80’s/early 90’s, as much of what’s here is ahead of its time. But that’s Morrison for you.
July 21, 2020
This volume was much better than volume 3 but it wasn't perfect. It felt like it had a more fitting continuation from volume 2 and even included plot points and moments of foreshadowing that were established in 2 and never mentioned in 3. It was weird but the art was good, the colors weren't great but they were kind of fitting and made this volume stand out. Like I said I liked the development but the ending wasn't really satisfying for me. It felt a little rushed and like I was cheated out of something more creative and original. The backwards aging man was really cool and his character was done very well and I think was the most interesting part of this book.
As a whole Zenith is just okay. The characters are interesting and have potential but they don't always meet up to it. The world itself is cool but with the addition of alternate realities that don't even have much influence it almost diminishes some of the events. It isn't the most consistent read but it does go by pretty quick just because it is fast paced and fun.
As a whole Zenith is just okay. The characters are interesting and have potential but they don't always meet up to it. The world itself is cool but with the addition of alternate realities that don't even have much influence it almost diminishes some of the events. It isn't the most consistent read but it does go by pretty quick just because it is fast paced and fun.
June 13, 2024
The final phase has everything in colour, and the story turns away from our heroes to the end of the world, rendered in psychedelic horror and uncanny post-human supremacy. It's grim and cynical but still with a quirky, anarchic sensibility. The twin epilogues included in the collection are bitter and sad - I get the sense that by the end of it all Morrison was just tired of the character and too invested in other more forward-looking projects. This is still a good series though, I'm glad I checked it out!
December 31, 2020
The last volume of Zenith is its strangest. Aside from the non-linear narrative, the characters are mysterious with an apocalyptic setting that is quite different from the previous stories but still retains the character of the series, Cthulhu villains and all.
February 25, 2023
There appears to have been something running through the Brit comic scene back in the eighties, a need to address the tendency toward rule by elite among a self-created elite. Alan Moore addressed it in just about every major work, and Grant Morrison addresses it here in Zenith.
I’ve had this on my list for a long time—I had the Fleetway/Quality reprint of Phase 1’s issue 1, but later issues and the 2000AD collections were just as hard to find as the originals. I’d given up looking a few years ago, which is, of course, when Rebellion reprinted them again in these four hardcovers. So when I saw all four in a used bookstore in San Diego last month, I bought them all.
My notes here are about the overall story, not specifically Phase 4, but I have no desire to review each book separately. The story fits together surprisingly well, considering that it appears to have been written in spurts over decades.
It’s a fascinating story, as much for its portrayal of eighties (and later) culture in London as for its somewhat spotty plot line of ultimate evil seducing the weak morals of the powerful. In what could well be a vague precursor of Morrison’s later Mister Six from the Invisibles, the most hippyish of the older superheroes ends up opposed to calling horrible beings from other dimensions.
In this case, they are the Lloigor, or “many-angled ones” with names like Nyarlathotep and Iok-Sotot. While they’re clearly Lovecraft-inspired (August Derleth and Mark Schorr created the Lloigor in one of Derleth’s Lovecraft extensions), they are not as implacable as Lovecraft’s creatures and are occasionally weak-minded along with their ultimate power.
The Lloigor like to enter our universe (and many others) by taking over the bodies of humans. But the only humans strong enough to hold them are superheroes, which makes being a superhero very dangerous. Zenith survives mostly by not caring about anything except his singing career.
The problem for the Lloigor is that the superhumans are powerful in themselves, and with a little trickery can overcome the many-angled invaders. Morrison does not neglect to address the obvious issue: the people left behind are the normal, non-superhero mass of the world. This is a war between multiple sets of beings who don’t really care about non-heroes. Even the “good” heroes, such as Zenith, are mostly ambivalent toward normals.
Phase 2 was a bit slow, but phases 3 and 4 ramp up the action with a very Morrisonian escalation.
Steve Yeowell’s art is pretty cool, too, although at times the characters are difficult to tell apart. This is exacerbated by the multiple time lines where some characters really are the same ones.
There’s a 2000s addendum that, while interesting, brings in real-world people for no apparent reason, turning Tony Blair into a mindless puppet; he’s also apparently not a Britney Spears fan either.
You’re wasting your time here, Peter. You’re playing human power games—prime ministers, general elections. We think it’s time to start playing god games.
I’ve had this on my list for a long time—I had the Fleetway/Quality reprint of Phase 1’s issue 1, but later issues and the 2000AD collections were just as hard to find as the originals. I’d given up looking a few years ago, which is, of course, when Rebellion reprinted them again in these four hardcovers. So when I saw all four in a used bookstore in San Diego last month, I bought them all.
My notes here are about the overall story, not specifically Phase 4, but I have no desire to review each book separately. The story fits together surprisingly well, considering that it appears to have been written in spurts over decades.
It’s a fascinating story, as much for its portrayal of eighties (and later) culture in London as for its somewhat spotty plot line of ultimate evil seducing the weak morals of the powerful. In what could well be a vague precursor of Morrison’s later Mister Six from the Invisibles, the most hippyish of the older superheroes ends up opposed to calling horrible beings from other dimensions.
In this case, they are the Lloigor, or “many-angled ones” with names like Nyarlathotep and Iok-Sotot. While they’re clearly Lovecraft-inspired (August Derleth and Mark Schorr created the Lloigor in one of Derleth’s Lovecraft extensions), they are not as implacable as Lovecraft’s creatures and are occasionally weak-minded along with their ultimate power.
The Lloigor like to enter our universe (and many others) by taking over the bodies of humans. But the only humans strong enough to hold them are superheroes, which makes being a superhero very dangerous. Zenith survives mostly by not caring about anything except his singing career.
The problem for the Lloigor is that the superhumans are powerful in themselves, and with a little trickery can overcome the many-angled invaders. Morrison does not neglect to address the obvious issue: the people left behind are the normal, non-superhero mass of the world. This is a war between multiple sets of beings who don’t really care about non-heroes. Even the “good” heroes, such as Zenith, are mostly ambivalent toward normals.
Phase 2 was a bit slow, but phases 3 and 4 ramp up the action with a very Morrisonian escalation.
Steve Yeowell’s art is pretty cool, too, although at times the characters are difficult to tell apart. This is exacerbated by the multiple time lines where some characters really are the same ones.
There’s a 2000s addendum that, while interesting, brings in real-world people for no apparent reason, turning Tony Blair into a mindless puppet; he’s also apparently not a Britney Spears fan either.
June 21, 2023
Bah. Seriously, how does this book get an average of over 4 stars?
This is the second time in a couple of weeks that I review a book by recommending people read something else…. Up to this point, the Zenith saga was quite fun in its 1980’s superhero revisionist way but here.. well, Grant Morrison, the writer, has said that his heart wasn’t really in it, and it shows.
It must be nearly 20 years since I sold my old Titan editions of Zenith Book 1 – 5 (which form Phases 1-3 of this series of editions) ; of the near 1000 individual comic issues and couple of hundred collected editions I sold back then, this lot went for the most - $200 I think……
Anyhow, a week or so ago, I notice in my library a hitherto (to me) unknown continuation of the strip, following on from, what had been, a neat wrapping up of events – the big other-dimensional, old one/ Cthulu type Lloigir was defeated and multiple Earths left to go their separate ways.
We get a narrative device of someone in the future telling the story of what happened in the past and mostly the bad guys just take over the world and wipe out humanity in a couple of pages or so. And, uh, some other stuff happens and then suddenly, somehow, with only the merest sliver of connection to earlier events, everything is sorted out.
This is a book that has “contractual obligation” written all over it – maybe it wasn’t quite that cynical but it seems like writer and artist are really just phoning it in here.
The Great Alan Moore has serious issues with Grant Morrison (look up their spat on the internet) – one of his problems is that Morrison does have a habit of treading on the same ground , if not quite actually plagiarising the Great Man. And Zenith is the most obvious example. Essentially, it’s just Miracleman and this volume is even more so just a very poor man’s version of Olympus (Miracleman book 3).
So we’ll finish this review by recommending you just hunt down volumes 1-3 of Miracleman by the Great Alan Moore and see how it’s done properly.
This is the second time in a couple of weeks that I review a book by recommending people read something else…. Up to this point, the Zenith saga was quite fun in its 1980’s superhero revisionist way but here.. well, Grant Morrison, the writer, has said that his heart wasn’t really in it, and it shows.
It must be nearly 20 years since I sold my old Titan editions of Zenith Book 1 – 5 (which form Phases 1-3 of this series of editions) ; of the near 1000 individual comic issues and couple of hundred collected editions I sold back then, this lot went for the most - $200 I think……
Anyhow, a week or so ago, I notice in my library a hitherto (to me) unknown continuation of the strip, following on from, what had been, a neat wrapping up of events – the big other-dimensional, old one/ Cthulu type Lloigir was defeated and multiple Earths left to go their separate ways.
We get a narrative device of someone in the future telling the story of what happened in the past and mostly the bad guys just take over the world and wipe out humanity in a couple of pages or so. And, uh, some other stuff happens and then suddenly, somehow, with only the merest sliver of connection to earlier events, everything is sorted out.
This is a book that has “contractual obligation” written all over it – maybe it wasn’t quite that cynical but it seems like writer and artist are really just phoning it in here.
The Great Alan Moore has serious issues with Grant Morrison (look up their spat on the internet) – one of his problems is that Morrison does have a habit of treading on the same ground , if not quite actually plagiarising the Great Man. And Zenith is the most obvious example. Essentially, it’s just Miracleman and this volume is even more so just a very poor man’s version of Olympus (Miracleman book 3).
So we’ll finish this review by recommending you just hunt down volumes 1-3 of Miracleman by the Great Alan Moore and see how it’s done properly.
January 31, 2021
Decent stuff. For me, Zenith as a whole constantly scraped at the edge of greatness, but never fully pushed over that line. I think the reason for this is that ever though it plays with a lot of wild ideas and the main villains are Lovecraftian monsters (which this volume containing some of the best depictions of cosmic horror and unknowable beings that I've ever seen), it never fully gets away from being a more traditional superhero story, which is a shame.
I thought that the buildup for this story was brilliant and I would have given it five stars if it managed to stick the landing, but unfortunately, it has a fairly unsatisfying ending. It's still a good read with some really excellent ideas, but it could've been better.
The art changed dramatically between this and the previous three volumes. It's done by Yeowell still, but is much more simplistic. It's easier to follow, but not as much fun to look at, I think.
I think my biggest disappointment with this series is regarding the characterization of Zenith himself. He's a lot of fun to read because he's a selfish jerk, but he never really grows or changes. I don't know, maybe Morrison was trying to make a point about superheroes or something, but regardless, I found it annoying that after all the villains he fought and all of the madness he endured, he's still just as focused on his record sales as ever before.
I thought that the buildup for this story was brilliant and I would have given it five stars if it managed to stick the landing, but unfortunately, it has a fairly unsatisfying ending. It's still a good read with some really excellent ideas, but it could've been better.
The art changed dramatically between this and the previous three volumes. It's done by Yeowell still, but is much more simplistic. It's easier to follow, but not as much fun to look at, I think.
I think my biggest disappointment with this series is regarding the characterization of Zenith himself. He's a lot of fun to read because he's a selfish jerk, but he never really grows or changes. I don't know, maybe Morrison was trying to make a point about superheroes or something, but regardless, I found it annoying that after all the villains he fought and all of the madness he endured, he's still just as focused on his record sales as ever before.
July 2, 2020
This is the only phase I never read in the Prog - although I was tempted to start buying it again purely for the purposes of reading new Zenith - so it still feels a bit weird to not know how this felt to unfold week by week. We’ll discount the silly 2000 epilogue - whose only good idea is St John is in control of Blair - as that feels a bit more like Morrison reflecting on himself as a writer for the Prog than anything else. Otherwise this is one of the strangest, saddest endings to a big comic epic I can think of. There’s an inevitability about it all, and Morrison has been teasing us to this point all along, but it still doesn’t stop the black sun and the hand headed people being terrifying. It was a good idea to take Archie out of the game early on too, because as wonderful as he is he would spoil the tone of the whole thing. The whole saga is easily one of the best things 2000AD has ever done and that’s considerably to do with how happy it is to continually - and eagerly - buck the conventions of what the readers expect. It’s truly a masterpiece
October 2, 2025
Rereading all four phases of Zenith prior to the new spin-off series.
Steve Yeowell’s art on this book is a more polished version of his phase one art style. This final phase was published after a gap of a number of years and is also the only volume in colour. It seems that working in US comics in the intervening years meant he removed all of the vast areas of solid black from his artwork to make it more suitable for colourists to work with.
Many of the themes and preoccupations of Morrison’s later works are present in this early serial.
Almost thirty years later Zenith still stands as one of the superior 2000AD serials with a defined ending rather than the never-ending tales of the house characters. This volume is a satisfying conclusion to the story.
Steve Yeowell’s art on this book is a more polished version of his phase one art style. This final phase was published after a gap of a number of years and is also the only volume in colour. It seems that working in US comics in the intervening years meant he removed all of the vast areas of solid black from his artwork to make it more suitable for colourists to work with.
Many of the themes and preoccupations of Morrison’s later works are present in this early serial.
Almost thirty years later Zenith still stands as one of the superior 2000AD serials with a defined ending rather than the never-ending tales of the house characters. This volume is a satisfying conclusion to the story.
December 20, 2021
I got through all the phases. There were parts that I liked more than others. The artwork in the first three phases was, at times, (in the black and white version I read) difficult in its story-telling and difficult in seeing the action.
I loved all the Lovecraftian stuff.
The multiverse aspect, which I thought was so cool and wanted so much more of, didn't pay off as I had wanted.
And the "twist" ending? Well, I saw in on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Still, well written and no regrets in reading it or hesitations to recommend to anyone wanting an alternative to Watchmen.
I loved all the Lovecraftian stuff.
The multiverse aspect, which I thought was so cool and wanted so much more of, didn't pay off as I had wanted.
And the "twist" ending? Well, I saw in on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Still, well written and no regrets in reading it or hesitations to recommend to anyone wanting an alternative to Watchmen.
May 3, 2024
For me, the best of the four phases:
*In colour for a start!
*much easier to see/follow what’s going on (really struggled with some of the other volumes at times)
*A couple of brilliant twists, including one that pulls everything back to the first couple of panes in volume one - loved the hidden thinking that had been sitting underneath the story the whole time
*amusingly dark conclusion
Ultimately writing that’s what ahead of its time. I found some of the earlier Zenith promising but not quite delivering all the way through. This conclusion really adds to what’s gone before. Good stuff.
*In colour for a start!
*much easier to see/follow what’s going on (really struggled with some of the other volumes at times)
*A couple of brilliant twists, including one that pulls everything back to the first couple of panes in volume one - loved the hidden thinking that had been sitting underneath the story the whole time
*amusingly dark conclusion
Ultimately writing that’s what ahead of its time. I found some of the earlier Zenith promising but not quite delivering all the way through. This conclusion really adds to what’s gone before. Good stuff.
May 26, 2019
Gran cierre de etapa. Después de un tomo 3 que recuerda a Final Crisis, acá se vuelve a homenajear a Moore, a Days of Future Past y cosas así. Se retoman personajes y arcos anteriores para conectarlos y darles un cierre inteligente. Me gustó que cada arco estaba vinculado entre sí pero las amenazas no se repetían sino que le daban una vuelta para sorprender. Finalmente, a destacar el dibujo de Yeowell que funciona muy bien a color.
February 17, 2020
This has been sitting on my end table for months, buried under all manner of things, from junk mail to card games. I uncovered it in a spurt of organization, and am glad to have re-discovered it. Presented in full-color, I like it best among the four phases of Zenith. As it happens to be the last book in the series, it qualifies for fulfillment of the Read Harder challenge to read the last book in a series.
February 2, 2019
Phase Four brings Zenith to a decent conclusion. Like most of Morrison’s early work, the seeds of his future genius have just begun to sprout. As a whole the Zenith story is a good, quick read, slightly light on the substance but worthwhile nonetheless.
May 12, 2020
A deeply satisfying end to the series. Also, as is the way with this super-complete collection, we get the postscript showing us that nothing really changes in politics. Nothing changes about human nature
June 4, 2022
The art in this is not my favorite, I understand Yeowell was drawing for color but I really loved his black and white art in phase three. That's kind of my only problem with this book though, otherwise its fucking great. An amazing conclusion to this series.
December 25, 2019
Not as exiting as those previous Phases but still very much worth reading and good fun.
May 24, 2020
Quite terrible, not up to the standard of the previous Zenith adventures. FFS, "It was all in their minds" is overused weak sauce.
June 4, 2020
Re read this,
prefer the earlier issues but brilliant nonetheless.
feeds my craving for the old British heroes I was
brought up on.
prefer the earlier issues but brilliant nonetheless.
feeds my craving for the old British heroes I was
brought up on.
July 22, 2022
The entire last part of Zenith is the end of the world, in spectacular Morrison fashion. The cover blurb more or less tells you this so it's not really a spoiler.
September 16, 2023
The final part of Zenith is even more typical Grant Morrison than the third one and I can't say I'm huge fan of Morrison's crazy stuff but it's decent enough.
March 11, 2017
It's not well known in North America, but Grant Morrison's "Zenith" is one of the key texts of 1980's super-hero revisionism. Not as accomplished as Alan Moore's "Miracleman" or "Watchmen" but still an early indication of the breadth of Morrison's extraordinary imagination.
November 4, 2017
This book starts off where Zenith: Phase Three ended and is the conclusion of the story.
The biggest change visually (at least in the edition that I read) is the introduction of colors. Otherwise the style is pretty much the same as in the previous volumes.
Story-wise I enjoyed this more than the Phase Three, although you could see the big twist coming way too early for my taste. Maybe it would've been a different story if I had read fewer stories like these.
Anyway, to sum up the Phases One through Four, these books are mainly for fans of Grant Morrison. Definitely not the best place to get to know his writing. If you've never read his books, I recommend first picking up All-Star Superman, Vol 1 or Batman: Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth.
The biggest change visually (at least in the edition that I read) is the introduction of colors. Otherwise the style is pretty much the same as in the previous volumes.
Story-wise I enjoyed this more than the Phase Three, although you could see the big twist coming way too early for my taste. Maybe it would've been a different story if I had read fewer stories like these.
Anyway, to sum up the Phases One through Four, these books are mainly for fans of Grant Morrison. Definitely not the best place to get to know his writing. If you've never read his books, I recommend first picking up All-Star Superman, Vol 1 or Batman: Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth.
July 17, 2015
I wasn't impressed when I first read the finale to the otherwise excellent Zenith, and finally rereading it all these years later, I'm still nonplussed. It's all a bit obvious, plot and character wise, and the deus ex machina just leaves me a little disappointed. Morrison later returned to some of these earlier themes in Doom Patrol et al, with much more imagination and verve. Strictly contractual obligations.
July 28, 2015
Not as strong as the first three volumes, but you can see some of the ideas that would go on to inform Invisibles here. Also, the color was quite welcome. It made it much easier to tell some of the characters apart, especially the female characters.
February 28, 2016
Like the last volume, it’s an introduction to a lot of ideas Morrison would use with better results in later books. Feels a lot like The Invisibles. Good ending to the Zenith story, but I felt the series never lived up to how great the first story is.
July 29, 2015
Three and a half with the benifit of the doubt.
December 29, 2015
Love the art, love the concept, love almost all of it, but it's a poor ending. And the tag on short story after the end ...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews